Brooches

One of my hobbies is collecting brooches... mostly vintage or Victorian.  I am learning the dates of the item by how it was constructed.  This is one of my favorite Victorian Mourning Brooches (due to being black) which were popular when women wore mourning clothes for long periods of time.  There were all kinds of regulations, symbols/ motifs, and remembrances like hair from the deceased love one.  Hair keeps.  And in an age where it was hard or expensive to get a photo of a person, keeping hair was the custom to remember someone. I love the history.  I am sure I wouldn't like the rules or the layered outfits, but it's interesting what they did then, and why.  I will share more about my collection as we go.