Chanel is synonymous with haute couture offering a vast array of elegant ready-to-wear outfits that can be accessorized by their best brooches.
Whether the brooches you invest in are made in France, Italy, or Spain, Chanel’s high0 jewelry pieces are all made for the stylish women (or men) out for a bold look. And if you know what you’re doing, a Chanel brooch will never fail you.
All you need to do is your selected brooch for the day, excellent attention to detail, and perhaps a dose of creativity. But if you feel you have tried out everything in the book, it may be time to read more on brooch fashion and styling tips below. But first, some basics about the brooches.
A brooch is one of the oldest fashion accessories dating back to the Bronze Age. It was purposefully designed for fastening clothes and as a symbolic fashion accessory.
Essentially, fashion accessories in the Bronze Age, such as earrings and brooches, were created for practical reasons, and the brooch was perfect for holding clothes together.
So, you can look at the brooch as an ornament with roots from the gilded era. It is also known as a pin fastener, and it’s more than a decorative piece, which is why brooches are highly regarded in different groups, from royalty to the military, where brooches worn represent your rank.
Over time, however, brooches became the most popular decorative ornaments because they allowed women to easily throw in a dash of personality and drama into their outfits.
As you’ll note below, pretty much every generation had its signature brooch design determined by the political and social changes taking place at the time, as well as the available materials or the materials that artisans leaned more into at the time.
So, Chanel, like all other jewelry designers, followed this trend, creating 1920s-inspired Art Deco pieces, while the pieces from the 80s are bolder and reflect the boldness in the expression of style as seen in works by designers like David Webb.
About Chanel Brooch
One of the things that have made Chanel stand out from the day the brand was born in 1909 has got to be the fact that Chanel’s always created timeless pieces of jewelry and accessories – the brand delved into these categories in the 1920s though.
The craftsmanship and the quality of Chanel’s pieces have earned a top spot among some of the world’s most respected luxury designer brands.
While Chanel boasts a wide variety of high fashion jewelry and accessories, such as the timeless Bijoux De Diamants with perfectly round diamonds in the form of rings and earrings, the one thing that stands out and has stood the test of time has got to be Chanel’s investment in the best quality brooch, the LION.
This was the first brooch by Chanel, and it paved the way for all the elegant Chanel brooches that we know and love today. Lion was named after Mademoiselle Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, born on August 19, 1883; a Leo.
Like the lady, the brooch is instinctive, majestic, powerful, radiant, and fiercely protective, as she was of her things. Following the creation of this 18k white gold and diamond-encrusted diamond, Chanel has since created countless other elegant brooches.
Today, you will see these masterpieces in different designs and colors, but the most prominent Chanel brooch today is the one designed as the infamous Chanel logo.
These brooches are made of different materials, but for affordability and easier access to the brooch, many of Chanel’s brooches are not considered high jewelry but costume jewelry.
This is the case with most of Chanel’s jewelry and accessories. These brooches are made of plated metal, mostly brass or sterling silver base metals plated with 14k gold. Pearls are a prominent feature in most brooches.
The designs of the brooches have also evolved a great deal over the years as Chanel’s designers infuse their best creative juices into brooch masterpieces. Besides the yellow gold finishes, the brooches also have black, red, and white pearls and crystals.
Features of Chanel Brooch
1. Chanel’s brooches are bold, lyrical designer pieces primarily centered on 5 main motifs – feathers, ribbons, the fringe, the sun, and stars.
2. The rather dramatic diamond fringe motif is a common style of Chanel’s brooch designed to be worn as a headpiece.
3. Many of the brooches carry a vintage flair in different designs, including the braided rope brooch style that stands out. Most of the brooches, however, are made to replicate the Art Deco styles, but they also boast an impressive array of artisanal brooches. And though most of the brooches were designed to celebrate different time periods, they were all made in the 20th century. An
4. They are primarily circular but also available in other shapes, including florals, inanimate things like Chanel’s N 5 bottle, the 1980s Chanel beret, cross pendants, and the infamous CC baguette-cut brooch.
5. The primary materials used to make and are incorporated into Chanel brooches include glass, lucite beads, byzantine crystals, pearls, rhinestones, etc. Most of them have metal base materials plated in gold or silver. Other brooches are made of black-colored metals to match the beads, crystals, or beads on them.
6. Exquisite craftsmanship. Chanel’s brooches boast exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail, which is replicated in almost all of the brooches made by Chanel over the years.
7. All pearl brooches by Chanel belong to a 6-Collection inventory made of distinctive pieces of jewelry that enhance the appearance of the brooches. There are 178 brooches in this collection.
A Quick Guide on how to wear Chanel Brooch
Regardless of the style of Chanel brooch that you own or was handed down from your grandma’s jewelry box, we’ll guide you on how to easily and elegantly wear and style your brooch. So, let’s jump straight into it!
1. Wear the brooch to enhance your belt
This is a simple way of enhancing the belt. Slide the brooch into a ribbon for a choker look, and then put it in front of the belt to accentuate its design.
2. Incorporate it into your bag
Take your Chanel brooch, then pin it on your back and slide it through to enhance the bag’s style and design features.
This works well for Plain bags, especially clutch bags which will be transformed into elegant Chanel bags in seconds.
To ensure that the brooch doesn’t fall off, you may want to attach it to a spot where it will not get in the way of you opening or closing the clutch. You could slide it in, then bring the brooch’s pen back through, bending the pin to hold it in place.
3. Turn it into a necklace
To use your brooch as a necklace, you need a long chain necklace, gold or silver, as long as it matches the brooch. Next, weave the chain around the brooch, making sure that it is not lopsided, and you can hook it up at any length you’re comfortable with.
Chains with big links work best. If you opt to use it with a short chain, you could turn the brooch into a statement choker necklace.
You could also attach the brooch to your layered necklace for an updated look that oozes elegance and sophistication. Attach the brooch to the second layered necklace in the stack for a simple, elegant look.
4. Add the brooch to your brim hat
If you are planning to wear a brim hat but feel that it is missing some personality or just want to add some drama to it, you may want to add a Chanel brooch.
Imagine how elegant and unique the hat will look, not to mention how much of a rockstar you will look. You only need to pin the brooch to the hat carefully, and voila, a stunning Chanel brim hat.
5. With your scarf
Besides using a brooch on your hat to draw attention to specific parts of the outfit, you could also use it alongside your scarf to add oomph to the scarf and hold it securely around the head.
You could add it to your cashmere scarf draped around your shoulder or neck.
6. Use brooches to accessorize anything plain you’re wearing
You can use a brooch or brooches to accessorize your boots, jeans, blazer, or even your cashmere sweater. One thing to note, however, is that when you choose to add brooches to your outfits, it is wise to opt for a subtle pair of earrings rather than statement pieces.
You shouldn’t wear the statement brooch on your blazer or necklace and wear statement earrings.
7. Add the brooch to a pocket
You could also add a touch of style to your jacket’s pocket for a nice elegant look.
The best part is that the brooch will speak volumes about your style and personality and a great conversation starter.
Conclusion
So, if you have been looking for styling ideas for your Chanel brooch, the recommendations above are some of the best for you.
Stephanie is a jewelry lover when she was a teenager. Her major was fashion design when she was in college. She is a jewelry designer at SOQ Jewelry and other design companies. Now she is also a writer for our website. She writes a lot of designs&brands posts with very actionable tips.