The brooch has fallen into disuse. Once a signature of precise, well-planned grooming, in the decades after its heyday, it came increasingly to be seen as too fussy to be modern. The time is ripe for its resurrection.

The unerringly stylish diva also known as Nelly recently demonstrated how to reinterpret this historic accessory. At a family holiday party, she turned out in a black dress with a grey shawl and ivory-colored magnolia brooch. Gorgeous! The trick, I think, was that the brooch wasn’t constructed from a traditional, metallic material. This change, together with the contrast of the white brooch on her black dress, made the brooch fresh. And, as a party accessory, the corsage referenced by a floral brooch was perfectly on key. With the effortlessly elegant neutral color palette as a backdrop, the brooch was reborn as a witty, modern accoutrement.