Shell, bone and horn buttons are natural products. Color, shade and texture may vary.

COLORS MAY VARY FROM MONITOR TO MONITOR

These buttons are included in the price of jackets

Black Pin Shank	White Pin Shank	Faux Mother-of-Pearl A	Faux Mother-of-Pearl B

Tack	Pink Trocas	Tiger Shell	Pearl Blue Back

Abalone		Rivershell
Face	Back	Face	Back

Green Turban		Awabi
Face	Back	Face	Back

Blue Mussel		Brown Mussel
Face	Back	Face	Back

Washibodo		Top Star Sold Out
Face	Back	Face	Back

These special buttons are an ADDITIONAL COST to jacket

One top-button for #105H +$1.00
6-button jacket + $6.00
12-button jacket + $12.00

White gabardine knot (cloth)	Black gabardine knot (cloth)	White gabardine ball (cloth)	Black gabardine ball (cloth)

One top-button for #105H +$2.00
6-button jacket + $12.00
12-button jacket + $24.00

*Dime Buttons: $5.00 each
*Self Shank Real Mother-of-Pearl buttons: $10.00 each

Concho A (Shiney)	Concho A (Antiqued)	Concho B	Concho C

Concho D	*Dime	Plain Nickel Silver	Brass on Nickel

Brass	Picasso	*Real, self-shank Mother- of-Pearl (Light)	*Real, self-shank Mother- of-Pearl (Dark)

Funky Abalone Sold Out	Large Tiger Shell	Burnt Bone Sold Out	Horse (metal on horn)

Carved Horn Face

Buttons

A button is a type of fastener used to secure two pieces of fabric together, or used in (or as) a work of art. When used as a fastener, the button is attached to one piece of fabric and pushed through a buttonhole or loop on the opposing piece of fabric. Plastic is the most common material for buttons to be made from, but seashell, bone, wood, clay, and metals are some of the other frequently utilized materials making buttons.

Buttons are very often used on articles of clothing, wallets, and handbags as a closing method to the item, but buttons are also often used simply for decorative purposes. Many hand crafted buttons that hold some sort of cultural, historical, political, or artistic significance are even kept in museums and galleries.

Ornamental button-like objects have been discovered in ancient civilizations dating back to the Bronze Age in China, the Indus Valley Civilization during its Kot Yaman phase, and Ancient Rome. The artifacts found in the Indus Valley show signs of being used solely as ornamental items and were often made from seashell. Functional buttons used as a method of closing, seem to have first appeared during the 13th century in Germany and quickly became a popular item used on garments throughout Europe.

Materials and Manufacture

Both natural and synthetic materials are used to manufacture buttons and has evolved with the technology and availability of new materials. Artisans, craftspeople, and artists have used a combination of raw materials and/or found objects. On the more fast-paced, high-quantity means of production, buttons have been made in cottage industries, and more popularly today, in high-tech factories.

Buttons made by artists and craftspeople are seen as art objects, also referred to by button collectors as “studio buttons.” These types of buttons are primarily used for antique apparel, or found in collections.

The more common, every-day buttons are made from hard plastic, seashell, metals and wood.

Decoration and Coating Techniques

Button makers have adopted the techniques used by jewelry makers, ceramicists, sculptors, painters, printmakers, metalworkers, weavers, other craftspeople, and artists. Using their techniques, buttons in fashion show an aesthetic similarity that evolves with the development of these new techniques. A few of the embellishment and fabrication methods utilized in button-making include electroplating, embroidery, filigree, lacquerware, vitreous enamel, portrait miniatures, and lithography along with many, many more.

Styles of Attachment

There are three basic ways of button attachment to items: shank, flat or sew-through, and studs. Shank buttons have a part that juts out of it’s back side which has a hole in it for the thread to go through and attach the button to the item. Shanks are either made from the same material as the button, making the button and shank one piece, or a separate piece made from either the same, or a different material. When the button and shank are cut or molded into a single piece of material that is called a self-shank button.

Flat or sew-through buttons typically have 2-6 holes in them where the thread is sewn through to attach the button. These types of buttons can be affixed either by hand or by the use of a sewing machine.

Stud buttons are also referred to as press studs, snap fasteners, or pressure buttons. They are most usually made out of brass, in the form of round disks pinched through fabric.

Types of Fabric Buttons

Covered buttons are comprised of three parts - the form, the piece of fabric, and the back piece that gets pressed into the form and fastens the fabric in place.

Mandarin buttons are elaborately knotted strings or cords that form a knob and shank.

Worked buttons are made through the use of a form and either crocheting or embroidering stitches closely over the form.

Button Sizes

The size of a button really depends on it’s intended function. Small buttons are typically used on shirts, larger buttons on coats, and even then their aesthetic appeal may require a larger or smaller size.

When determining a button’s size, lignes are the common unit of measure. This basically equates to 40 lignes = 1 inch.

Buttons as Containers

The use of buttons as containers has not exactly been used in honorable ways. Drug smugglers have tried to use this method to carry illegal substances covertly. However, during the World Wars, the U.S. and British military used this type of button to contain miniature compasses.

Buttons in Politics

Historically, buttons have been valued for both functional and gainful purposes. They range from simplistic, hand-made wood disks, to low-cost plastic, to ornate buttons made from valuable materials. In some countries, buttons are such important, admired items that it is illegal to even wreck a button.

Americans began their tradition of emblazoning their clothing with politically themed buttons during the first presidential inauguration of George Washington over 220 years ago. During that time, this type of button was made of sheffield plate, copper, or brass, and made in multiple sizes depending on where they’d be worn on their clothing. These “Washington Inaugurals,” as collectors call them, were made in 22 different patterns, were hand stamped, and are now considered exceptionally valuable societal artifacts. Not only were these buttons used during the time of the presidential campaigns, but memorial buttons commemorating presidents’ life events, such as Lincoln’s birth and death, were produced and today are regarded as priceless collectibles.

By about 1860, American political campaigns started to utilized more of the pin-back variety of buttons rather than the early designs that used loop shanks - most likely for their ease of securement and removal to and from different articles of clothing.

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