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Horse Brooch
by daisylee3
I bought this from ASOS around 3 months ago now back when I was in mega indie mode and wanted every outfit to look vintage. As far as I am aware only ASOS sell this particular brooch although similar brooches can be bought from pretty much any up to date clothes shop (Primark, Topshop, New Look etc). The brooch caught my eye straight ... away because it's so unusual looking, and despite the hefty price tag of £10, I decided to buy it after telling myself i'd wear it everyday and get my money's worth. It is quite 'Topshop' looking on the ASOS picture, and although £10 is expensive for a brooch you'd pay much more for a similar one in Topshop. The horse brooch is really pretty in the picture on the ASOS website, although in real life it is rather odd looking. The colour isn't gold as ASOS describe it, it's more a bronze shade of dark brown, which I don't like at all as I was expecting it to be nice and shiny and bright, but instead it is quite depressing and looks wooden (yes I like vintage clothing but wooden brooches is a step too far).
The brooch is 100% metal but it's not very 'solid', it feels quite flimsy and lightweight. The design is simple, it's a horse head (side view). The horse is wearing a bridle and there is nice detail of the ears, eyes, mein, and there's fur/hair detailing. The texture is smooth apart from where the ears and mein are. The detailing is really pretty and accurate if you're looking closely at the brooch but from a distance it looks like a large chunk of wood stuck onto my top which is not a good look (in my opinion anyway). Also, the brooch in my opinion is quite manly.. i'm not sure why, but it's not as delicate as it looks in the picture, it's more of a scary looking horse than a cute one, but again this is my personal opinion. The back of the brooch is hollow with the pin held in place with a thin piece of metal and you just unclip it and clip it onto clothing. The pin is really sharp and I stabbed myself with it by mistake but i'm extremely clumsy! It's easy to clip onto clothing and the pin isn't flimsy.
I have only worn this brooch once, and that was just a trip into town. The brooch is quite large (i'd estimate it's around 3 inches in height) and I felt really uncomfortable as I just don't think that it's a very pretty brooch and in the end I took it off. I didn't notice a huge amount of people looking at it or anything, but because I knew it was quite noticeable and I didn't like it I felt self concious. The brooch can also be clipped onto bags, although as I don't like it, the brooch is currently sat in one of my draws unused it is not nice enough to wear it or be seen in public with it as it's just not delicate or pretty enough. It's a shame that the brooch isn't lighter in colour as that would allow the detailing to be clearer but nevermind. The brooch is currently on sale reduced from £10 to £2. I wonder why!? Overall not reccomended.
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Past Times Sterling Silver & Garnet Penguin Brooch
by AbsintheFairy
I absolutely love penguins, I think they're brilliant and I have a number of penguin-related items: some penguin pyjamas, a penguin hot water bottle, and a lovely penguin picture to be framed that my auntie got me. I also love the shop Past Times, which specialises in selling jewellery, gifts and books inspired by bygone days, and when I ... saw that they had a penguin brooch for sale, I was extremely excited and asked my parents if I could have it for my birthday a couple of years ago.
This little penguin is made from sterling silver, with marcasite stones and a little garnet for an eye. The brooch is part of the Victorian range at Past Times. The shop sells jewellery from many different eras such as Celtic, Tudor and Art Deco to reflect the fashions of the times. The Victorian era is characterised by animal motifs inspired by nature, as well as the use of marcasite, popular at the time as it was cheaper than precious stones and thus made jewellery available to more people. Personally I love the silver and marcasite combination, as I think it gives a lovely old-fashioned and vintage look, and I love the Victorian era. The garnet adds colour and character to the brooch.
The picture Dooyoo have provided is basically an exact representation. It is quite a small and delicate little brooch, being 3cm in height and width (although it looks taller than it is wide seeing as the width measurement includes the little silver wings). The clasp on the reverse can be slightly fiddly, as it is so small, but it does fasten securely. I was a little worried at first as some brooches can be slightly loose and you run the risk of them falling off, but this hasn't happened with this one.
I love this brooch and often wear it on my top or cardigan. Being so small and delicate it doesn't weigh clothes down and doesn't make a huge hole in your top. It still looks as good as the day I first got it and hasn't needed cleaning. I've had several compliments and comments about the brooch and it's one of my favourite pieces of jewellery.
The brooch can be purchased from Past Times stores or online at www.pasttimes.com. It is currently priced at £24, reduced from the usual price of £30. The brooch comes in a Past Times presentation box. There are other brooches available, including animal brooches - one has two cats and there is a mouse brooch very similar to my penguin brooch, if I remember rightly. At the time of writing the website is offering free delivery when you spend over £20 so if you wanted to buy the brooch you can have it delivered for free.
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Past Times Enamel & Crystal Ladybirds Brooch
by xxfoxyredxx
When it comes to brooches they're not something that I tend to go out of my way to buy however I'm into collecting all things ladybird so when I saw this cute item I was like a lamb to the slaughter and treated myself to it quick!
Past Times is a favourite shop of mine for unique and good quality items and I certainly hadn't ... seen anything like this before!
The stores and the online store have had a 25% of everything sale going on for a while now which actually ends tonight (Monday 22nd November) and this sale has meant that this brooch has been selling at £7.50 a time instead of £10.00 (please note though this is sold out online at the moment though).
The Brooch Itself:
This measures (cm) 1.5h x 2.5w and is made from tough enamel. You get two ladybirds sitting side by side and one has a gold and black body with a red face, 6 bright red, round crystal spots and two green crystal eyes and 5 little gold legs. The ladybird next to it is has a bright red body with a touch of gold and 6 clear, sparkling crystals, a black head with again 2 dark green crystal eyes and 5 visible legs. The whole lot is incredibly well crafted, shiny and the crystals are sparkly and well set in and whats more is that they are smoothly set so they don't catch on clothes at all.
This has a gold safety clasp the underside of it that goes across both ladybirds and that is simply a long thin part that you attach to where you want it and it tucks under a clasp and you twist that round to ensure it doesn't fall off and that is really, really secure.
This is a lightweight piece but ever so pretty. Wipe over to keep it clean it and thats it, thats the ladybird brooch from Past Times!
Pretty, good quality and very unique if your interested run to the shop today and grab one before they cost £2.50 more tomorrow!
Only available in Past Times.
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