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My first introduction to a pin was probably the ubiquitous diaper pin, a necessity in the 1940’s for securing a cloth diaper in place on infants and roaming toddlers. I don’t remember mine, but my little brother’s diaper pins had powder blue plastic tops.

The diaper pin was accidentally invented in 1849 by Walter Hunt. Apparently owing an acquaintance $15 dollars (which in 1849 was an enormous sum of money), Hunt was being chased down by collectors.

Spotting a piece of wire, Hunt began nervously twisting it into various shapes before realizing he had created a shape that could easily be clasped shut. Hunt then saw a quick fix to his immediate dilemma. After patenting his invention, he then sold it W.R. Grace and Company for the relatively enormous sum of $400. His debt was wiped away and he had some money left over.

Grace and Company went on to make millions from Hunt's invention.

That was not the first and last time a pin wielded such power. Women in the 1950’s adorned their outfits with brooches and pins routinely – often signifying their financial status in society by the value of the stones and their settings.

As a little girl, raptly observing my maternal grandmother as she would routinely assemble her outfits for a party or luncheon, I was led to believe that no female ensemble was complete without an ornament fastened on a collar, shoulder area or lapel.

My mother didn’t don jewelry to telegraph non-verbal cues. She had another very effective way to let my father know when he was in the dog house or in her good graces.

If he had fallen from grace, around 5pm in the afternoon she’d pin a cardboard green half moon onto our front door - signifying she was in a foul mood.

All my neighborhood buddies begged me for an explanation of her action, but I never did learn the significance behind the moon and its color. It was a story my parents took to their graves. And google, years later, failed to answer.

Diapers requiring pins are long gone – as is my grandmother, mom, dad and the cardboard green moon.

However, many of my grandmother’s eye-catching pins and brooches rest undisturbed in my jewelry drawer (pictured above).

In March, I was sad to hear that Madeleine Albright had passed away. The first female Secretary of State was one of my heroines and I was delighted to learn how she used her feminine accoutrements as a tool of political persuasion. Her bold and decisive jewelry choices, reflecting her views and mood, delivered a powerful punch.

Albright underscored this point in an interview in the Smithsonian Magazine with Megan Gambino in June 2010: “After we found that the Russians had planted a listening device—a ‘bug’—into a conference room near my office in the State Department, the next time I saw the Russians, I wore this huge bug. They got the message.”

If you're interested in finding out more of how Albright utilized her jeweled ornaments as icebreakers, subtle messengers and non-verbal openers, this Smithsonian magazine article provides more details.

I have ordered her book, Read My Pins: Stories From a Diplomat’s Jewel Box and plan on studying her strategies.

In the meantime, I am actively taking inventory of my stash of pins and brooches and categorizing them:

Cameos / feeling nostalgic
Flowers / feeling lighthearted and hopeful
Hearts / feeling flirty
Circle pin / honoring life’s various stages

I’m still trying to find one to signify “Tread lightly, I’m in a bad mood.” Maybe for my 75th birthday, I’ll ask my husband to go to our local jeweler and design a pin sporting a green half moon. It could prove vastly useful.

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About the Author;

Iris Ruth Pastor has published more than 800 columns on everything from bad hair days and unruly children to reinvention after the nest empties in newspapers and magazines. She is an author and her most recent book, The Secret Life of the Weight-Obsessed Woman deals with her personal journey of overcoming addiction - specifically an eating disorder. She has been featured on NBC News, CBS News, Fox News, and many others. You can find out more about Iris on her website.

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