History of Lapel Pins

A lapel pin, wait a minute, is a typically worn pin which is most often worn on a coat lapel. They can either be regular badges which indicate someone's affiliation to some sort of organization - like Monty Racing Club, for example - or a long stem pin which can in fact be worn as a Christmas badge. The badges have been used since at least the 17th century and are a symbol of membership in various clubs, organizations, fraternities, and so on. The earliest examples can be found in old English newspapers. In fact, the usage of lapel pins by common people, until recently, was something of a taboo.

Lapel pins have actually become quite an accepted tool now, although there are still those who regard them as being somewhat of a fad, especially for sports. A pin badge has two sides - usually the left hand side and the right hand side - and it is normally worn on the inside pocket of the blouse or shirt. The pins have varying thicknesses depending on what the event is. For example, for a dog race, the pins are thin and quite sharp, while for a science conference, they are thinner but much wider.

One of the coolest aspects of pin badges (in my opinion) is the creative uses you can put your pin badges to. For example, one year I went to an event wearing a pin badge which had the logo of a local ice cream shop emblazoned on it. I met up with a couple of people from that same ice cream shop and exchanged business cards with them. I was even asked by one of the shop clerks if I would like to place an order. It seems that the local small businesses in my area really do appreciate the support they are getting from such a unlikely source and use the pin badges in a variety of creative ways.