Apart from the fabric (and the tag), what do you usually see on your clothes? It is probably the most common embellishment it. You may not have noticed it because of its functionality. You don't really think of it as an extra or notice the design.
Give up? It's the button.
The word comes from France, bouton. It means a bud, protuberance or a round object. It's a very descriptive word for the object itself. The button is usually used as a small fastener in clothes. Sometimes, it is an ornament. It adorns clothes, sheets, bags, wallets and upholstery. Modern buttons are commonly made of plastic.
But when the button was invented, plastic did not exist yet. The first button was used over 4,000 years ago during the Bronze Age. Artifacts could be seen in the ancient civilizations of the Indus Valley, China and Rome. These ancient buttons were made from seashell but other natural materials were used too, like bone, wood, horn and metal. They weren't used to fasten garments then. They were purely for ornamentation. Our ancestors used belts or pins to fasten clothes.
As time passed, someone, somewhere, we know not who, invented the buttonhole. The button-buttonhole pairing made an ornamental fashion into a practical fastener. What we are sure of is that by 1200 CE the button and buttonhole arrived in Europe. Like almost everything useful in Europe during that time, the practical button came from the Middle East. It was brought back by returning Crusaders and it soon became a formidable force in fashion and clothing design.
In the 1200s, Europe began preferring tight fit clothes and more delicate fabrics. Pins were too inconvenient but the button was just perfect. The Button Makers Guild was founded in France by 1250. Buttons were artistic pieces and social symbols. The aristocrats limited the use of buttons. It was only meant for them.
In the following century, button use expanded. Buttonholes covered almost covered the clothes. France was the button capital of Europe and profited a lot from this craze. The Church couldn't let people enjoy a fad without comment so it declared that the button was the devil's snare, referring to ladies with lavishly buttoned bosoms. Buttons burdened clothes so much that aristocrats hired professional dressers. In 1520, King Francis I of France wore a black velvet suit with 13,400 gold buttons. He paraded it in a meeting with King Henry VII of England who also wore a button-filled suit. By the 1600s, diamond buttons were the rage. The First Duke of Buckingham ordered a suit and cloak covered in diamond buttons in 1620. Louis XIV spent $600,000 in buttons alone for one year.
However, the enemies of buttons were gaining steam. Puritans denounced the button and called it sinful too. In the 16th century, an overwhelming number of buttons were no longer seen as necessary to high fashion. Button makers made more lavishly decorated buttons in gold and ivory. In order for more people to avoid buttons, cheaper materials were used by the 17th century. Buttons were made in silver and ceramics.
By the 18th century, large metal buttons became popular, especially in uniforms. Under Napoleon's reign, tunics sported sleeve buttons. Double-breasted jackets were developed. These were jackets that you could wear on both sides, with buttons to match. If one side grew dirty, flip them over and wear the clean one!
Jonathan Russell is an artist and blogger that has been writing articles on many different topics for the last 2 years. You can find him contributing articles at Beginning Quilting Now a website dedicated to helping those who are beginning quilting.
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