Accessories can provide an effortless, enjoyable and affordable way of expressing one’s style and creating a more versatile wardrobe. A chunky neckpiece, a colorful printed scarf, or a funky pair of shoes can easily dress an outfit up or down. In fact, they can make ordinary basics like jeans and a white tee look different each time they are worn.

Brooches are no different in their ability to jazz up your everyday outfits and eveningwear. Brooches are back in a huge way this season, as you know if you’re following the fashion news. Wonderful pins are turning up in unexpected spots, like the hem or sleeve of a suit jacket, and top designers are also showing them in clusters. Versace, for instance, pinned four rhinestone brooches on one shoulder, and the look is fabulously rich and exciting.

Depending on the kind of brooch, you can create different looks to suit your various moods and occasions. A cameo pin, for instance, can evoke the romanticism of the Victorian era, while a modern design or an Art Deco design in diamond and platinum can help accentuate a sleek and sophisticated ensemble.

Brooches are among the most ancient of jewelry to wear with articles of clothing. In ancient times, brooches were merely used as fasteners to hold clothing together. The Greeks used them to hold their white togas in place, while the Irish used them to fasten their cloaks. To put it more plainly, brooches were used much like the modern safety pin.

But possibly due to mankind’s inherent craving for all things beautiful, the ordinary pin or brooch was eventually transformed into an art piece. Over time, artisans began paying more and more attention to detail, thus creating more intricate, visually interesting designs.

Today, brooches are used to create fashion statements and to add panache to any outfit. Actually, this season and next are all about embellishment, and one sure way of achieving this look is by wearing a brooch or even combining several pieces.

For example, take your ordinary, shrunken cardigan and adorn it with two or three decorative pins in a flattering location. Wear a brooch on your blazer, jean jacket, and poncho. Or just a basic tee shirt, and you will be right in step with all the hot designers. You can even create asymmetric tops by gathering one side of your shirt and clasping it with a pretty brooch.

You don’t have to stop there. You can also pin your brooches on your everyday or evening handbags. And if it suits you, go ahead and wear a brooch in your hair to accentuate a casual hairdo or to make a formal hairstyle look more special.

The “scale rule” still applies when you wear a brooch: If you are petite and wear a huge brooch, it will overpower you. If you are a larger lady and wear a tiny brooch it will get lost and not make a statement.

Be careful not to ruin your garment when wearing a brooch. Test whether the brooch will ruin the fabric by pinning the brooch to extra fabric inside the garment.

Finally, you can buy pin converters to convert pins to pendants and vice versa, allowing you to take your brooches and wear them as you wish.

If you’re buying brooches this season — and who isn’t — buy several and pin them in unexpected spots for a look and a feel that is fabulous.

Photos courtesy of Sassy South Ltd.