The History Of The Brooch

From Julia Roberts stacking them on ties to full-glam moments on the Golden Globes red carpet, and from must-wear runway statements at Versace and Miu Miu to Hades’ antique-brooch-adorned Guinevere Cardigan, we’re glad the world is finally listening: brooches are set to be big in 2026.

As proud pin-wearers, collectors and designers for the past twenty-five years, and as we collectively lean into antiquity, firmly reclaiming these pieces from granny’s jewellery box, we’re taking you on a journey through the history of the brooch. More than a glistening accent on your favourite jacket, brooches are steeped in feminist history and have let the lapels of ladies do the talking for centuries.

The Braganza Brooch, 250BC-200BC, The British Museum

The story begins in the Bronze Age, when thorns and shards of flint used as fasteners during the Neolithic period were replaced with the earliest brooches and clasps. Known as fibulae, these contraptions weren’t dissimilar to the modern day safety-pin. 

As time passed, the function provided a path to expression. By the Iron Age, brooches carried meaning, decorated with family crests, tribal emblems and regional motifs. No longer just holding cloth in place, signalling through these adornments had started. 

A cheeky pin discovered in the Netherlands, dating back to 1400–1450 AD

Throughout the Middle Ages, medieval brooches and badges became odes to religious devotion, gifts and souvenirs, crafted from materials that range from pewter, copper and iron to silver and gold.

Forget the fridge magnet, pick up the pilgrim badge: pewter pins were bought at shrines to carry protective powers and commemorate religious journeys. Alongside wedding rings, brooches were traditionally gifted from a husband to his bride, a token of love and symbol of her newlywedded status. Not dissimilar to our own designs, secular badges were nods to daily life with hounds, florals and even comical designs. 

Tricolour Cockade c.1792

In the 18th to early 19th century, brooches were used to convey feelings through meaningful design details. 

Often Political, like the French Revolutionary Cockades, tricolour rosettes that were sold on every street corner in support of the revolutionary cause. A fashion accessory, but also simply an expression of self.

Antique Victorian Mourning Brooch c.1850

Before even engaging in a conversation, you could tell someone’s status in life and love, for example, "witch's hearts", which meant deeply in love, hands that told tales of friendship, or materials that symbolised remembrance for those who’d passed. Hair from deceased loved ones was often encased in brooches to keep them close, and during Queen Victoria’s mourning period, black jet stones became a staple of mourning etiquette.

Brooches continued as a powerful form of communication in the political space where women’s voices were often unheard. Allowing women to convey allegiance, resistance, or belief, let’s head to the early 20th century, where pins became an ever bigger part of women’s history.

Holloway Prison Brooch, 1909

“For the Suffragettes fighting for women’s right to vote, jewellery was more than decoration — it was a statement of identity and feminist defiance" - Rosie Wolfenden MBE, Tatty Devine co-founder

Enter the British Women’s Suffrage movement: activists of the Women’s Social and Political Union wore enamel pins and brooches featuring the movement’s iconic colours - recently reworked for the present day in our Tatty Devine X Centenary Action collection. A way to show your allegiance, purple represents dignity, white purity and green as hope. 

Brooches brought people together and built communities with allies instantly notable in public and sometime hostile spaces without a word even being uttered. Evolution into mass-produced enamel pins made protest wearable, an easy-to-wear statement you could make everyday. Sold to supporters of the cause, these helped fund the suffrage movement. 

It’s giving grrl power! A stark contrast to the diamond-adorned luxury accessories of centuries past, protest pins and badges emerged throughout the 1990s and early 2000s as the third wave of feminism was at its peak. Handmade devices that challenge societal norms were bold and packed a punch with slogans and symbols that promoted anti-patriarchy and anti-capitalist themes. 

Billie Eilish in an ‘Ice Out’ Pin Badge at the Grammys 2026

From history to the present day, with badges being worn on red carpets by the most high-profile celebrities, we’re seeing A-listers take action via their lapels to fight for the causes they believe in most.  Billie Eilish, Mark Ruffalo, and Justin Bieber wore ‘Be Good’ and ‘Ice Out’ pins to protest the recent actions of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Over to the Emmys, Alan Cummings wore our Not A Phase Kilt Pin in support of the Trans+ community, a safety pin-style accessory designed in response to the Supreme Court ruling and the rise in hostility towards the trans+ and gender nonconforming communities.

Express yourself and stand for what you believe with our Brooch Edit.

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