Has the Enamel Pins Trend Run Its Course?
The image of enamel pins being a recent trend is not the full picture. Today’s pin popularity dates back to the ‘80s and ‘90s collectibles.
But their true history is one you might not expect when we look at the fun collections of today. Enamel pins have a long history of affiliation to causes, clubs, or political statements, as jewelry, to indicate a place in society, and as status symbols.
More recently, pins were items for children as fan club collectibles. Pins came inside toy packaging, or even in cereal boxes, as an enticement to get kids to demand certain brands. These pins were sometimes pin back buttons, but enamel pins with their more special, handcrafted, look have always ruled over collectors and have stood the test of time.
Those kids now have families of their own. And in the new millennium, there’s a return to nostalgia and an appreciation for all things retro. Collecting small, portable items like pins, patches, stickers or wristbands is something special to children and adults alike.
Affordable Way to Mark an Event
Pins are an easy, affordable way to mark an event or give a small gift to a friend or customer. Enamel pins are also great to pack in your suitcase: they make lightweight souvenirs to take home.
Custom pins are endlessly versatile, and so, quite popular. They can be worn in different ways, as a collection or a statement piece and even framed like artwork.
Enamel pins can be added to a collection on a theme. In the last few years, shiny enamel pins, with their many different possibilities, their colorful designs and their niche potential, have firmly come back in style. Pins stand for millennial pride, with people of all ages embracing the fun trend in 2020.
How Did It Enamel Pins Get Their Start?
For centuries these pins were used to mark your affiliation to a certain part of society: as lucky charms, for protection, with religious significance, as a badge for sports fans, or military rank.
For the traditional enamel pin wearer, there was only one way to wear a pin: on the left lapel, placed above a pocket square. This is the style favored by those in politics. But times have changed.
It may surprise you to know that the materials for lapel pins were called cloisonné. They were made in a special process dating back to the 13th century. They were seen in the Byzantine empire and during the Yuan Dynasty in China.
The technique has been used through history in jewelry design, decorative houseware, and fine art pieces. Fine, treasured, boxes, had intricate designs, just as your own special collection of custom pins might, today.
Image Source: https://burst.shopify.com/photos/cute-fashion-accessory-on-jean-jacket?c=enamel-pins
What Is Unique About Pins? What Do I Need to Know About Enameling?
These pins are tiny to small, but feature almost any design, many colors, and endless possibilities for customization. You can find unusual, offbeat artwork, branded logos, famous people’s portraits, or comic-style designs. Enamel pins are a way to show your unique personality or represent the things you love and enjoy.
Enamel pins can be designed using popular tools like Photoshop or Illustrator. Another option is to hire a designer from online freelance marketplaces. While the images are pretty limitless, small text or overly fine details don’t work well. A manufacturer then casts each new pin design.
There are two different styles of enamel pins: soft and hard enamel. Soft is a popular choice and a beginner’s favorite. Generally, it offers more and richer color options, and more texture. These pins tend to be less durable than hard enamel pins.
Hard enamel is generally both more durable and more expensive than soft enamel and comes with fewer color options. These pins have a more subdued, less vivid cast. They are coated with clear resin creating a smooth surface and durability.
The Importance of Collecting Today, And for the Future
What’s great about enamel pins is that they have no actual purpose. They are simply fun fashion for fun fashion’s sake, or a personal statement. They aren’t functional, they don’t hold something in place.
There’s a historical link from enamel pins to boutonnieres, and to brooches. With brooches, enameling separated these pins from other brooches seen in the wardrobes of every “good woman”. But what’s great about enamel pins is that they are simply decoration. And decoration has always been an exciting element of fashion.
As fashion has grown more casual, denim and backpacks have replaced the LBD (Little Black Dress) or the “IT” bag collected by those people concerned with status. For millions of kids and adults around the world, casual dressing in jeans and T shirts is the new status. It’s a cool, universal uniform that is not buttoned down or formal.
You can invent your own statement and your own status as easily as a social media update, and as inexpensively as a small enamel pin.
You can wear enamel pins on any material and spot you want to display them. For example: you can pin one to your belt holes, in a contrasting color from the belt.
This becomes highly visible with a cropped top. The common style of today’s enamel pin wearer is to collect pins on the dream backdrop that is a denim jacket.
Here, you can mix and match pins, covering a pocket, the upper back, or one side of your jacket. As a denim jacket is your go-to piece in cooler months, you have a chance to display your growing collection every time you step out the door.
Or, for the same reason, pin your collection of enamel to your backpack. As backpacks are usually in a single color, your pins will stand out from the backdrop of the backpack.
Image Source: https://burst.shopify.com/photos/boom-bomb-enamel-pin-on-denim?c=enamel-pins
Conclusion
Enamel pins are like the funny T shirt for everyone tired of funny T shirts. They are an easy and fun way to share your opinions, your favorite TV shows, memes and pop culture references. Whether you choose emojis, famous figures, or quotes, you can enjoy fossilized shiny enamel pins.
These custom pins are enjoyable for anyone for a fresh millennial statement piece or personal style. These pins are here to stay.
Leave your comment about the best way to wear enamel pins or share your collection with us!