Beautiful and costly bow brooches such as this, were worn in pairs by women who could afford them. The fashion of wearing them changed over time. From the evidence of burials we know that the brooches were first used to fix a dress with one brooch on each shoulder. Later on, the brooches were worn at waist or thigh level when they were worn either on a decorative band suspended from a belt or perhaps were used to fasten a wrap-around skirt or dress. Bow brooches are named after the arch or bow in their middle and were fastened with a pin and catch on their back, similar to a safety-pin mechanism.