Dress for Dissent: The Jewelry Line That Wears Its Protest Out Loud

By Jenna Tomalka, Phoenix Silver

There are moments when beauty must stop being polite.  The Dress for Dissent Collection is my answer to one of those moments.

A protest pressed in silver. A tribute to the women who refused to wait for permission. And a warning to those who believe we’ll stay quiet.

We are not in neutral times.
We are watching civil, political, and reproductive rights stripped away in real time—led by the Trump-aligned Christian Nationalist agenda known as Project 2025, authored by the Heritage Foundation. This is not hypothetical. It is structured, funded, and accelerating.

If you have a voice, now is the time to use it.

I make jewelry and this is my voice. 

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The Lineage of Dissent

The women who led the suffrage movement in the early 20th century understood the power of symbolic adornment, and the impact of marketing on a movement. They wore their politics in plain sight—through colors, shapes, and code. Their jewelry was a fashionable signal. A tool. A beautiful refusal.

This collection continues that tradition—but with the doors wide open, excluding no one.

Each piece in Dress for Dissent is pressed using dies carved with original artwork from over 100 years ago—designs once used to mint medals, tokens, ceremonial keepsakes, and jewelry. Reimagined in silver, set with meaning, and hand-finished in my studio, each piece becomes a wearable declaration.

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The Symbols, Reborn

🌻 The Sunflower

Used by American suffragists in the 1860s and embraced later by the British movement, the sunflower represented loyalty, truth, and radical optimism. It was a sign of resilience, always turning toward light—no matter the darkness. Today, it stands for persistent hope and defiant beauty.

➵ The Broad Arrow (not featured—yet)

This historic British symbol marked prison uniforms and government property. When suffragettes were jailed for civil disobedience, they reclaimed the broad arrow as a badge of resistance and solidarity. It appeared on the Holloway brooch—a medal of honor awarded to imprisoned activists. Though not present in this release, it is a symbol I plan to return to in future work.

Holloway Brooch, silver and enamel, with example of broad arrow, designed by Sylvia Pankhurst.  It was awarded to members of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) who had been imprisoned, particularly in Holloway Prison, for their civil disobedience.

🗽 Lady Liberty

She appears in profile—etched in silver, steady and solemn. Once an ideal, now a reminder: liberty is not static. It must be protected, redefined, and defended. She is not ornamental. She is intentional.

✊ The Protester (“FIGHT”)

She faces you straight on, holding a hand-stamped sign over her head that says it all: FIGHT. For voice. For agency. For each other.

🐦 The Bird

Sometimes protest is quiet. Sometimes it’s blunt. This symbol needs no explanation—irreverent, unfiltered, and final. A reminder that “no” is a complete sentence.

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The Color Code of Protest

I’ve honored the original suffrage palette in every gem and bead. These stones carry meaning—not just beauty:

• Green (Peridot): Hope. Not passive hope—radical hope. The kind that plants, pushes, and persists.
• White (Pearl): Integrity. Moral clarity and the refusal to be silenced.
• Purple (Amethyst): Dignity. Strength without apology. The power of holding your ground.

Child & Child pearl, amethyst and enamel brooch, Victoria and Albert Museum

 

Style was the strategy. Message was the mission. This is a moment to bring out both.

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Why Now?

Because the fight for rights is not over—and silence is not an option.

With the accelerating threat of Project 2025 and the coordinated rollback of freedoms, this work—this act of creating, wearing, and speaking—is more urgent than ever.

10% of proceeds from every sale in this collection will be donated to frontline organizations defending women’s rights, at your direction:

• National Women's Law Center
• National Immigration Law Center
• ACLU Foundation
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America

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Launches Thursday at Noon (EST)

The Dress for Dissent Collection releases on Thursday at 12:00 PM Eastern.

Mark your calendar. Share the message.
Wear your dissent in plain sight—because asking nicely has never been enough.

The Frick Pittsburgh has a great article on British suffrage jewelry here which provided information and photographs for this post. Thank you!