A lapel pin is a small pin often worn on the lapel of a dress jacket. Lapel pins can be purely ornamental or can indicate the wearer's affiliation with an organization or cause. Before the popularity of wearing lapel pins, boutonnières were worn instead.

Lapel pins are frequently used as symbols of achievement and belonging in different organizations. Fraternities and sororities use lapel pins as the primary symbol for their organizations. Members wear the pins to meetings and special events to show their belonging to the organization. Lapel pins from the organization are often collected by members and non-members alike. Lapel pin http://www.aochiworld.com/

Businesses also use lapel pins to designate achievement and membership. Lapel pins are a common element of employee recognition programs, and they are presented to individuals as a symbol of an accomplishment. Like fraternity and sorority pins, these lapel pins instill a sense of belonging to an elite group of performers at the organization. Businesses also award lapel pins to employees more frequently to boost employee morale, productivity and employee engagement.

Jacket lapels are the folded flaps of cloth on the front of a jacket or coat, and are most commonly found on formal clothing and suit jackets. Usually they are formed by folding over the front edges of the jacket or coat and sewing them to the collar, an extra piece of fabric around the back of the neck, as shown in the image.

There are three basic forms of lapels: notched, peaked and shawl. Notched lapels, the most common, are usually seen on business suits. Peaked lapels are more formal, and nearly always used on double breasted jackets or coats. Shawl lapels are usually carried by dinner jackets.

The notched lapel (American English), step lapel or step collar (British English) is sewn to the collar at an angle, creating a step effect. This is the standard on single breasted suits, and is used on nearly all suit jackets, blazers, and sports jackets. The size of the notch can vary, and a small notch is called fishmouth.

The peaked lapel (American English), double breasted style lapel or pointed lapel (British English), is the most formal, featuring on double-breasted jackets, and is now always worn with all formal coats such as a tailcoat or morning coat, and also commonly with a dinner jacket (both single and double breasted). In the late 1920s and 1930s, the single breasted peaked lapel jacket was considered a very stylish design. The feature was carried into day clothing by the increasing popularity of the peaked dinner jacket. This has gone in and out of vogue periodically, made popular once again during the 1970s by designers such as Armani, and is currently a trending style in the 2010s. The ability to properly cut peak lapels on a single-breasted suit is one of the most challenging tailoring tasks, even for very experienced tailors.

A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. It is usually made of steel, or on occasion copper or brass. It is formed by drawing out a thin wire, sharpening the tip, and adding a head. Nails are related, but are typically larger. In machines and engineering, pins are commonly used as pivots, hinges, shafts, jigs, and fixtures to locate or hold parts.

Curved pins have been used for over four thousand years. Originally, they were fashioned out of iron and bone by the Sumerians and were used to hold clothes together. Later, these pins were also used to hold pages together by threading the needle through their top corner.

Many late pins were made of brass, a hard metal. Steel was used later, as it was much stronger, but there was no easy process to keep steel from rusting, so higher quality pins were plated with nickel, but the metal would start to break down and flake off in high humidity, allowing rust to form. Steel pins were not that inconvenient for homemaking uses as they were usually only used temporarily while sewing garments.

Rafael Edward Cruz, known as Ted Cruz (born December 22, 1970), is the former Solicitor General of the U.S. state of Texas, a position which he held from 2003 to May 2008. Cruz was appointed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. He was the first Hispanic Solicitor General in Texas, the youngest Solicitor General in the United States, and had the longest tenure in the post thus far in Texas history. He is currently a partner at the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he leads the firm’s U.S. Supreme Court and national appellate litigation practice.

Cruz is a candidate for the 2012 Republican nomination for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Cruz previously served as the director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission, an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, and as Domestic Policy Advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush on the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign. In addition, from 2004-2009 Cruz was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he taught U.S. Supreme Court litigation.