ACCESSORIES
A Comprehensive Lapel Pin Guide For Men: The Different Types + How and When To Wear Them
Good day, Gentlemen!
I’ve got Quick Style Questions For You:
Question 1:
What’s that one way you can stylishly elevate your look or your outfit?
I’m sure this is an easy one – with the use of accessories.
Question 2: Fill in the gap.
_______ are the spice of an outfit, and can make even a basic outfit stand out?
Your guess is as good as mine – ACCESSORIES!
That being the case, let’s talk about one essential accessory every gentleman MUST have in his Accessory Box – The Lapel Pin.
Have you ever been wondering, How To Choose the Right Lapel Pin or How To Properly Wear A Lapel Flower? If YES, then this lapel pin guide for men will show you a great way to elevate your look and make you look dapper whether you are wearing a suit or a native attire.
In the next 10 minutes, you will learn everything there is to know about the lapel pin. How to wear them, how to position it, how to match it with your clothes, which type to choose depending on the occasion, and basically everything in between.
Let’s jump right into it.
WHAT IS A LAPEL PIN? The Magic Effect It Has On Your Outfit
Lapel pins are an essential piece of accessories that add a subtle air of ‘dapperness’ to a stylish suit or a classy native attire.
Just in case you are hearing about this accessory for the first time or don’t know what it is, it is a small decorative pin worn on the lapel of a jacket.
More often than not, it is employed as a fashion tool which you can use to spruce up your outfit, adding extra details that will elevate the entire look of the outfit. But sometimes, it could indicate the wearer’s affiliation with an organization or cause e.g. a customized lapel pin brooch.
They come in varieties of shapes, sizes, and styles.
When it comes to accessorizing your suit or native attire, the lapel pin ensures your outfit stands out, making you the focus of many compliments.
Overall, wearing one is a great way to elevate your look. It helps you customize your attire to your own personal taste thereby scoring you a high style rating any day at any time.
The Origin of the Lapel Pin
Let’s talk about briefly, the history of Lapel pin and how it came about.
Before the popularity of wearing lapel pins, boutonnières were worn. Its history traces back to 1800 B.C. when the Egyptians began the process of inlaying and enamelling – the process behind making a lapel pin. Although the Egyptians didn’t exactly create this stylish pins, they are known to have created the process.
However, it was the Chinese who designed and manufactured the first lapel pins around 1271 to 1368 AD. The Chinese had improved the techniques, this became very popular in China under the rule of Emperor Zhu Qiyu of the Ming Dynasty. They were also worn by soldiers in battle. This trend started during the Revolutionary War and continued through to World War I.
Enough of the history, let’s get into the details of this lapel pin guide, the different types and rules on how to stylishly wear this vintage accessory.
Lapel Pin Guide: 6 Different Types of Lapel Pins You Should Know
There are different types of lapel pins worn for different occasions, scroll down to learn about them.
#1. Floral Lapel Pin
This artificial equivalent of a flower is considered less formal. They are usually made with linen, cotton, paper, silk, or satin. Floral lapel pin often comes in different beautiful colours and patterns. It adds personality and elegance to your look.
#2. Long-Stem Lapel Pins
They are very popular and are usually made with metallic materials and can come in in gold, copper, silver or black. Some well-known designs include are arrows, geometric shapes, feathers, etc.
#3: Lapel Pin Brooch
This lapel pin usually comes with crown design, embellishment and Chain detail with secure fastener.
#4. Badge
These lapel pins are very small and subtle. Mostly used by organizations, political groups, military, and charity campaigns. They are used to show affiliation to a particular organization or group.
#5. Vintage Lapel Pins
If you’re looking for something flamboyant, the vintage lapel pin is a perfect choice. This is because it has a bit more character.
#6. Boutonnière/Flower
Boutonnières are usually made with real flowers. They are not exactly lapel pins but they are an accessory for the lapel, before lapel pins they were boutonnieres. Plus it has its own usage. You should only wear boutonnieres for specific formal occasions such as weddings (as the celebrant) and others highly formal occasions like a formal dinner, Horse Racing, etc.
3 Tips for How To Wear A Lapel Flower Pin
#1. Do Not Over-accessorize
One important rule of wearing a lapel pin is to Never Over-Accessorize. A pocket square, a tie bar, a collar pin, and a lapel pin is too much at once. If you’re already wearing a pocket square, a tie bar, and a collar pin, you should really avoid adding that lapel pin.
#2. Don’t Wear Boutonnieres To A Non-Formal Event
It is not okay to wear a lapel flower pin or boutonniere with a Native attire or business attire when going to work as that would be overdressing. But for weddings or other formal occasions, yes that’s fine you can wear your tuxedo or formal suit but not your Native wear.
And if you decide you want to be fashion forward with your native attire at work, stick to regular lapel pin with a long stem or lapel pin brooch (nothing too flamboyant).
Avoid boutonnieres and lapel flower pins entirely as they are too audacious and you will probably look too overdressed to your colleagues or senior management.
#3. Never Wear Lapel Pins On The Right Side
It should always be worn on the left-hand side and never on the right. Trust me, you don’t want to make this style blunder and have people look at you weirdly.
How to Wear a Lapel Pin on a Suit or Native Attire
Step 1: The Lapel Pin should be positioned on your left lapel.
Step 2: The lapel pin should be passed through left lapel’s buttonhole (for suits) and if your suit doesn’t have a buttonhole, pierce straight through the left lapel (at a spot in line with above your chest region).
Step 3: For suits, you have two options –
Option 1: Pierce the stem pin through the left side of your lapel (as explained above)- start from the front and fasten the pin in front as well as shown in the picture below
Option 2: You could pierce the lapel pin through the middle of the lapel fabric which is two layers and then one more time to the back. So, you can fasten the pin behind the lapel so the fastener won’t be visible in front of the lapel. It is neater this way. See image below.
For native attires, the “piercing spot” is just above “the pocket area” on the left-hand side. With a native it’s a single layer of clothing, the pin can be passed through the front to the back and back to the front (so the fastener can either be visible in front of the lapel or behind it.) or in the case of a brooch, there is usually a safety pin-like fastener at the back of the brooch, which you can use to secure it properly behind the cloth.
When To Wear A Lapel Pin
You can wear a lapel pin to a formal event, wedding, business occasions or as everyday wear.
- Wear a lapel pin to show your achievement or affiliation to an organization or group for corporate events or meeting. Long stem lapel pin and lapel pin brooch come into play here.
- Choose a subtle lapel pin so you don’t look over-ornamented for a less formal occasion like the office or even an outing with friends. A long-stemmed pin is a perfect choice.
- Wear a boutonnière, a single blossom in white or red for a formal event, weddings and other highly formal occasions (Horse Racing), etc.,
Final Thoughts
If you’re meeting friends at the bar, a date, or a casual business meeting, a lapel pin is a handy accessory you can use to complete your outfit look. And if you decide to dress up in a business casual attire – suit or native attire or any other smart casual look which comprises of Blazers, Sports coat or Suit Jacket.
I hope this guide has schooled you on the proper and stylish way to rock this exquisite accessory.
However, if you still have any questions or comments, please drop them in the comment section below. We would respond to you.
Until Next Time, continue to Do Well, Live Well, and Dress Really Well.
Yours in Style,
Kobi O. Mbagwu (Mr Koachman)
Founder, MrKoachman.com
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