Count Your Buttons Day – October 21, 2022, history, significance
Count Your Buttons Day is celebrated each year on October 21. Buttons can be found anywhere and everywhere from shirts to jackets to pants. They also come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. ‘Counting your buttons’ can be a fun and practical activity.
HISTORY OF COUNT YOUR BUTTONS DAY
The creator of this unusual, unofficial holiday remains unknown but we are guessing it’s someone who, maybe, had an impressive collection of buttons or is just fascinated by them. What we do know for a fact is that buttons have been around with us for eons;
it goes way back since the Indus Valley Civilization, 2000 B.C. Buttons are integral to the fashion and interior decor industry. Until the 13th century, buttons were used for decoration and as jewelry. Originally made of seashells, bones, and ivory, its embellishment on a person’s attire signified wealth or status.
It was in the 1200s in Europe that people started using buttons to attach pieces of fabric. Later, with the 19th-century Industrial Revolution, machines took over the manufacturing of buttons, making them more slick and crisp and, most importantly, in larger quantities and soon became affordable to most.
Buttons gained popularity in the 20th century. Their demand, as well as their production, increased — making their way into every home. Today, buttons are found in many clothing items and are functional and aesthetic.
COUNT YOUR BUTTONS DAY TIMELINE
1250
Button Makers’ Guild
The first button makers’ guild is formed in France
1300s
Functional Buttons Make an Appearance
Functional buttons with slits used for fastening clothes appear in Germany.
1789
George Washington Inaugural Buttons
George Washington’s inauguration as the first president of the United States on April 30, 1789, inspires many artists and craftsmen to make and sell memorial buttons with nationalistic designs, which become known as George Washington buttons.
1852
Charles Dickens Writes about Buttons
Charles Dickens writes an article titled ‘What There Is in a Button,’ published in “Household Words,” a weekly journal conducted by Dickens.
COUNT YOUR BUTTONS DAY ACTIVITIES
Start a button collection
Do you have random buttons lying around in your drawer? You can start a fun button collection and pass it down through generations. You will be surprised to see how many different types of buttons there are.
Wear a button shirt
On Count Your Buttons Day, make sure whatever you wear has buttons on them. Show off your button outfit on social media; encourage others to do the same
Sew a button
Find some nice buttons and sew them onto a shirt. You can place them anywhere on your clothes and make them a style statement. Grab the largest button you can find and make it a statement accessory on your clothes.
5 IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT BUTTONS
Oldest button relic
The oldest button relic is said to be found in modern-day Pakistan.
Button material
Before plastic, seashells, bones, horns, metal, and wood were used to make buttons.
Measurement system
A historic measuring unit, known as ‘lignes,’ is used to determine the diameter of a button.
Button lockets
During the World Wars, the British and U.S. armies used button lockets, which were buttons constructed like lockets, to store compasses.
Shapes and sizes
Buttons come in all shapes and sizes such as big, small, tiny, extra-large, round, rectangle, etc.
WHY WE LOVE COUNT YOUR BUTTONS DAY
Buttons are versatile
Buttons are so versatile. They have been used for decoration, function, and as ornaments. They can be used to fasten clothes and can be stuck on home decor items. Plain buttons can be customized and painted to look colorful and vibrant, just like George Washington inaugural buttons
Buttons have been around for centuries
People have used buttons for nearly as long as they have used clothes. Buttons were first used as ornaments, then later as fasteners for clothes.
There are so many types of buttons
There are almost as many different types of buttons as there are button makers. There are flat buttons with slits in them. We also have shank buttons that have a protrusion on the back with a hole in them. There are the stud metal buttons that you find on jeans and jean jackets. There are covered buttons that come covered with a small piece of fabric
