Button Up!

Inspired by Navajo men’s shirts and women’s blouses, over the years, I have purchased a few sets of vintage 1930s-1940s buttons and sewn them on shirts. They’re an inexpensive way to add a little style and compliment more prominent pieces. Anyone else into buttons? :slightly_smiling_face:

11 Likes

Buttons aare awesome.
I inherited my Great Grandma’s and Grandma’s button tins. They are full of treaures.
Over the years, I have used some.

4 Likes

Love those! But are you deliberately trying to make me spend more money :laughing:

3 Likes

@TAH The buttons are wonderful. The fact that you use these vintage treasures as intended is even better. Buttons have never been on my radar but, I’ll be doing some research on 'em now :smiley:.

2 Likes

I love Navajo buttons as mini examples of the silverwork but haven’t made the jump to collecting and using. Mainly I wonder, how do you deal with laundering clothing with them? I’m not open to a handwashing phase in my life. :laughing:

5 Likes

Handwashing is the answer. It’s kind of a labor of love, but I figure that’s how the Navajo do/did it. :slightly_smiling_face:

5 Likes

Dedication to the craft is why we’re all here, so :+1: :+1:

4 Likes

Without doubt count me in @TAH. Buttons are yet another form of wearable art that I enjoy. The earlier the better. By the way, there’s nothing “little” about the amount of style and class that your fine examples have added to your shirts. As has always been the case, excellent photography!

Thank you for sharing these and for starting another magnificent thread.

I feel it would behoove us all to slow down a bit, wash more clothes by hand, and dedicate more of ourselves to what we hold dear. As @chicfarmer points out, our dedication to the craft is one of the reasons this community exists. I may be a bit “out there”, but I intentionally cook over coals, wash dishes by hand and just in general take a slower approach, to everything. In the pursuit of prosperity, we’ve lost all that’s prosperous…in my opinion :slightly_smiling_face:

Now back to buttons. I really enjoy the differing versions on the right side of this old ketoh (not mine).

7 Likes

I hear you overall, but not having an automatic dishwasher for years makes me very grateful to have one now :grin:

3 Likes

I love your buttons. How old are they? I can tell from your picture that you are stylish, neat and meticulous. I love buttons too so I will show you what I have. The bottom right will be my granddaughters some day. The top right look like inlay howlite. I haven’t tested them yet but they don’t look like turquoise,


t

6 Likes

Nancy, you have a nice variety of buttons there. Do you have any plans to put them to use?

All of my buttons were dated 1930s-1940s. Funny you used the word “meticulous”. I guess I do care about attention to detail, but I hate sewing on buttons. :slightly_frowning_face: Thank you for the compliment though!

2 Likes

I’ve been looking for good buttons like yours for a long while. Any tips on how to source? What to search for online? A favorite shop in-person?

Your picture is so soothing, somehow. It’s like a warm cup of coffee.

(Deleted and reposted to more clearly be “replying!”)

3 Likes

6 Likes

Thanks TAH. I hate sewing on buttons too. I can barely thread a needle. These button have holders on the back that just snap onto the button. The bottom right ones are cute…I think they are Mexican, but not sure. I will gift them to my granddaughter…her other grandmother knits her sweaters. The other ones I’m not sure what to do with other than collect. @Gia i found them all on SGW. @Steve thank you for the nice reference from Bell trading. I screenshot it.

1 Like

Thanks! I don’t work at finding buttons like I do other items. I really only buy them if I come across some that catch my eye and I have a shirt in mind for button replacement.

eBay, Esty, and google searches are probably the easiest way to source. I just use a combination of words like “vintage” “antique” “Navajo” “buttons”. Here is the button selection at Rainbow Man in Santa Fe in October 2023. I’m sure they would be happy to send photos if you gave them a call.

8 Likes