Under one Roof
I enjoy wearing a lapel pin when the situation or event I’m attending, permits the ability for a bit of a personal touch in what I am wearing. My views on when it is and is not appropriate to wear a lapel pin on a jacket are somewhat old school, and I associate them more with more casual affairs than black tie. In my honest opinion, a lapel pin should never poke through a satin lapel, or appear on a suit when all are to be dressed in a similar fashion. What I do love about these small notions that poke through the fabric of a rather boring jacket on its own, is their ability to say so much without saying a word.
When greeting people, I tend to take the time to see if they are wearing a pin and if so, what does it represent. Is it an affiliation within an organization they belong to, a cause they believe in, an honour that has been bestowed on them, or is it just a quirky item they decided to wear? In many cases, especially if I am not familiar with them personally, it also gives me something to ask about in conversation. As a rule, if they are wearing it, then they probably want to talk about it!
That said, I have several lapel pins which I circulate through depending on where I am going, what the agenda of the event is or a particular affiliation which I want to showcase without saying anything about it. This particular lapel pin was a gift this year from my parents, and it is steeped in Canadian History.
This pin is called Under one Roof and is crafted from the original copper roofing of the Canadian Parliament Buildings which covered the roof from 1918 to 1996. A symbol of how proud I am to be a Canadian, and our nation’s most recognized symbol, but crafted from a small amount of structure that is our seat of government is truly amazing. Additionally, these pins were crafted with the participation of persons with developmental disabilities, and the proceeds of their sale directly benefit the developmentally disabled. Alone on any jacket, I feel like it cast its own great statement of who I am and what my beliefs are in this world. Next time you see someone with a lapel pin on, take a moment to look at it, they won’t mind, and while you are admiring it, why not ask them about it? You may just learn something about your friend that you never knew before.
