All That Glitters: Vogue Pins It

Just having cleaned out my jewelry box, I ran across a few of the old broaches that I had found in my grandmother's jewelry box many years ago. When I was definitely more new wave than punk in college, I wore them on an old checkered sports jacket that was one that my father couldn't wear anymore because his beer belly had gotten too big ... sorry, Dad. I would wear not only the broaches, but her crystal earrings and her long strands of costume pearls. I definitely had a feminine menswear look going on, along with a semi-shaved head and black streaks through my strawberry blond hair. I wore my Dad's old skinny ties too. As I moved on from that to what was next, I put them away. I have started to put a few pins on my winter coat just like Queen Elizabeth does for every coat that she wears. Mine aren't vintage, or real, ... but they are made to look like it.

In the antique/junk stores that I like to shop in, I see tables full of the old broaches. Sometimes, they are cheap, cheap, cheap. Other times, they are locked up in cases because they are Eisenberg or some other such vintage designer that made good costume jewelry back in the day. I'm always tempted to rummage through to buy a few, but I usually always end of putting them down. Then in California last summer, I saw something that made me really excited to look through bins of costume jewelry at the antique stores again. At one store, the owner had taken tree shaped, styrofoam forms and pinned a collection of bin jewelry to them to create lovely, sparkly Christmas trees. I decided to give it a try and right before Christmas, I pulled out the bag of Grandma's old jewelry I had given to a friend to make jewelry with for me. She made me a lovely re-worked necklace and earrings from one of the strands of beads that were in my grandmother's collection. I took the balance, and with pearl studded stick pins, I created a tree that was quite pretty. I had bought two smaller styrofoam forms to make those as well, but I didn't get the chance. In my latest cleanse, I found even more jewels to work with and will before I put out decorations in December. I may just have to rifle through a few more bins so that I can make an entire forest of twinkling pines.

On the pages here, I love how they models are styled- a modern vintage. The hair and the clothes are pretty and romantic. The bugs on the teal green collar remind me of the Victorians and their penchant for pinning bugs to fabric and hanging them in the parlor. It's in T.S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" where the man who unsuccessful navigates a society of ladies says:" And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,/ When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,/ Then how should I begin." All eyes were on him in a not so pleasant gaze, but for this, the society is excellent. I will take the challenge and try to pin it more. It's a wonderful look.