As a child

The first pin I remember  (I was perhaps 3 years old) was on my mother's green wool coat.  It was a knitted pair of tiny mittens, and they dangled cutely.  I liked the idea of having jewelry for clothes as well as for bodies.

The first pin I bought was at age 7 for my mother.  I can't remember where I found it, but it cost ten cents, which was precisely how much money I had.  There was only one at that price.  It was literally in the shape of a window in a house, with a potted violet on the sill.  The pin seemed to be made of stainless steel of some sort, and the flower was plastic.  I slapped down my dime and proudly wrapped it up.  My mother looked at the pin, and made some kind of noise, but was rather less excited about it than I had hoped.  I never saw her wear it, but once I put it on one of her coats as a service to her.

I'm sure the pin was truly hideous, but it was made in the era of chrome and formica "dinette sets" and Melmac dinnerware in assorted colors.  The height of American kitsch. I wish I had it now.