We tend to take
buttons rather for granted these days. They are the ubiquitous fastener in all
our wardrobes. We do them up in the morning without much thought. But in fact
the humble button has been essential to the Western World for centuries. It
made possible tailoring and fashion as we know them today. Without the button
we would be quite undone.
We use buttons
on shirts, jackets, skirts, dresses, suits, overcoats and a host of other
clothing. These days they are so cheap that many people give them little
regard. When you buy a shirt, blouse or jacket it comes with buttons already on
it. When the garment wears out most people chuck out the buttons along with the
item of clothing. Only a few of us bother to keep the buttons - mostly on the
grounds that they "might come in handy one day". They rarely do, of
course, because the next garment we buy also has buttons.
The modern
wardrobe would be lost without buttons. It can come as a bit of a shock,
therefore, to learn that humans had been coping without buttons perfectly well
until fairly recently. Indeed, buttons are a surprisingly modern invention.
Not so very
long ago nobody used buttons to do up their clothes. And when buttons did first
come in they were not treated as lightly as they are today. Time was when
buttons sent out important social messages about status, occupation and wealth.
The button has
a long and distinguished history. But to understand just how crucial the button
is, we need to start back before it had been invented.
Title: The History
of Buttons
Author: Rupert
Matthews
Format: 196 x 132 mm
landscape
Extent: 58pp (10pp
colour)
Photos: 60
How to Order:
Send a cheque made payable to "Rupert Matthews" for £5 per
book, plus £2.90 postage and packing for up to 7 books, to:
Book Orders
8 Fir Tree Close
Epsom
Surrey
KT17 3LD.
The books "The History of Christmas Food" and "Winter
God: The Authorised Biography of Father Christmas" are also available at
£5 each.
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