Broaching the Subject
By Sharon Mosley
Copley News Service

This fall, you've just got to pin one on - or two - or three - brooches that is - one of fashion's hottest accessories of the season. From vintage heirlooms found at the flea market to shimmering stunners from designer jewelers, the brooch is shining on the gowns of celebrities, the sweaters of models and the jean jackets of teens everywhere - all making a big fashion statement.

Who started pinning on the glitz first? Well, according to a trusty fashion dictionary, the Greeks and the Romans first started the whole thing around 2000 B.C. with their "fibulas" or ornamental safety pins used for fastening garments, often decorated with elaborate designs and figures. In Celtic lore, a brooch was often pinned to the first newborn's blanket for good luck.

This fall's fascination with the brooch has come a long way since the ancient days of Middle Earth when they were necessary to pin cloaks and tunics together. Frodo and his band of Hobbits would never recognize the latest versions of highly evolved fibulas.

Now brooches from companies like Banana Republic, Swarovski, Fred Leighton and Van Cleef and Arpels are glistening on everything from waistbands and necklines to jacket lapels and evening clutches. Models at many of the fall runways were decked out in a blitz of bling.

But brooches have always attracted attention, especially in Hollywood. Film stars in from Marlene Dietrich to Katharine Hepburn used glittering pins to set the standard for glamour. Sharon Stone's dragonfly brooch pinned at the waist of her Vera Wang evening gown at the 1998 Oscar ceremony was almost as big of a hit with the fashion public as her black Gap turtleneck. And heads turned when Jennifer Lopez wore a brooch pinned at the drape of her low-backed gown at the Grammys.

Sarah Jessica Parker, another big fan of the hot accessory, may have made brooches popular in her role as Carrie Bradshaw on "Sex in the City," but in the recent Gap shoot for the retailer's fall advertising campaign, she personalized more than $10 million in estate and antique jeweled pins by clustering them all together on the hot pink cardigan sweater she modeled while dancing with musician Lenny Kravitz.

Customers of The Gap will have a chance to do their own bling thing at special events being held at select Gap stores this fall and on their special Web site: www.howdoyou.com.

Here are a few tips on how you can personalize your own brooch collection this fall:

- Cluster two or three to add a little glitz to any outfit - on dress straps, jacket lapels or cardigan sweaters.
- Don't forget your hair - a perfect place for pins to shine - on a ponytail, around an up-do or anchoring a side part.
- Belt loops are another great place to pin on your favorite brooches.
- Hats are another perfect place to top off the season with shining jewels.
- Fasten one or several brooches to a clutch handbag for instant evening glamour.
- Decorate scarves with embellished pins for a more dramatic flair.
- Go bold with color. Crystal and elaborate pave designs are a great way to evoke vintage style, but don't be afraid to add a colorful floral design or whimsical animal figure to your collection.

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