Buttons Buttons Buttons

In clothing and fashion design, a button is a small disc- or knob-shaped, typically round, object usually attached to an article of clothing in order to secure an opening, or for ornamentation. Functional buttons work by slipping the button through a fabric or thread loop, or by sliding the button through a slit called a buttonhole. Buttons may be manufactured from an extremely broad variety of materials, including natural materials such as antler, bone, horn, ivory, shell, vegetable ivory, and wood; or synthetics such as celluloid, glass, metal, and plastic.Hard plastic is by far the most common material for newly manufactured buttons; the other materials tend to occur only in premium apparel.

Buttonarium is an on-line button museum.
http://www.buttonarium.com/

Haute couture button photos from L'Officiel March 1969 issue.