I lost a coat button.

[undeterred]

About 3 years ago I lost a button on a nice short winter coat. Something I hadn't worn much, that cost maybe $200. There were no extra buttons that came with it. I stopped wearing the coat until I could replace the button.

I cut another button off so I could take it for comparison to the only fabric store left around and found that there were a relatively small selection of buttons. Small compared to what I remembered when I used to sew my own clothes many years ago and there were aisles and aisle full of buttons.

I stopped in another fabric store about 6 months later and found that they also had a relatively small selection of buttons...nothing like the one I lost.

I let the coat sit in the closet for a couple of years. A few weeks ago I brought the coat to the first fabric store and hoped I would find a functional button of the right size that wouldn't clash. But I didn't. I bought some thread and a needles. I told the clerk my story. She said, "Well, nowadays most people would probably just buy a new coat".

Lose a button, buy a new coat? People don't replace buttons any more? In this economy?

So I went to Walmart and found some buttons that are the right size and am sewing them on now. At least the Chinese are still making replacement buttons...

[flvegan]

1. Walmart!!!!??????

:popcorn:

[undeterred]

3. And there were other cars in the lot with Feingold bumper stickers.

Progressives are getting desperate.

[GoCubsGo]

64. In some towns, Walmart is the only place that sells sewing supplies

In my town, the only other choice is Hobby Lobby, which is a) Owned ad operated by right-wing religious nuts, and b) Not open on Sundays. Some choice, eh?

Oh, there is a third choice: Drive 70 miles to the nearest fabric store.

[Maine-ah]

87. that's my only option here.

They just downsized their department though. Sewing is not a skill that is passed on these days. My Mom used to make most of my clothes, and I have many items that she made for me that my daughter now wears. High quality, hand made, embroidered dresses which to purchase at a store cost quite a bit of money.

[flvegan]

89. I was making a joke.

All too often here on DU, posters gloss over the entire point of a post to jump on the one tiny aspect that rubs us the wrong way. The OP makes a very good and valid point about our values as a society and I (almost sarcastically) focused solely on the fact that they found themselves at a Wal Mart.

[olegramps]

65. This reminds me of a game we played as children.

Button, Button who has the button. That goes to show how old and out of it I am. I can't imagine today's children playing this guessing game. They would probably think you were nuts.

[Bandit]

81. Comparing a button to an X-Box 360 or Wii is an amazing thing

I also remember when a simple button could entertain children..

[GoCubsGo]

82. My grandma taught that to us.

Haven't thought about that game in years. Grandma also taught us how to play "Bunco" and "Help Thy Neighbor", too. The latter was a gambling game with cards, and we used buttons as "money". LOL!!! Grandma had a big tin of buttons. This thread is inspiring me to start one of my own. I just need to remember to clip off the buttons every time I send something to the clothing recycling bag.

I miss my grandma.

[knitter4democracy]

2. Next time, head to a yarn shop. They have buttons.

We knitters still use them and need them.

[undeterred]

7. I haven't seen a yarn shop in years.

That doesn't mean there isn't one, I just never thought of it.

[knitter4democracy]

69. There was a huge upsurge in knitting and crochet a few years back.

There are more yarn shops now, though with the downturn in the economy, we've lost some in the last couple of years. Yarn shops are the first place I check for buttons and then Jo-Ann's (especially if I can get to a Jo-Ann's Etc. with their huge button selection).

[undeterred]

80. The store that I went to was a JoAnns

and I though they had one side of an aisle of buttons, they didn't have an exact match the first time I went and they didn't have anything suitable to replace all the buttons when I went back recently. In the last ten years they seem to have gone from a fabric store to a craft store that sells fabrics. It was a clerk there who said most people would just buy a new coat.

The only other store I know of that even sells "notions" (and I live in an urban area) is Walmart.

I guess I could have looked for something online, I just didn't think of it.

[knitter4democracy]

101. A great place for information is Ravelry.com

It's Facebook for knitters/crocheters/anyone who plays with yarn or fiber. You can find out all sorts of info on what's available in your area there. It's free to join and a fun place to hang out. The groups are varied, and that's where you can find stuff for your area the fastest.

[surrealAmerican]

61. Neither of the yarn shops near me have buttons ...

... but that may be because we have a very good fabric store close by that does.

[knitter4democracy]

70. That's why our shop only has a few, too.

We have Jo-Ann's in town with a decent button selection and then a great fabric store in the next city over with a huge button selection with a http://www.fabricationsonline.com/">boutique fabric store (awesome fabric selections!) with great buttons, too. I never have to go too far to find a button for any project and have quite a collection now myself.

[uncommon]

94. Indeed, but depending on the shop they can be insanely expensive.

The awesome yarn shop near me sells buttons but they cost 5-100 times more than Joanne Fabrics lol.

[knitter4democracy]

102. Depends on the buttons.

I've had too many buttons break, so I really look for quality on those these days. I've found that the button line that most yarn shops carry tends to be higher quality and worth the price. I can't always afford it myself, but I start there first.

[alphafemale]

4. I'd have just replaced ALL the buttons with something that looked good.

Exact match on a button unless it's something very generic and boring usually doesn't happen. You might have even found something you'd have been even happier with.

[undeterred]

6. Well I thats what I finally did.

I never did find anything close to what I lost. I was happy just to find something the right size that looked like it belonged on the coat. But there was really only one option, one store- and that was Walmart.

[alphafemale]

10. Some Walmarts have a fairly good fabric and craft area

And yes a good swirly-rack of buttons.

I think many Walmarts seem to be phasing these out, though. Lot's of city's just don't have and never did have a place to buy fabric, buttons and patterns.

[undeterred]

11. Before women went back into the workforce in droves

some of us used to sew. The stores disappeared when women went back to work and didn't have time to sew any more- or didn't need to save money by doing it. I wonder if it will come back now that that the economy is failing.

[alphafemale]

19. I sewed because it allowed for more unique clothes

Haven't done it in awhile as the kids have found their wings. But I remembered how much I enjoyed it recently when we had a patio umbrella emergency. It was just a matter of patching. But the process was so soothing and tangent.

[Posteritatis]

27. I've been seeing a *lot* more of it among my friends

Not just female friends either, which is a pleasant surprise. I started noticing it a couple of years ago.

[defendandprotect]

33. Yes... I heard after they shut down all the fabric shops in towns, they then stopped

investing in their fabric departments!!

Seems they were also successful in shutting down the craft shops -- I used

to go to RAG SHOP -- think that was the name of it -- everything from dried

flowers to painting easels and everything in between! Closed now!

[knitter4democracy]

71. They haven't closed any down here.

Hobby Lobby shut down one of the scrapbooking shops in town when they came in, but other than that, we have all those stores including our own yarn shops (two) and a spinning shop (for those of us who like to make our own yarn). Maybe it's because I live in the Midwest? :shrug:

[defendandprotect]

109. Well, it doesn't all happen in one moment -- does it?

:shrug: :shrug:

I do understand that there are still some RAG SHOPS open, but not

any which I can fairly easily reach.

Yes -- will probably take them a little longer to get to you -- !!!

:)

[knitter4democracy]

112. Over the course of years, though?

Our local Walmart got out of the crafts stuff entirely, so if anyone was put out of business in crafting, it was Walmart. The rest are doing well.

[defendandprotect]

115. You must be in a very stable area .... hope it continues -- !!!

:)

[Control-Z]

45. I believe I would make my own buttons

before I'd spend a red cent in Walmart. That's just how much I detest the store/corporation. I began boycotting them in 2004 and haven't missed them a bit.

[defendandprotect]

110. Agree .... I don't think I've ever been in one .... !

[Snotcicles]

76. Look here

http://www.bennosbuttons.com/Big-Buttons-s/7.htm

[CrispyQ]

83. Ooohhhhhh.........a virtual button bin!

You rock.

[Silver Gaia]

90. .

[Silver Gaia]

92. Awesome! Thank you!

I just found the perfect replacement buttons there for an awesome leather jacket that I've spent years trying to find buttons for! Yay!

[Raine]

8. Me too

often with better looking buttons. :-)

[Raine]

5. I have a button jar that's been passed along

in the family for generations. It's been added on as it's passed along, I have buttons for just about everything. You better believe I replace buttons rather than the item that needs them! :think:

[CrispyQ]

12. I regret that the family button bin didn't land in my possession.

I spent hours looking through all those buttons. I have no idea who ended up with that wonderful treasure.

[Control-Z]

46. One of my favorite childhood memories

is of the hours I would spend sorting through the button bin.

[tomm2thumbs]

78. me too

it was in an old candy tin - trying to find a few that matched and were candy-plastic clear was fun

dunno what I would have ever done with 'em, but I do know how a button works! hehehe

[RogerBakwater]

22. I have a very old button

, it is made from one of the first pieces of metal that the indians found. Its round and very worn my father gave it to me, he had found it in the woods.

[SoCalDem]

24. I have one too..from my grandmother who was born in 1889

There are some BEAUTIFUL buttons...made from wood and mother of pearl

I have never used any of them, but I still save them:)

[Silver Gaia]

93. I have both my grandmothers' button collections.

One is in a jar, and the other is in an old cigar box. I treasure them! (And have actually used some of them. :) )

[Skittles]

9. I always add extra thread to the buttons (re-sew)

buttons fall off way too easily now

[Posteritatis]

15. People can always spot the ones I replace

They're ... overengineered, to say the least. It would probably take fire to get rid of them.

[Vickers]

63. "They're ... overengineered"

:rofl:

You and me both, Posteritatis!

I once replaced a button and realized that I had it slightly misaligned, and I just about couldn't cut the damn thing back off to move it.

[Posteritatis]

13. As others said, yarn stores are usually a pretty safe bet for that

I lucked out myself; the last time my coat threw a button one November, I actually found the thing again outside after the spring thaw.

[enlightenment]

21. Large craft stores, also.

Jo-Ann's Fabrics (which is really a craft store chain) still carries a great selection of buttons.

[FirstLight]

14. replacement society...

throw out the coat? ya, a lot of folks are THAT lazy and have that much 'expendable income'

same with cd players, tv's phones, small kitchen appliances, etc...

I remember when the stereo of a house was a really nice piece of wood and chrome metal, not much plastic. and even later, when my mom 'upgraded' to a fisher with some cool digital looking lights, we would replace the needle on the turntable or my dad would buy fuses for it if necessary...

that's part of sustainability that we need to recover...fixing things.

[undeterred]

16. Its crazy.

Its crazy that we can't buy simple things like buttons easily, but also that common skills like sewing and mending are becoming a thing of the past. I was looking for cream colored 1 inch buttons, nothing fancy- and that's what I couldn't find anywhere but Walmart.

[Jamastiene]

48. I remember the excitement I felt when I completed my TV/VCR repair course...

only to find that people don't repair TVs and VCRs any more. They buy new ones and throw the old ones out. It's cheaper and seems to be the norm in our sick society.

[defendandprotect]

111. It's true ... I threw out an old GE toaster oven two decades ago I wish I still had ....

I've been looking for a new toaster oven for two years now after my

DeLonghi quit --

and I bought a new CD player -- Toshiba -- about three years ago --

used it only a few times and it now refuses to turn on -- if manage to

turn it on, it plays fine. But most of the time it won't turn on.

To repair it is $70 minimum .... they'll check it out for free, however.

hmmmmm.....

[CrispyQ]

84. "Planned obsolescence."

What a stupid fucking concept! It's filled our landfills with items that were or should have been built to last for decades. Instead, it's cheaper to throw a toaster out than to fix it. Also, it's hard to find anyone who does that type of work anymore - fixing appliances & household items.

Madison Avenue has had a horrid impact on American culture & our environment.

We're consuming our eco-system for the profit of a few.

[FirstLight]

97. well, we should be teaching the skills to our kids NOW

peak oil and economic collapse will bring back all thsoe skills with a quickness..

I am grateful my grandma taught me simple things like baking biscuits from scratch and sewing by hand... and my daughter is learning because I am teaching her...and you know we can take that time to share stories about ancestors and life in the depression era or even my growing up years in the 70s. those are things that are priceless, the simple act of teaching our kids about lifeskills and how those things tie us together...
and, it's fun!

[StarsInHerHair]

17. you can find vintage buttons online, they also tell u size of buttons

& they're not usually expensive. Most buttons on ready to wear nowadays have to be handsewn on, for coats use the thread shank method. I've noticed dangling buttons on sweaters in stores, really cheap so the shareholders get more money.

[grilled onions]

18. Hard To Find Items?

Look on line. Shop on line. Find crafty websites. Find thrifty websites where people throw nothing out and know where to find just about everything needed to repair items such as clothes.
It's about time people start button gathering once again. There are many times when you have items good enough to donate to the local clothes closet but for those items that even are too pathetic for them make sure every button,workable zipper or ornamental do dads are removed before you place that worn out garment into the rag bag. Nothing should be tossed if at all possible. Many an old T-shirt makes a grand wiping,polishing cloth. Sweaters can actually be unwoubnd and the yarn can be reused in many craft projects.

[RogerBakwater]

20. $200???

Thats a lot of money for a coat, I am sure that coats can be nice and all...but that is a lot of money! nearly a weeks wages at minimum.

[Posteritatis]

23. Mine's a bit more than that

It's also a rather nice one (by standards I'm used to), has removable parts so it's comfortable in anything from early summer to -40 blizzards, and I haven't had to repair any of it other than the button I mention elsewhere in the three years since I've gotten it. I don't expect to have to replace it, or even do much maintenance on it beyond cleaning, for a long time.

A lot of expensive ones can be ripoffs, especially if the main selling point is a logo or brand name, but it's definitely possible to find one in that range that's worth the money.

[Hippo_Tron]

35. If it lasts for years it's not that much

If it lasts 10 years that's $20 a year. If it lasts for 15 years that's a little more than $13 a year. $200 is a lot to pay for a coat you will wear for one season. If it's an investment that will last, it's not.

[joshcryer]

51. I brother dropped $600 on a leather jacket he wore maybe 3 times, then outgrew...

...because he gained a lot of weight (and hasn't lost it since). He left it with me and I cherish the hell out of it simply because of how much it costed and it's nice. If I have it 15 years I will most certainly not have gained 15 years worth of wearing out of it. I'll wear it to family ocassions or to other special engagements, but it sure won't get the same kind of work my $50 coat gets.

[Hippo_Tron]

55. Quality clothes can be expensive or inexpensive

If you found a $50 coat that you like and wear it again and again then that's a hell of a find.

[Codeine]

40. A good coat will last many years.

A worthy investment, especially if it's an enduring fashion.

[Jamastiene]

49. That depends on the coat.

If it is a well made coat, it can last for years and years. Those are worth the money. I still have a jacket, still in good shape and still used, that I got 30 years ago as a Christmas gift.

[undeterred]

59. When I buy something now I expect to wear it for years.

And its almost always very good quality on sale or I don't buy it in the first place.

[taught_me_patience]

98. Is it better to buy a shit coat for $40 that lasts one season

or a $200 coat that lasts 10 seasons and looks and feels better too? Penny wise pound foolish mentality.

[tblue37]

25. You can buy buttons online, too. Sure, you'd have to buy more than just one,

but then you'd have replacement buttons.

[pipi_k]

26. I've bought buttons online...

Not from this place specifically...it was quite some time ago and I don't remember where, but...


http://www.mjtrim.com/Catalog/Category/423.aspx?gclid=CPqZ1vr3sKUCFUbf4AodW3txWw


They say they have 300+ different kinds of buttons

I'm sure a few Google searches would probably yield a bunch of places for buttons...


I get almost everything online

:7

[pansypoo53219]

28. 'my' resale shop sells lots of buttons.

plus i have a hoard of buttons.

[Lasher]

29. My dry cleaner has tons of buttons.

Makes sense, right? And they sew one on for me for a small charge if I ask.

[Warpy]

30. Fortunately, I've collected buttons for a very long time

and if I lost a button on a coat and couldn't find either a replacement or enough of that size to make a set, I'd make them all different so it looked like I planned it that way.

Unfortunately, mending is a lost art as clothing is discarded as soon as it's not trendy any more or decomposes into rags after multiple washings.

As the economy continues to bite warthog balls for everybody with less than a billion, a lot of lost arts are going to have to be rediscovered and patches and mismatched buttons will have to be new fashion statements.

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[defendandprotect]

32. Damned hard to find fabric or threads or buttons anymore ...

There's a very old hardware store down by the shore I go to --

they still have old stock of buttons!! But when they're gone that will

be it!

[EFerrari]

37. Second hand stores often have a little shelf with sewing stuff

like buttons, thread and facing. The thread is sometimes too old to use but the plastic buttons are usually okay. :)

[defendandprotect]

116. I'm finding in trying to track fabric stores that this stuff has all shifted to internet ....

and some very beautiful fabrics -- but I prefer to have some experience with

the manufacturer -- or be able to actually view/feel the fabric.

I just like the idea of knowing that if I need something I can actually make it --

getting the fabric is something else --

like making a white taffeta slip for my daughter -- just following the lines of an older one.

Pretty much all I do with sewing now is making some baby quilts -- nothing very fussy --

just a few baby prints and making something quilt like -- works well for new babies --

you have to put them down on the floor on something.

:)

[knitter4democracy]

72. You should move here.

:)

http://www.fabricationsonline.com/

http://www.yourlocalyarnshop.com/

http://www.fieldsfabrics.com/

Plus Hobby Lobby, stuff at Meijers, Ben Franklin, another yarn shop that isn't on-line, and more.

[SalviaBlue]

34. Sounds like you were indeed deterred.

[Zanzobar]

36. Fingerprint technology and button clearinghouse

I think it could work.

[murielm99]

38. I have had that problem.

I can recall looking in every likely store for buttons and finding nothing. Later, I discovered that craft stores often carry buttons. Try some place like that.

I do have something in my house that most women used to have. It is a large tin filled with buttons. I inherited this tin box from the lady who sold us the house. She sewed, and she used to cut off all the buttons on anything she discarded and save them to use on new garments. Many times I have found replacement buttons in this tin. I remember my mother, my grandmother and many other older ladies saving buttons in this way and reusing them. When I was a kid, I used to like to sort through my mother's and grandmother's button tins.

[Jamastiene]

52. I aimed for both my mother's and my grandmother's button jars.

Every time I would visit my grandmother, I would dive into her old 78 rpm record collection and play them on her record player. Her record player was one of those kind that sits down in a piece of furniture with a tweed front and a huge speaker that sounded better than even the quality of the best DVDs of today. It had a lid with one of those slide hinges. You would open up the top and the record player was sitting down inside the cabinet. She had two of those. One only had one speaker and was about the size of a nightstand. The other was as big as a dresser and had 2 speakers, an 8 track, AM radio, and a record player. I'd give anything to have one of those today.

Not only that, she had a phone chair. It was a chair with a table built onto the chair to the right hand side. It had a neat little cubby hole for storing the phone book.

She also made balls out of cotton yarn. She would bring a spool of seconds home from the textile mill where she worked. They threw it out and said she could take it home. She would spin that ball with that cotton thread and make it perfectly round. I played with those before I could save up to buy a real baseball later. She taught me how to make one. I started making them, then finding some pieces of red thread to make the "stitching" to make it look like a baseball. I even made some of those for my cats as toys. They loved those more than the store bought toys. I'll never forget my grandmother making one of those for me and playing catch with me.

She also had a wardrobe made out of cedar and a closet full of the greatest stuff I have ever discovered. That closet was my Secret Garden/sacred spot. It had jars of buttons, jars of old coins from around the world, boxes of things I have never seen anywhere else. She even had a little box that when you opened it up, it had a half of a corn cob with the corn removed from the cob. There was a picture of an outhouse with the slogan "In Case of Emergency" in the lid. She also had a great little oddly shaped plate that said, "We don't drink out of your toilet. So, please don't pee in our pool."

She had moonshine jug lamps too. I still have one of those. It is one of my most prized possessions. It is basically an old moonshine jug, with a light socket stuck into some cork and stuck in the mouth in place of the original cork. I decided to fill it with some aquarium rocks. I tipped it over at an angle while I was putting the different color rocks in and it make a diagonal design in blue and pink aquarium rocks. I love that lamp.

The button jar was always a huge favorite. I loved the big bright green buttons the best. There were a few in there. Buttons came in handy for a lot of things. If your checkers board was missing a checker, buttons made great stand-ins. I'll never forget when my grandmother saved all the buttons off an old ripped petticoat someone gave her. She used the scraps from the petticoat along with all her other scraps to make quilts and pot holders.

I miss my grandmother. Your post brought back some of the best memories. :)

[sabrina 1]

56. That is a wonderful comment. I could see your grandmother's

closet from your description. It sound like a child's dream come true. Grandmothers are special people. I am sure you do miss her. We had a button box also that I think my SO's grandmother gave us and my mom collected buttons also. I too remember playing with buttons as a child.

[SheilaT]

39. Yarn shops, at least the ones that

I have been to in the past few years, generally do not carry buttons. Fabric stores do. People who knit or crochet (meaning those who patronize yarn shops) don't often make things that require buttons. People who sew (fabric shops) often do require buttons. So, at the risk of repeating myself, check out fabric shops, NOT yarn shops.

I've probably been to nearly a hundred fabric shops in the past few years, not to mention the odd wool festival or two, and I can't recall ever seeing buttons at them.

[bluedigger]

41. Wait. They still make coats with buttons?

:shrug: :P

[Jamastiene]

53. It does seem like every coat made nowadays has cheap zippers

that quit working after the first time you use them. I hate the newfangled cheap zippers. There was a time when zippers were well made. Not now.

Or worse; velcro. Who wants to scrape winter skin against rough velcro? Dry skin in winter is painful enough without having to touch velcro or accidentally have it scrape against your hands. Ouch!

[Contrary1]

42. Buttons are cool...

I recently sent a couple buttons to a fellow cancer survivor who has had some health issues. She collects them.

One was a big beautiful button with rhinestones from my Mom's winter coat. She wore it in the late 50's/early 60's. As a child, I loved to watch the colors sparkle when the light hit them.

Nothing to do with your post, of course. Just a memory from long ago.

[4lbs]

43. deleted message. wrong spot.

[4lbs]

44. Have you considered buying them online?

Here's a really good one. I've bought lots from them before, for my mother, who still likes to make/sew her own clothes. They have literally thousands of different types of buttons.

http://www.buttons-boutique.com/

[Phentex]

86. There's no excuse....

You can find just about anything online these days. I googled buttons and there are a ton of places with inexpensive buttons.

I realize that's not the point of the OP but still.

[undeterred]

91. I did learn something from this post

and in the future I will probably look for buttons online. I didn't think of it before- to me it still seems like a simple errand that is like going to the hardware store- I don't expect to pay a lot, or pay for shipping, and I want to look at it and make sure it matches before I buy it and I don't want to wait for it... all that changes when I buy it online.

And what would I do if I were one of the millions of people who doesn't use a computer? It just seems like a high tech way to solve a low tech problem.

[Phentex]

95. But you do...

If you want to talk about every situation...the person without a computer can go to the library, unless he's blind with no legs or fingers, or family.

I'm so cheap, I'd probably remove a button from the coat where I didn't need it and use where I did (like from the very bottom or the very top.)

Your point stands, though. We are in a throwaway world. It's cheaper to buy a new printer than keep replacing the damn cartridges in many cases.

[Jamastiene]

47. Replace all the buttons.

There is no need to buy a new coat. That is just ridiculous.

If you just cannot find those buttons, and are not super attached to the rest of the matching buttons still on the coat, maybe just replace all of the buttons with some new buttons that all match.

Buy a new coat. That's just preposterous.

[joshcryer]

50. You wouldn't want to replace your fancy $200 coat, but if you only had a $20 coat...

...from Wal-Mart made by the same people who made those buttons, and it got paint on it or something worse, you'd replace it in a heart beat.

[knitter4democracy]

73. Um, why?

I fix my stuff, even if it's supposedly cheap. I darn my socks, too, but only the ones I really like and want to keep.

[Hippo_Tron]

54. I really don't understand "just buying a new one" with clothes

When I shop for clothes I spend a great deal of time doing so because I give serious consideration as to whether every item I buy would be something that I will wear for years and year until it can't be worn anymore. Furthermore, if I ever lose a piece of clothing (doesn't happen often but on rare occasions) I get frustrated because it really isn't replaceable. They don't make the exact same sweaters/jackets from year to year and even if you find something similar it doesn't necessarily fit the way the old one did.

If people use a missing button as an excuse to replace a coat, it's because they bought a coat that went out of style the next season or that they didn't like very much in the first place.

[undeterred]

60. Me neither.

I bought really good hiking boots from REI for $130 and expected them to last forever. Well, they lasted 12 years, until my puppy chewed on them...both boots, same place. I certainly got my moneys worth out of them but I was still disappointed because they would have lasted longer!

[GoCubsGo]

67. I have a parka shell I bought from REI in 1991.

It's a bit battered around the pockets, but still in great shape overall. Nice heavy-duty zipper, and snaps, rather than Velcro. I only regret that it isn't Gore-Tex. :-) I think I paid more than I would have liked for this jacket, but I certainly have gotten my money's worth out of it.

[JANdad]

57. I read this thinking there was a moral to this story...

"No..theres no moral...I just like that story..." - Granpa Gustafson, Grumpy Old Men

[undeterred]

79. Its about sustainability.

Its becoming harder and harder to make things last longer. It used to be the case that anything with buttons always came with extra buttons. Somewhere along the line, that has stopped. So now if you lose a button its hard to replace and you have to replace the whole garment at a much higher cost. Its wasteful.

[Phentex]

88. But it's not hard to replace a button...

unless you need a perfectly matching button. It's very easy to replace buttons.

[undeterred]

100. Well, I didn't find it to be so easy.

[eridani]

58. Making buttons out of polymer clay is fun

A cheap used toater oven cooks up just about anything you want to make out of it.

[My Good Babushka]

62. I was talking about this same thing not long ago

I knit vintage style wool sweaters and could not find decent buttons, beautiful buttons with solidity and character to finish them. I started buying vintage buttons through etsy, where I also sell the finished sweaters. Etsy sellers have a huge selection of buttons.
Here are a couple of my sweaters, btw!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61122827/mens-shawl-collar-cardigan-brown
http://www.etsy.com/listing/55769073/mens-classic-raglan-longsleeved-wool

[SoCalDem]

66. Goodwill store..find a coat with buttons you like

buy the coat FOR the buttons:)..probably cheaper than buttons alone, of you ever find them:)

I had a friend once who bought a ratty old London Fog she found at a thrift store because the belt on it was like new and the buttons were exactly like hers..and the zip out liner in the thrift store coat was like new and hers was worn out..

She spent $8 for that coat, and after she cannibalized it, she used the coat itself as a cover for the dog bed:rofl:

[Duer 157099]

103. Exactly. A thrift store will solve your problem.

I had the same issue not long ago and was really surprised at the limited buttons available, even at stores like JoAnn or other craft stores. Cannibalizing buttons from clothing from a thrift store was the perfect solution. Since then, I've actually started collecting buttons whenever I find them, just so this doesn't happen again. As a result I have a HUGE tin full of buttons.

[SoCalDem]

105. People no longer have the time to sew their own clothing

and how many kids now even take home ec?

In MY day, EVERY young wife had her own sewing machine, and we ALL sewed.. Not necessarily to make all our clothing, but it was a fun thing to do..

When all the flameproofing chemicals started showing up in kids sleepwear, I took apart a "footie-sleeper" and started sewing my own for the kids..:) I even made their summer shorts..I had boys, so there was NO way I would have tackled jeans or even tee shirts, but I could do pajamas:)

I also used to make the cutest baby bibs out of fingertip towels & appliques & bias tape (do they even make bias tape anymore:rofl:..)

[Duer 157099]

106. The sad thing is

I took Home Ec and supposedly learned how to sew and yet today the only thing I ever attempt is with a needle and a thread. I got the first "C" in my life in that class, and I think it damaged me, lol.

But I can still sew on a button or repair a hem, as long as it only takes a needle and a thread.

[SoCalDem]

107. I got a D...because I hemmed my cooking class apron on the wrong side

The teacher said if I ripped it out & re-hemmed it, she'd give me a B.. I kept the D.:)7th graders can be stubborn :)

We always had sewing 1st semester & cooking 2nd semester..

[Duer 157099]

108. Heh! Yep, sewing and cooking

Fortunately, the cooking one took, hard and strong, lol.

[DeschutesRiver]

68. Buttons I can eventually find and fix; but broken zippers are beyond me

And I'm finding that quite a few zippers don't hold up like they used to - I even have an Obama fleece jacket with a broken zipper, not used hard but the zipper broke after just over a year's worth of light use. I have a couple of other outdoor use hoodies (Dickies that I use for chores) with broken zippers, only a few years old. The cost at the local seamstress to replace the zippers is more than the cost of the jacket, and I'm wondering if the zipper she repairs it with will be any more sturdy than what it is replacing. If I had a sewing machine, I'd give it a go. Maybe sewing is a hobby I will take up again for the first time since I was a kid.

I also have some hoodies and sweatpants that are over 15 years old, and one I am sure is almost 20 years old. The zippers are perfect, and these are used quite a bit. Fabric is only now starting to break down in spots on the sweatpants, and I admit, I just added a patch to keep 'em going (although I need to find patching material that is softer than what I used).

They wash well, they wear comfortably and they've never pilled - a little oxyclean and they are almost as bright as new. Yeah, I'm old, and this is usually a trite phrase of old people, but really it seems true that they aren't making stuff like they used to back when I was younger.

[DeschutesRiver]

74. Forgot - most people tell me "just toss it and get a new one"

I think there are a ton of people who toss something without a button, or needing a patch or with a broken zipper.

For that matter, they toss anything that doesn't has a hiccup in operation. I know a couple who bought a coffee grinder; it was under a year old when it had issues, and the husband said he was going to throw it out and get a new one ($150 item at the time). I said dude, that thing has a year warranty, and there is a Starbucks down the street from you that will probably just swap that out with a new one.

They had just tossed a mattress that really did have a defect issue - broke down in the center after only 2 years use. Given that the mattress cost them $3,000, I'd have thought they'd have contacted the company at least before they bought another (there was obviously no reason for the breakdown in the mattress other than a defect - it was definitely worth a try). And these weren't what I'd call affluent folks - the wife had no job (no kids either) and the husband was a drywaller.

I guess if people are willing to toss defective things with that kind of price tag, then tossing a piece of broken clothing isn't a big deal at all for them.

[cally]

75. I buy buttons at a few button shops that still exist in

large cities. I know of one in Berkeley, San Francisco, LA, and NY. They are hard to find, but they do still exist a few places. The other option is a dry cleaners. They will often have many buttons available.

I agree with your main point, it's absurd than anyone would replace a full coat because they lost one button.

[tomm2thumbs]

77. when a headlight goes out, I buy a new car

I figure it is good for the economy - now, if I could sew on a new headlight, that would be different, but how on earth do you ever get a headlamp out of a car anyway? I can barely operate my toaster. <g>

[Posteritatis]

85. A lantern and some baling wire oughta do it! (nt)

[HughBeaumont]

96. Go to Michaels or Pat Catans - they have buttons and pegs out the YinYang Twins.

[mstinamotorcity]

99. No buttons

well that probably explains why some children can't tie shoes, velcro!!

[Duer 157099]

104. Now let's talk about losing a zipper

That is a pain. I thought it would be a fairly trivial thing to replace a zipper, but no, it's not. My son has a very nice sweatshirt, a zipper hoodie, that has lost the zipper thingy, and for the life of me, I cannot fix it, no matter what. Short of replacing the whole thing, which is well beyond my ability, forget it.

So he's got an awesome hoodie that he can't use. But I'm holding onto it in case I figure out how to fix it, someday.

[knitter4democracy]

113. Do you have a tailor in your area?

We have a great one who is pretty cheap (I think--very reasonable price to entirely re-make my daughter's and my dresses for a wedding a couple of years back, and her work was stellar), and one of the services she offers is putting in a new zipper. I think she charges $10.

[defendandprotect]

114. Lucklily, we have a terrific tailor in my town ... She did new pockets for me in a favorite

winter coat -- silk or silk/satin pockets -- lovely -- $12 -- !!