Tips for Selling Brooches to Men from San Francisco’s Lang Antiques

The curtain’s fallen on Hollywood’s awards season, and it’s a wrap on fashion’s Fall runways shows and events. Which means we’re already dozens of red carpets into 2023, and one thing is clear: brooches are the jewel du jour for men.

And it’s not just celebrity guys donning brooches. We’d venture to say there wasn’t a male attendee at the GEM Awards in New York city this past weekend who wasn’t wearing a brooch (or at minimum a stick pin) on his suit lapel. Granted it was an industry party, but the look was so utterly ubiquitous, there might have been a “brooches required” note on the event’s invitation.

All that said, in certain corners of the country, brooches for boys still may not be an easy sell. Which is why when we heard that retailer San Francisco-based Lang Antique & Estate Jewelry’s been enjoying a major uptick in brooch sales for men, we asked the shop for it’s best tips for selling guys on pins and brooches. Here’s what store marketing director Nicole Corsini had to say:

The Zing Report: Why do think the brooch is becoming more popular with men?

Women have had the pleasure of adorning themselves in jewelry for years, whether it’s a beautiful brooch worn in their hair for their wedding day or one placed on the back of a dress for a special occasion. Celebrity men have now embraced brooches because it offers them a unique way to liven up a traditional tuxedo on the red carpet. Depending on the style they choose, it can be cutting edge to reflect their creative personality or be something worn by men 100 years ago as a sign of heritage or lineage.

As we all know, once celebrities embrace something, the rest of us start to pay close attention and it creates awareness and desire. And the diversity of men wearing brooches on the red carpet for all the big award shows is evidence that this trend is here to stay.

What kind of an uptick have you seen in searches and sales of brooches this last year?

Over this last year, Lang Antiques has sold twice as many brooches as we did five years ago and our search impressions—as well as unique users—have almost doubled!

What advice do you have for those selling lapel pins and brooches to men?

Encourage them to try something new. They might think a brooch is not for them but could feel differently once they try the right one on. There are so many sizes and styles of brooches, there’s bound to be one that suits them.

Also, show them the different ways that they can be worn—on less formal jackets, hats, and scarves, too. Suggest that they could even have a signature brooch!

Top: Brooches from Lang, clockwise from top left: Vintage pansy with cultured pearl brooch by Larter, $1,475; Mid-Century Diamond Knot brooch, $4,950; Art Deco/Retro diamond Bow brooch, $5,750; Edwardian Demantoid Garnet, natural pearl, and diamond brooch, $4,250