The Pin Crowd: Vintage Brooches & Contemporary Sparklers Are Haute

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ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND bronze pins in ancient Celtic graves. You may have stumbled across rhinestone brooches in Grandma's jewelry box. Pinning adornments to clothing isn't new, but the old style has twinkled back into vogue, thanks to bling-mad designers and first stylista Michelle Obama, who dresses up everything from cardigans to frocks with vintage sparklers and contemporary brooches by Erickson Beamon and Moschino.

"She'll put a pin in a contrasting color on a shift or use one to clasp the top of a sweater," says Liberty Jones, spokeswoman for Neiman Marcus in Chevy Chase, which has seen an uptick in brooch buying. "You can do so many things with them — stick them in your hair, tack them to a belt or put one on a bag." Find new pieces at boutiques or department stores; seek out retro pins on Ebay.com or at vintage shops. And unlike D.C.'s better-known lapel swag, the campaign button, a brooch won't get you into any heated discussions, except maybe about fashion.

1. A vintage metal and enamel birdie could nest on a wrap dress. ($14, Annie Creamcheese, 3279 M St. NW; 202-298-5555)

2. Make a trench go "Mod Squad" with a '60s bloom. ($29, Annie Creamcheese)

3. Starburst pins like this 1950s number look mod clustered in multiples on a jacket. ($50, Annie Creamcheese)

4. Reclaim '80s military style a la Adam Ant with a Napoleonic cross. ($30, Club Monaco, 3235 M St. NW; 202- 965-2118)

5. Pin a purple Lucite begonia by Alexis Bittar on a ribbon to concoct a flirty sash. ($459, Alexisbittar.com)

6. D.C. jeweler Anya Pinchuk combines crystals and clay on a sea anemone-like pin. ($550, Jewelers'werk Galerie, 3319 Cady's Alley; 202-337-3319)

7. Glass is blown into rose-shaped pins by Deborah Faye Adler. ($300, Apres Peau, 1430 K St. NW; 202-783-0022)

8. Lucite "guitar picks" form a flower. ($28, Anthropologie.com)

9. A vintage bouquet could latch onto a sweater. ($38, Betsy Fisher, 1224 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202-785-1975)

Photo by Marge Ely/Express