I was going through my jewelry box the other day and examined my ever-growing collection of lapel pins. It amazes me that over the course of 20 years I have amassed such a large amount. It got me to thinking about proper etiquette for the wearing of pins at Lodge functions. Over the years I have seen various Brothers wearing various numbers of pins. Some Masonic, some not. It got me to thinking. "How much is too much?"
While I will say for the record that it is the individual Brother's right to wear as many or as little pins (or none at all) as he wishes, I think that once one exceeds a certain amount, it borders on gaudy.
Most information I have found on the subject of wearing a lapel pin directs that the pin(s) should go on the left lapel, through the buttonhole. They may be worn on the lapel, but that they should be removed to avoid damaging the material on the jacket. I would agree with this philosophy. But how much is too much?
I would suggest that one, perhaps two should be the limit. I personally wear a Past
DDGM pin and usually one pin of the organization that I am attending. I think that it was
MWBro. Edward
Trosin,
PGM of New York who set me on that path. His directive to his Grand Lodge officers was that they may wear whatever pin they wished on their Grand Lodge uniform jacket, but only one. To me, that presented a clean look.
Every year at Grand Lodge I run into several Brothers who look like General Patton. They have every lapel pin of every organization (Masonic or not) on both lapels. To me, they look like a huge walking billboard. Why is that necessary?
So what do you think Brothers? "Spartan Conservative" or "General Patton?"
How much is too much?
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