Posted Jul 24, 2026
Wondering where to put pins on a suit, backpack, or jacket so they look intentional rather than random? Whether you’re arranging pins that celebrate your devotion to a sports team or accessorizing your backpack with your favorite icons, good organization is key.
The difference between polished and cluttered comes down to strategic placement and thoughtful choices about spacing, quantity, and style. Learn how to wear multiple lapel pins neatly with this guide.
The traditional placement of lapel pins on a suit jacket or blazer is on the left lapel to keep the pins visible during handshakes. Place your most important pin about one inch from the lapel edge, just below your collarbone.
Some military organizations prefer to wear pins on the right lapel, in accordance with specific uniform codes. If you’re wearing two lapel pins, place the second pin beside the first, maintaining a small gap between them. For three or more pins, arrange them in a compact grid.
Casual items offer more flexibility. Cluster pins on the lapel or collar, or create a display down the front panel of denim jackets. For backpacks and tote bags, group pins on straps or along the front panel. On hats, beanies, and baseball caps, display small pin collections on the brim or crown. You can also feature coordinated pins on sneaker laces.
Displaying two to four pins at a time maintains visual clarity and prevents overcrowding. Each pin carries meaning, and displaying too many at once can dilute their individual impact. Two pins work well for professional settings, three pins allow for variety, and four pins reach the upper limit for most formal arrangements.
If you have a larger collection, rotate your pins based on the occasion. Wear corporate pins for work events, trading pins for sports tournaments, or awareness ribbon pins when supporting a cause.
Group pins that share the same plating, whether all gold, silver, copper, or black nickel, to create a unified look even when designs vary. You can also coordinate pins with complementary color palettes for a polished appearance.
Thematic groupings also work well, such as all event pins from the same conference, all years-of-service pins from your company, or all pins supporting related causes. You can also match the metal or color of your lapel pins to your outfit, necklace, earrings, watch, belt buckle, cuff links, or rings.
Structured fabrics provide the best foundation for multiple pins because they support weight without sagging or puckering. When displaying three or more pins, stick to suit jackets, blazers, and sport coats that can support them throughout the day.
For casual wear, denim jackets and canvas backpacks offer enough structure to accommodate multiple pins securely. Test your fabric by attaching one pin first to ensure it stays in place before adding more, and use quality pin-backs to protect the fabric from pin punctures and prevent pins from rotating or sliding.
Choose from our pin types to create a coordinated collection that works together and meets your visual need:
PinMaxx makes creating custom lapel pins stress-free with transparent pricing and no hidden fees. You’ll receive free artwork and unlimited revisions until your design is perfect. With fast delivery and no account setup required, we focus on getting your pins designed and delivered.
Get a fast and free quote today to start designing your pin collection, and check out the different pin types and volume discounts on large orders.
What is the Proper Way to Wear an American Flag Lapel Pin? When wearing the American Flag as a lapel pin it is customary to wear the pin on the left side of your body and over or near your heart. It should never be worn upside down, backwards or sideways. If you are wearing […]
If you’re looking for a unique, colorful, and low-cost way to boost your business’ brand visibility, announce a new product or service, or broadcast a message of support to partnerships, sponsors, or customers, consider using custom lapel pins. These pins are highly visible since they can be worn or displayed in a variety of ways, […]
We were very excited to receive our pins! Their customer service department was excellent to work with and incredibly helpful as we tweaked our pins to their final design.
Julie Rivera
Had a great experience with PinMaxx making my business’s custom pins. The entire process was so simple, and the customer service I received from Ashley was top notch! Once the design was swiftly approved, they were put into production and arrived at my door so fast. Excellent product, prices, and service. I’d be very happy to work with them again.
Sophia Jerez
PinMaxx not only made the process extremely easy but had such a fast response time. Very happy with everything and the finished product was very well produced. Will be coming back for more in the future!
Eric Hulsey
Great turnaround and great quality. Very easy to work with! I will order again in the future.
Courtney S
Had a great experience with PinMaxx making my business’s custom pins. The entire process was so simple, and the customer service I received from Ashley was top notch! Once the design was swiftly approved, they were put into production and arrived at my door so fast. Excellent product, prices, and service. I’d be very happy to work with them again.
Sophia Jerez
Great experience! Our group had a tight deadline and we asked to adjust our logo slightly for our event… and they nailed it! We had great feedback from other groups regarding our trading pins, which were a hit. If we ever have to create pins again, we won’t look anywhere else. Our rep Ashley was great.
Kyle Page
PinMaxx was incredibly responsive, patient and supportive in ensuring that we got our lapel pin "just right" and in the look and style that we wanted. Even with the time difference (we are located in Hawaii), Scott always responded in a timely and prompt matter, better than I could have imagined. Per piece, the items were affordable, and the delivery was quick as well. We anticipated a later receipt date, and it came almost 5 days earlier! What a pleasant surprise. And, along the way, Scott continued to communicate with us.
Jody Shiroma
I was blown away by how great PinMaxx was! The customer service was great- they gave guidance on what would look good and work well. They were super responsive and helpful. No question was left unanswered. I received my pins so fast also! I was very happy with my experience and would definitely order from them for all of my pin needs!
Kimberly C
PinMaxx helped me design my pins, the whole process was very easy, I was very satisfied with the outcome, my lapel pins were exactly made the way I wanted.
David Rhoades
We are getting rave reviews on the first day about our lapel pins from PinMaxx. They came out great! It will improve our customer loyalty and the clients love them. They are proud to be a Wellness Warrior and have great health through our program! Thanks PinMaxx!!!
Jim Bowe
...I couldn't be happier with the experience. What started as a single design quickly turned into four different designs and they handled every change quickly and professionally. Their communication was timely and they were quick to respond to emails, made adjustments to the designs exactly as requested, and kept me updated at every step from confirming the order to tracking the delivery. The final pins look fantastic, I highly recommend.
Sarie Aguirre
Super pricing, quality and service - including very fast delivery! Excellent follow-up and customer service too. It was a pleasure working with them!
Tiffany Ervin
The PinMaxx team is really amazing...quick responses and accurate communication. I am 100% satisfied with their service.
Alex Moreno
Scott was super helpful with my order and got them to me super quick as I ordered last minute. Will definitely recommend to anyone and will use again in the future.
Samantha Terry
What amazed me the most about about them is that from a semi-complex mock up image that I provided them they came back super quick with a quote, some color options, and the best proof render of the exact same design that I had envisioned. They quite literally brought my design "concept" to a reality! I will do business with them again!
Raul Uriarte, Jr.
Killed it on our hockey trading pins. Worked with us and got two designs done on semi short notice and delivered on time.
Paul Steinke
Great customer service, fast response time and was able to make changes for what I wanted in a timely manner. Highly recommended.
Sierra Matthews
Ashley was fantastic and very patient! The pins were a big hit and just what we were hoping for! Thank you PinMaxx!!!!
Sue Montroy
I’m indeed very satisfied with the work that has been done with our new lapel pins! The job done has been absolutely astonishing!!
Derrick Williams
Scott was very helpful. Kept communicating with me, and also kept perfecting the changes that we made.
Yvette Yanez
Scott took the design that I sent, enhanced it to look even better and sent the file back the same day. He provided me the tracking number as soon as he got it. The pins arrived a day earlier than promised and the quality was far superior to what I had hoped to get from any source. I can be really proud of these pins when I hand them out as part of our awards banquet. I would not hesitate to use PinMaxx again and to highly recommend them to others.
Diana Francis
Ashley was so amazing. The pins are perfect. They make a mock up and revised it as needed before production. Love the finished product. They accommodated us to a tee.
Cindy Dennis
Scott worked tirelessly to get our World Series pin just right. They are fire!!! Will definitely be back!!!
Robert Klepac
Scott was super helpful! Communication was fast. I needed the pins quick and I got them before the expected date! The pins were beautiful!!!! Super happy. Will be using them every year!
Jessica P.
Working with PinMaxx was so easy. I took a picture of the logo with my phone, uploaded it to their free quote. Scott replied within the hour of submitting my request. I requested one revision and he and his colleague, Ashley, responded quickly again. I approved the proof, they sent me the invoice, I paid it and they confirmed receipt and started working on my order. I would highly recommend working with Scott & Ashley at PinMaxx anytime you need a custom made pin. It has been a pleasure working with you and PinMaxx!
Erin Parr
Highly satisfied with the service I received from Scott & the quality of the pins I received. Scott was fast to respond to all questions, edits, & confirming shipping/ tracking. Pins arrived in a timely manner. Highly recommend PinMaxx for all your trading pin needs! Thank you for a seamless process.
Keela Haigler
If I could give 10 stars I would! I was urgently on the hunt for a company that could get custom pins to us in a few weeks for our USSSA Nationals tournament (softball) pin trading! Ashley was the representative who assisted me in the design and ordering process! She was spectacular; she truly made this daunting taste a breeze! Mr. Hayes is the owner and truly a stand up guy! He went above and beyond for a new customer! I will NEVER use another company for our pins. Their customer service is exceptional. I have NOTHING bad to say about this company and the way they do business! Don't waste your time with other companies and go with PinMaxx, always!
Candace Moore
I needed lapel pins with aproximately three weeks turn around time. After requesting quotes from 8 companies, PinMaxx was one of only two companies who would guarantee delivery by the date I needed them. PinMaxx surpassed the other company's pricing and was much quicker to communicate so I chose them. PinMaxx hands down had the best communication and customer service team of all the companies I shopped from. The pins arrived three days earlier than promised and the quality is excellent.
Melissa Combs
We used PinMaxx for our Nationals Softball Pins this year and they turned out GREAT! It was a quick and easy process to finalize the image and less than 2 weeks to have them in hand...plus the price point was spot on! We will be back again!
Sue Boxrud
Scott, you are amazing! The pins arrived on Monday, my brother was able to pick up and arrive with the package. Thank you & your team!
Ebony Thomas
Thank you so much! This has been such an easy process. Scott, you have been extremely helpful and fast through this project. Thanks again!
Travis Boyett (DMH)
Thank you for all your help. I’m already recommending you to everyone I know!
Dahianna
Hi Scott — just wanted you to know that I really LOVE the pins! They are even better than I had imagined them to look. Thank you so much!
Anita McCullough, Director
