Read My Pins

[Kindle]

In jewelry, I have always liked pins, despite the fact that pins have never really been the big fashion draw that necklaces and bracelets have been.

From little on, my mother always gifted me with a pin for Easter. It became a tradition.

Since I liked, owned and wore so many pins, others noticed and they also gifted me with them.

Just this week numerous shows and articles have talked about Madeline Albright and her pins. Her book about them is just out and her pins are being displayed for view.

What signature items do you wear?

The following Amazon review tells more about this book:

New from New York Times bestselling author and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, Read My Pins is a story and celebration of how one woman’s jewelry collection was used to make diplomatic history. Exploring the use of the pin or brooch as a means of personal and diplomatic expression and featuring a gallery of fascinating photographs, this unique, intimate, and revealing biography offers a whole new side of Secretary Albright, one of our most beloved public servants.


Book Description

Before long, and without intending it, I found that jewelry had become part of my personal diplomatic arsenal. Former president George H. W. Bush had been known for saying "Read my lips." I began urging colleagues and reporters to "Read my pins."

It would never have happened if not for Saddam Hussein. When U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright criticized the dictator, his poet in residence responded by calling her "an unparalleled serpent." Shortly thereafter, while preparing to meet with Iraqi officials, Albright pondered: What to wear? She decided to make a diplomatic statement by choosing a snake pin. Although her method of communication was new, her message was as old as the American Revolution—Don't Tread on Me.

From that day forward, pins became part of Albright's diplomatic signature. International leaders were pleased to see her with a shimmering sun on her jacket or a cheerful ladybug; less so with a crab or a menacing wasp. Albright used pins to emphasize the importance of a negotiation, signify high hopes, protest the absence of progress, and show pride in representing America, among other purposes.

Part illustrated memoir, part social history, Read My Pins provides an intimate look at Albright's life through the brooches she wore. Her collection is both international and democratic—dime-store pins share pride of place with designer creations and family heirlooms. Included are the antique eagle purchased to celebrate Albright's appointment as secretary of state, the zebra pin she wore when meeting Nelson Mandela, and the Valentine's Day heart forged by Albright's five-year-old daughter. Read My Pins features more than 200 photographs, along with compelling and often humorous stories about jewelry, global politics, and the life of one of America's most accomplished and fascinating diplomats.

[oscar]

Interesting thread Kindle.

When my husbands mother died, she left a huge amount of costume jewellrey. It was absolutely fascinating as It was like a journey through the decades. It started with 19th century brooches and earrings that had a screw to keep them in place. You could see how fashions changed over the decades from her matching brooches and earrings. They ranged from hideous plastic flower one's from the 60's and even fur one's ( yuk) to the more spohisticated of the 90's. In amongst them ( I will photograph them for you and post them) was a brooch and earring set that were minute rosebuds but they had been hand crocheted in the 20's. I sometimes look at these brooches ( Pins) and Imagine her In the East end of London during the war strutting her stuff wearing her pins. As she got old, It was unthinkable for her to leave the house without her matching earrings and pins.