Buttons and buttonholes

What would life be like without the ubiquitous button? Buttons were not used as functional items until about the 800s. Seashell and bone “button” decorations, some with holes punched through them to fasten them to fabric or leather, were found in ancient civilizations in Pakistan, China and Rome dating back to about 2000 BCE, but early civilizations used laces, hooks, pins, buckles and belts to fasten their clothing. Nothing more was required for simple tunics or cloaks, but as fashion changed, there arose a desire to make one’s clothing more form-fitting and fancy with complicated folds, attachments, and interchangeability of parts. Use of the button required the invention of the buttonhole. Although the earliest functional buttons were found in 9th century Hungarian tombs, buttons with buttonholes for fastening and shaping clothes appeared first in Germany and France in the 13th century. Some say that returning Crusaders brought the button and buttonhole back with them from the East. French, Italian, and other European paintings from the period faithfully show us the details, the shapes, the materials and the importance of buttons. The number of buttons and what they were made of became a status symbol. It has been rumored that King Louis XIV of France(350 years after our Vespers stories)spent over $5 million on them in his lifetime. As with most other manufactured goods, button makers formed a guild or union that exercised political clout to keep prices artificially high and crush any competitors. Check out La Guerre des Boutons in 17th century France for more about the power of the guild.