Rising · Jewelry · Fall 2026 · Mrs Accessories analysis by Maggi Ferguson

The brooch is the season’s surprise

Named the standout jewellery item of Fall 2026. Also the one hiding in your mother’s drawer.

Of everything in this month's research, the brooch is the least expected and the most useful. Unexpected because it has spent thirty years as shorthand for something your grandmother wore to church. Useful because it is the only accessory category where the secondhand market is deep, cheap and better than the new one.

A brooch does something no other piece of jewellery does: it changes a garment rather than decorating a person. Pinned high on a coat lapel it restructures the whole shoulder line. At the point of a V-neck it closes the neckline. Holding a scarf, it replaces a knot. On a plain blazer pocket it turns a work jacket into an evening one. None of that is available from a necklace.

Placement is the entire skill and there are only two rules. High, and off centre. A brooch at chest height in the middle of the body is a name badge; the same brooch on the lapel above the bustline is jewellery. If you are unsure, put it higher than feels right.

The one caution is fabric. A heavy brooch on fine knit will pull a permanent hole, and the pin backs on inexpensive pieces are blunt enough to snag. Wear the heavy ones on coats, denim, tweed and structured jackets, and keep the light ones for anything you would be sad to damage. A small square of felt behind the fabric spreads the load if you want to risk something finer.

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