Button Day

What the day is

Button Day is observed on November 16. Its origin is not documented, and that leaves it open to interpretation: it can mean sewing and collecting buttons, wearing a pin-back badge with a message, or simply buttoning up against the November cold. Observers choose whichever version appeals.

Buttons are among the most common objects people own and among the least noticed. A single coat might carry six, and a household drawer or jar of loose ones is a feature of almost every home.

Origin and background

The earliest known buttons, found at Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley, are made of shell and are about five thousand years old. They were probably ornaments rather than fasteners. Buttons as fasteners only became practical once buttonholes were invented, which in Europe happened around the thirteenth century and led to fitted clothing. Buttons then became a way to show status, made of gold, silver, enamel and jewels for the wealthy, and of horn, bone and wood for everyone else.

The pinback button is a separate invention. Political campaign buttons became popular in the United States in the 1896 presidential campaign, when the new celluloid-covered design made it possible to print a candidate's face or slogan cheaply. Pinbacks have been used for politics, causes, bands and jokes ever since.

Button collecting is a recognized hobby, with clubs and societies whose members study buttons by material, period and maker. Antique glass, mother-of-pearl and military buttons can be especially valuable.

How to take part

• Sew on a missing button, a small repair that makes a garment usable again.
• Sort through a jar of old buttons and look for the oldest or strangest one.
• Make something with buttons: jewelry, a card, a picture or a set of coasters.
• Wear a pin-back button with a message you care about.
• Make your own buttons with a small pin-back maker, and give them to friends.