Vintage Buttons Yay!!

[Lady Day]

Todays theme: The beauty of basic buttons.

I love it when I find button families of plain basic buttons. The fancy buttons everyone wants and can find, but give me buttons that would have been regularly used as well, because they are always in short supply.

LD

 

[Vintage Betty]

More carded buttons

Mother of Pearl

Blue Glass

 

[kamikat]

Look what y'all made me do!

 

[Goldfish]

Some Elsa Schiaparelli work...

 

[Lady Day]

Way to go Kamikat!!!

Cool buttons, Goldfish. They look 19th century. Are they original or repo?

Today's theme: Yellow!

LD

 

[sian kisses]

Some Elsa Schiaparelli work...

These are some of the most beautiful buttones ever...

i have some old post office and raf buttons which i treasure. pics to follow.
x

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

I have some buttons that look very similar to these, only in off-white. I'll try to put up pictures; I wasn't sure if they were vintage or not. What period would you date yours to?

Goldfish, those buttons are stunning!

 

[Lady Day]

Cool! Id say these buttons are 40s. Please post a pic of yours.

My concentration for buttons is late 20s to early 50s because they seem not to be as documented as buttons earlier than that. I think it was their mass production. Their cheapness made them disposable, so no one bothered to savor them, except me

LD

 

[Kim_B]

If this isn't allowed, please feel free to remove it, but for any one looking to expand or start their collection of buttons - vintage or otherwise - I highly recommend Etsy. The prices are reasonable and the sellers are usually clearing out their own personal stashes which means the buttons aren't just "Hey, I bet some vintage loving person would buy these!" but more along the lines of "Oh my goodness, these buttons are fabulous I must have them for my own!" and then later down the road, "Wow, I sure have a lot of buttons...I am going to share the buttony goodness with others who appreciate the charm and style of a great button when they see it!"

*Note - I do not sell buttons on Etsy, so please don't think I have any benefit by telling you to buy them there. I just think Etsy is more fairly priced than other outlets.*

 

[Foofoogal]

I sell on etsy but I like Ladyday adore buttons and cannot ever see myself parting with the really great ones. I will have to show some of my stash soon. I have a button book and still cannot figure them out though. so many different kinds.
They do have some nice ones there though.

 

[Vintage Betty]

Kamikat, welcome to your newest obsession. It's all Lady Day's fault, really!

Goldfish, I would kill for those fantastic swimmer buttons. Do you own any Schiaparelli clothing with cool buttons?

Vintage Betty

 

[Vintage Betty]

Old Brass Button

Metal Buttons

I'm not sure these Indian-head nickel inspired buttons are old enough to qualify as old buttons [huh]

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

Oops, so maybe they weren't exact. Or anything close. I remembered quite wrong! Here they are:

Unfortunately, the previous owner cut off the excess cardboard backing, as you can see. So I have no clue as to the maker. You can see leaves & branches on the backing, but the reverse side is plain. Can anyone help me date them?

Here's another set I got at the same estate sale:

The logo looks like the one in this 1951 advertisement. Note that these *aren't* glass - they feel like plastic.

 

[Lady Day]

Your buttons are pearl, basically cut out seashell. That puts them around 40s-50s.

Ah, La Chic.
Yes, I am very familiar with this brand.
Acutally this is funny, because they are todays theme:

The many faces of La Chic.

LD

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

Your buttons are pearl, basically cut out seashell. That puts them around 40s-50s.

Ah, La Chic.
Yes, I am very familiar with this brand.
Acutally this is funny, because they are todays theme:

Yep, the top buttons look like mother of pearl.

Perfect timing on the theme! I love the little black ones.

 

[Anachronism]

It's comforting to see that for the most part, buttons haven't changed much in style over the last 50 or so years.

 

[Lady Day]

50 years, no, but most 20s buttons are noticeably different. You have mostly bottom shank buttons that are very small in the 20s. A lot of times they were used for decoration as much as function. 20s cards have 9-16+ (older like circa 1900 button cards held more) buttons per card, because it was buttons or snap fasteners. Zippers gained momentum in later years

Here is an exception to the bottom shank rule, and other 20s cards.

Also buttons for normal use became larger and, well cheaper. Gone was the opulence of glass, metal and wood. Plastic was cheaper. *sigh*

LD

 

[Vintage Betty]

I love looking at everyone's buttons! Lady Day, how do you store your buttons?

Today's theme: White Buttons

(oops - got a pink one mixed in for variety)

 

[Lady Day]

Lovely buttons, VB. I especially adore that etched glass number at the bottom.

I store my buttons mainly by the card. I put them in those snack sized zip lock baggies. If they are loose I still store them in the baggies but if they are scratch prone, Ill wrap them in clear plastic. I have them sorted by color. Well, I originally did. I outgrew my newest button box (big surprise, I know) and have three rather large boxes of baggied buttons, and tow smaller, no, make that three smaller boxes sorted by coat buttons, metal buttons, and fabric covered buttons.

*sigh* Im addicted.

 

[Anachronism]

I guess they look similar so It's hard to tell when somethings glass vs. plastic, and size is hard to tell when your looking at a picture online. thanks