Buttons: the perfect accessories to set off any garment

It is no secret to anyone that sometimes a dull garment can be transformed into a "unique piece" if skilfully enhanced with a striking or well placed button, used as a focal point accessory.

This was a lesson learned in the 20th century from the late, great Coco Chanel, who even made a motto based on buttons as a fundamental accessory: "The buttons are very important. Do not put any button. Try and find some nice buttons...".

Chanel was most certainly not the only designer or important personage to understand the importance of accessories and that there is nothing better than spending that little bit extra on a good button to enhance a garment and raise its selling price.

Throughout fashion history, the sharpest, most intelligent fashion designers, when weighing up an accessory, have always understood this simple equation: a button, expensive though it might be, is still a small part of the overall cost and much less than other accessories, which need further work such as a bold necklace or a belt. This means that a top-quality button can easily, in terms of proportion, increase the price of a garment - even by a great deal. And when buying clothing, people are also happy to spend a little more for a well-finished garment that is enhanced by an important accessory such as a beautifully made button in a top-quality material.

Besides, the fact that the button is the most important fashion accessory on any garment was already obvious to our ancestors and to the great designers of the past.

It was even obvious to the great artists, who never turned down the occasion to design and create these accessories, since there is no more stimulating fashion accessory - in terms of creativity - than a beautiful button. Benvenuto Cellini, who carved fine accessories and a splendid button for Pope Clement VII knew this well, as did Fabergé, who also designed artistic buttons with precious stones for the tunics of the Tsars of Russia.

Artists at the court of Louis XV of France also knew this, creating accessories and above all, buttons on porcelain, covered in ultra-fine gold and silver braiding.

Even Picasso knew it, and he designed ceramic buttons and accessories for Chanel, which were then made by famous ceramic company Line Vautrin.

Even someone known for being difficult, refined and apparently a long way off from the flattery of the fashion world, such as famous Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, was attracted by the pleasure of transforming these small and enchanting accessories and created white metal and blue terracotta buttons for the great designer Elsa Schiapparelli.

The fact that buttons are fashion accessories that can enhance a garment far better than anything else, is so obvious and well founded that there are countless numbers of button collectors in the world. Some even have more than 100,000 examples: much loved and catalogued precious accessories that once made a tailor, an artist, a personage or a garment famous. There are many enthusiasts the world over, who collect accessories and buttons from all periods and all cultures, from Europe to Japan, where the art of the button as an accessory, above all in traditional clothing, is almost always the result of fine carving and exquisite workmanship, where a single button can see bas-reliefs of dragons, flowers, animals and divinities contending their piece of a miniscule space.

The fact that the button is the most important accessory on any fashion item, one that is solely responsible for increasing the value of a garment, of a plain outfit, transforming it into a work of art, can be seen in the sheer number exhibitions dedicated solely to this fashion accessory, held in art galleries and museums the world over every year.

The accessory par excellence, an important button or at least, a well made button, is today within the means of every fashion business, all of which know that it is better to spend rather than save 10 euro cents more on a button. This is because the more successful garment is the one with good-looking accessories, with beautiful buttons - possibly made in Italy - which will not lose their colour or shine with washing and which are perfectly matched in terms of touch, with the softness or roughness of the fabric and which, are jewels, ornaments and accessories on their own, giving garments style and prestige.

When organising the costs of a garment, it is possible to save on the lining or on the fabric, since these are the parts requiring the largest quantities and sometimes it is sufficient to look a little more carefully in order to find equally good but more cost effective linings or fabrics. However, saving on buttons serves no purpose at all, because the cost of the garment will only drop by a few cents, while investing more in buttons will increase the sales price by ten or even twenty times the overall cost of the buttons used.

There is no greater pleasure for a designer or fashion operator than choosing the shape, material and colour of the accessories to be used on a garment, such as a dress or a jacket - combining the perfect accessory, the perfect material, choosing the buttons according to their position on the item, and therefore, deciding the size according to use, specific role and to the space it will take up within the overall harmonious style of the garment.

Even those who cannot afford the great designer names are always willing to invest a little bit more when purchasing a garment if it means that it will be well finished, well presented and with carefully and tastefully chosen buttons and accessories. What could be worse than an outfit where the button is poor quality and the wrong colour or shape or even the wrong material? Even people who can only purchase clothes from the cheaper end of the market can be heard to say, "It was cheap and if I have to throw it away after a few washes, never mind, but it has some nice buttons and it was worth the price for them alone!"

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