Buttonhole button
Botón con ojal
- Date
- c. 1250 · confidence medium
- Place
- Germany / France (western Europe)
- Credited to
- European tailors
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
The use of the button as a functional fastener through a sewn buttonhole, rather than as an ornament or brooch. It allowed garments to fit close to the body.
The ornamental button is prehistoric; the functional buttonhole is documented in Europe in the 13th century, perhaps arriving from the East.
What it led to
- the 14th-century fashion revolution: fitted clothing differentiated by sex
- the trade of button-makers and tailors' guilds
- layered clothing and closed coats
Built on
- Indus perforated shell buttonc. 2400 BCE
- ornamental buttons of the Indus Valley and Rome
- fibulae
Made possible
- Zipper1893–1913
- doublet and fitted sleeves
- seasonal fashion