Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Good Thing She Never Wore The Mushroom: Madeleine Albright's Brooch Diplomacy


There's a great piece in the Daily Beast today about former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who liked to wear brooches that signalled the mood of the US toward the country of an envoy she was meeting.

Hornets, spiders, snakes: the possibilities of indicating displeasure are endless.

And what if you wanted to send the opposite sort of signal to a gentleman you wished to treat with?

I happen to love the mixed message in this vintage bacchante brooch, up for sale on eBay. She looks very primly Victorian, but those grape leaves wound in her hair tell another tale indeed.

What sort of brooch would you be wearing today?

2 comments:

  1. I love the Bacchante brooches of the 19th Century. Beladora.com has a great cameo that has wheat instead of grape clusters and vines.
    Perfect for a G-20 meeting about food policy and trade.

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