If you have a collection of brooches, wear a cluster of them on a jacket, coat, cardigan, pullover, scarf or hat. You can wear as few as two, or as many as you like. Coats and jackets made of sturdier fabric tend to hold heavy brooches better, but lightweight brooches do just fine on lightweight fabric. The example below shows more than ten brooches pinned to a denim jacket, making quite the statement. Go for it if you like the maximal vibe, or create a cluster with fewer pins.

Anthropologie Paige Rowan Denim Jacket

Personally, I have a high tolerance for the mismatched effect of multiple brooches worn together in a cluster. This is especially true if the rest of the outfit is simple and neutral, like the column of denim shown above. That said, you might like to match the metals, stones, themes, and aesthetics of the pins when clustering them. Or match their colours to a component of your outfit.

I currently only have two brooches, and the theme (of course) is Yorkshire terriers. A large vintage one from the ‘60s, and a small one from Talbots. I haven’t worn them together yet, but I might. I feel I need a third one to make the cluster look complete, but the idea is not cast in stone. That brings me to the preference of pinning an odd number of brooches into a cluster because it can somehow look more visually interesting. Of course, you decide how many look fab to your eye.

I’m not too worried about brooches leaving holes in clothing because they usually steam closed again, especially when coats are dry-cleaned. Who’s going to wear a cluster of brooches? We’ve seem great versions of the vibe on the forum, and I hope to see more. It looks festive.