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This zebra-print bustier/purse was part of my Christmas loot from an exchange with my crazy librarian friends at the Greenwood Public Library.
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Buttons—we take them for granted, don’t we? And why wouldn’t we? As a closure, they’ve been around since the 13th century! Their history goes back even further than that. Estimates vary, but they seemed to originate around 2600 B.C. in a region now known as Pakistan.
They were used as ornamentation for centuries, but they became a really big deal during the middle ages when form-fitting clothes were fashionable. Because really, how can you squeeze yourself into skin-tight garments without the racy miracle of a button?
How is it that we’ve come to believe we’re the most promiscuous generation? Back in the day, buttons were used very deliberately to entice a man. They were strategically placed to emphasize an easy point of access to a woman’s body.
Buttons were also instrumental as tokens of love. A lady’s sleeve might be detachable, and therefore, she could simply unbutton a sleeve and hand it to her darling—sort of an ancient version of the Valentine.
I’m most intrigued with a button idea I learned from Bella Q. at Citizen Rosebud. She uses them to cover moth holes on vintage garments, scattering them artfully. Clever, eh? So now you don’t have to pass on that to-die-for vintage piece that is so delicious even the moths couldn’t resist.
I can’t wait to see the look on my husband’s face when I hand him a button on Valentine’s Day. What are your Valentine’s Day traditions?
Life is short. Wear the good stuff.
Today, I’m sharing some of my favorite buttons and other odd assorted things.
If you’re still shopping for Valentines, Etsy is a great place to look. That’s where I found this little Do Not Disturb (Thimble Fairies) pillow for my office door–now a necessity since my husband and I both work at home from time to time. It keeps him from barging in during an interview and is waaaay better than the note I had taped to the door!
8 comments
February 5, 2013 at 4:53 pm
Quite interesting!
My mother has a huge lidded tin full of buttons from 70 years of sewing. As a child I loved the cool, smooth feel of stirring my hands through the collection of buttons and the rhythmic sound when shaking the tin.
Wasn’t there a child’s game, “Button, button, whose got the button?”
February 5, 2013 at 9:28 pm
I can almost see you stirring that tin, Lori! That quote was running through my mind when I was writing the headline, so if you and I both were thinking the same thing, it must have been a game from our youth–which I say we’re still in!
February 6, 2013 at 9:25 pm
I want that pillow…just make it BIGGER!
Thanks for the info on history of buttons! I had no idea! Buttons = sexy! haha
February 7, 2013 at 5:34 pm
You’re so funny, Jeannie! Does your husband barge in on you, too?? Mine just caught on to the pillow today–I heard him laugh as he strolled by my office…
February 6, 2013 at 11:52 pm
Fun information and gorgeous buttons. Makes me want to go down in my studio and play with my button collection.
February 7, 2013 at 5:35 pm
Judith, once source even said that people used them like money! Doesn’t that sound cool?
February 7, 2013 at 7:40 pm
This post is so charming. I, too, love buttons. Lately I’ve began adding them to all my homemade cards and invitaions. I still raid my mother’s drawers whenever I go for a visit and I now have my husband trained to look for buttons whenever we walk by an antique store. Your candy-stripe pompom button is just adorable.
February 7, 2013 at 8:56 pm
Trina, according to one source, buttons were once used like cash. Can you imagine? I’ve got a drawer full of buttons that were once attached to their brand new garments. Wouldn’t it be cool if I could use them to pay bills?