There are two things I must wear during the festive season: kitschy hair fascinators and Christmas brooches / corsages (stay till the end for a photo). They bring me so much joy! Plus, they’re not just for women—men can rock them too. I recently saw a holiday movie where the male lead wore a gingerbread brooch, and I absolutely loved it!
In today’s post, we’ll dive into a brief history of these festive accessories, explore some charming vintage photos (1950s & 1960s), and highlight real-life vintage examples you can buy right now to add a little extra magic to your season.
Enjoy!
Source: Etsy-Antiqueswithmore
Source: Alamy
Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Brief History of the Christmas Brooch & Christmas Corsage
Victorians wore special brooches at Christmastime, often made of high-karat gold and precious jewels.
Christmas corsages became fashionable in the 1940’s. The term corsage means “bodice of a dress”. According to a corsage making manual from the 1920’s, “a corsage does not just indicate an occasion, it also gives an air of importance”. For the well-to-do, a true corsage was always made from real flowers, like roses, violets, orchids and other organic decorations like ferns and feathers
The more frugal minded, creative women created their own, or purchased a less expensive versions, of holiday corsages. These often-contained items made of plastic leaves, paper flowers, bells, snowmen, Santa faces, reindeer, angels, bits of ribbon and cord. and anything else, that was a reminder of the season (Source).
According to Antiques on Queen:
Christmas pins developed from the Christmas corsage. It was during the 1940s that the first Christmas brooches began to be mass-produced in America (but they existed before this time). This again was an era of industrialization, and many of the well-known costume jewellery designers originated during this period, and proliferated throughout the course of the 20th century. Christmas in America took a more secular turn, and designers now had a wealth of iconography from which to choose. You will find brooches in the shape of snowflakes, angels, reindeer, sleighs, bells, stockings, Santa hats, presents, candles and wreaths etc., etc. The most popular being the Christmas tree (of course!).
Source: Etsy-VintageVirtueResale
Source: Alamy
Vintage Photos of People Wearing Christmas Corsages & Brooches
(Note: Mostly corsages, I was having a hard time find actual photos of women wearing those kitschy pins..but they did!)
1960s vintage photo of a woman with a gigantic Christmas corsage posing beside her fantastic Aluminum Christmas Tree.
Further Reading: Aluminum Christmas Trees-Vintage Christmas Decor Fun!
Finally found what looks like Christmas Star brooches on our incredibly stylish women (Carolyn and Dency with Friend), in this 1950s photo. Those 50’s dresses! Drool!
Further Reading: Vintage Photos of Vintage Black Style
Source: Flickr
City Light Christmas party, 1954 featuring 5 stylish women with matching Christmas Corsages posing for a group photo.
Further Reading: Vintage Photos: Christmas Parties
Crew Cut & a large flower Christmas Corsage. 1960s vintage photo.
1960s photo of two lovely ladies with big smiles (and a Christmas corsage) posing in front of their tinsel filled Christmas Tree.
Source: eBay
Boutonniere & a large festive corsage at the Christmas Party.
Source: eBay
Time for a Christmas song at the holiday party! 1950s vintage photo.
Source: Reddit
The brooches / corsages do NOT have to be worn in the traditional places. I have worn my on a beret, on a jacket, at the middle point of a blouse or dress like Rosemary Clooney in White Christmas. Get creative and have fun!
Fun Vintage Examples For Sale (at time of posting)
Use search terms like: Vintage Christmas Corsage, Vintage Christmas Brooch (or pin), 1950s Christmas Brooch (insert era).
NOTE: If you click on any of the items featured on Etsy , eBay below and they are not available, don’t fret! Hit the search button and see what else is on the websites. There are 1000’s and 1000’s of items being listed daily.
1930s / 1940s vintage Santa w/ 3 foil rosettes and ribbon.
Source: Etsy-PrettyNiceVintage
Collection of 1950s / 1960s Poinsettia brooches / pins.
Source: Etsy- CosmicFirefly
1950s Vintage Christmas Corsage-Poinsettia and Bells (original packaging included-first image in post.
Source: Etsy-Antiqueswithmore
1950s LJM (Laurentian Jewellery Manufacturing) gold tone Christmas wreath pin.
About LJM: Based in Montreal, Laurentian Jewellery Manufacturing has delighted fans and collectors with luxurious vintage jewelry from 1952 to the present day (Source).
Source: Etsy-GenevieveMarybyRuby
1940s / 1950s Christmas Corsages with Bells, presents, poinsettias and bows.
Source: Etsy-ninazhere
1950s rhinestone & enamel candy cane Christmas brooch.
Source: Etsy-LeBelVintageJewelry
Step outside of the regular red & green and wear some shades of pink this season as seen in this 1950s pink bells and ribbon corsage.
Source: Etsy-Appleblossomflowers
1950s brooch featuring an unusual white chenille poinsettia flower with a red foil center and purple mercury glass bead & a red foil leaf at the back.
Source: Etsy-PrettyNiceVintage
I will end this post with a recent photo from this Christmas Season of yours truly wearing a vintage poinsettia Christmas brooch (circa 1980s) and hair fascinators made by me! Living my best White Christmas life.
Question Time! Are you a fan of the Christmas brooch/pin or corsage? Or is it pass for you? Share any thoughts on this topic in the comments section below.
Thanks for dropping by & Merry Christmas!
Further Reading: Vintage Christmas 1920s-1960s Blog Posts (archived).
Liz
Thank you for sharing. As always your post are informative and a slice of vintage heaven.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate hearing that 🙂
Liz