National Button Day Timeline

​2014

Buttoned up button

​A button that was once part of a Texas confederate navy uniform circa the Civil War sold for over $2,000.

​1900

​Muscatine, Iowa became pearl button capital of the world

​Noting the abundance of pearl mussels in nearby waters, a German immigrant opened a button-making factory in small town Iowa, which soon grew to be the largest manufacturer of pearl buttons in the world.

1896

Button-down collars invented

​Polo players were the first to button down their collars to stop them from getting in the way during a match; Brooks Brothers copied the look and created a lasting trend in 1896.

​1300

​The church denounced buttons

​Europe was so button crazy, the church started calling them the "devil's snare." This was probably because most women's clothing of the time buttoned up the front.

​1250

Button Makers Guild established

​The French established the first collective that designed artisan buttons, making buttons a status symbol.