Sparkles For a Song

I can’t resist sparkly things. They catch my eye wherever I go, and like a magpie I’ll snatch them up (if the price tag meets my approval).

Every one of these brooches above was found in a charity shop, vintage boutique, or on eBay, for the price of a song. I don’t think I paid any more than US$15 for any of them, and a good deal less for some.

Sundry sparkly bags, bowties and pins, from Shag.Why do women love jewels, I wondered? Of course, in the past men have worn jewellery as often; both sexes for reasons of status, artistic and emotional expression. One article I found online proposed that women are avaricious souls who demand diamonds as proof of love from their men. It is probably true of some women, but I felt a bit insulted. I’m just as happy with my pretty fakes.

This necklace from Shag reminds me of Nicole Kidman’s necklace in ’Moulin Rouge‘.More pleasing to me were these poetic gems I unearthed. I confess I don’t actually wear my brooches very often – I mainly like to look at them, at their bright colours, so pretty when the light catches them and turns them into flame.

But these vintage trifles aren’t quite big enough for me. The ones that really make me gasp are these modern dazzlers regularly displayed in the front window of Shag, on Chapel St in Windsor. They are positively enormous, jaw dropping – and I am convinced go for nothing less than an operetta.