Ideas for custom lapel pins

Sometimes a plain jacket needs brightening-up. Here are some creative ideas for custom-made lapel pins.

Ideas for lapel pins

If you want to emblazon your lapel with pretty pins, the first thing you need to do is get hold of plenty of cheap lapel pins. Some traders on eBay stock lapel pins wholesale, so you can pick up a job lot and make your own.
Make your own label pins
Raid your local haberdashery or department store to find pretty knickknacks to customise cheap lapel pins. Tie pins can also be pinned onto your lapel, or customised, as can hair accessories.

Customising your lapel pins

With careful use of a glue gun, or superglue you can attach all manner of things to trading pins.Use wire to attach artificial flowers to plain lapel pin badges, to make your own corsages. A bow, attached to a large safety pin can also make a pretty lapel pin. Pretty beads or jewels glued onto lapel pins or tie pins can look expensive, but cost next-to-nothing to make yourself. Label pins to be gifted
If you really get the creative bug, you could produce lapel pins as gifts to give to all your friends. You could even make some extra cash selling your handmade accessories at craft fairs or on sites like Etsy.com.

Vintage badges and pins

Cloisonné pins
If you're not feeling creative, never fear. You can get hold of really great badges for very little if you look to the second hand market. Cloisonné pins are really on-trend right now. These can be expensive as original cloisonné pieces are very collectible, but inexpensive lapel pins of this style can be found on Ebay.com. Military pins
Old military lapel pins can also be purchased for very little on sites such as
Ebay.com, or picked up at second hand fairs and flea-markets. These look cool when pinned onto a cropped blazer and striped t-shirt, to channel the military look. Vintage badges
You can pick up vintage Scout badges, pins and sports flashes which can be attached to your lapel for a cool preppy look. Flag lapel pins look great, and can be added to a navy blazer to create that sea-faring nautical look. Commercial pins
If you want to channel the rock-chick look, some bands produce advertising badge pins which you can buy for pennies at car boot sales. These attached to your bag as well as your clothes for added impact. Final word
There are lots of easy ways that you can make or buy interesting lapel pins to update your look: all it takes is a little imagination.