HISTORY148 - Clothes Fasteners

As usual, the idea for this blog came out of talking with Pat, who was telling me about her grandmother who ran a dress-making business in Brooklyn, New York in the early 1900s.  That discussion soon moved into the subject of zippers, the new clothes fastener of Pat’s grandmother’s time.  From there, we talked about all the different clothes fasteners we could think of, not knowing when they were invented, nor their development history, or popularity today. 

So, I began thinking that I would research and write about the history of clothes fasteners, such as pins, buttons, snap fasteners, suspenders and belts, zippers, and more.  I was well down the road in my thinking when I realized that I needed to start with the history of stitching (sewing) because many historical and modern fastening techniques rely heavily on specialized stitching. 

 

After an introduction, in which I will say more about the strong relationship between stitching and clothes fasteners, I will cover the history of stitching, and then such clothes fasteners as pins, drawstrings, lacing, buttons, hooks and eyes, snap fasteners, belts/suspenders, zippers, Velcro, and magnets.  This isn’t an exhaustive list of clothes fasteners, but it is certainly representative.

I will list my principal sources at the end.

 

Introduction

The evolution of clothing fasteners reflects humanity's quest for comfort, tailored fit, and utility.  It progressed from primitive, simple ties and piercing tools to sophisticated, mass-produced locking mechanisms.  Each era introduced innovations to accommodate changing garment styles, improved manufacturing techniques, and lifestyle needs.

Stitching isn't typically categorized as a clothes fastener because it usually represents the permanent assembly of a garment rather than a removable, operable closure.  Stitching is the fundamental construction method (seams and hems) that gives a garment its shape.  It permanently unites pieces of fabric and requires a tool (like scissors or a seam ripper) to undo.

While stitches can hold fabrics together, fasteners specifically refer to temporary hardware or devices used to open, close, and adjust clothing.  Fasteners are removable mechanisms designed to be operated repeatedly by the wearer.  They allow clothing with fitted cuts to be easily put on, taken off, and adjusted without destroying the garment.  Stitching is often use to attach fasteners to clothes and also to reinforce fabric openings with thread - through which fasteners pass through to hold layers together, e.g., buttonholes.

 

Stitching

Stitching clothes together began about 25,000 to 30,000 years ago.  Early humans survived harsh climates by using carved bone, ivory, or antler needles and animal sinew or plant fibers to bind animal hides and furs together into rudimentary garments.

 

The oldest known sewing needles, found in Western Tibet - used as many as 9,000 years ago.

 

The evolution of stitching and garment construction has progressed through several major milestones:

·         Ancient Eyed Needles (c. 25,000 to 45,000 years ago): The invention of needles with eyes allowed for more complex stitching, transforming clothing from simple draped skins into fitted, functional cold-weather gear.

·         The Middle Ages (c. 5^th to 15^th Century):  Tailoring emerged as a formal profession, and with it came the evolution of fitted garments.  Instead of using simple squares and triangles of fabric, tailors began cutting shaped armholes and adding side seams.  Buttons and laces were also introduced to secure and fit clothes to the body.  See below.

·         The Industrial Revolution (18^th to 19^th Century): The invention of the sewing machine completely transformed how clothing was produced.  While English cabinet maker Thomas Saint patented the first concept in 1790, it wasn't until American inventors Elias Howe (lockstitch machine) and Isaac Singer (foot treadle) developed functional machines in the 1840s and 1850s that mass-produced clothing became possible.

·         Modern Era: Sewing transitioned from an absolute daily survival necessity to a specialized industrial process and a popular hobby.  Today, computer-assisted machinery and global supply chains produce the vast majority of our ready-to-wear clothing.

 

Drawstrings

Drawstrings and their functional casings are as old as human civilization, predating recorded history.  While ancient versions were often simply tied around the waist or laced through exposed holes, the enclosed fabric channel or "casing" evolved alongside the development of basic tailoring to easily secure garments and hoods.

Ancient Egyptians used cords to gather the necks and waists of garments. 

During the Middle Ages (approx. 500 to 1500 AD), drawstrings were used to secure loose-fitting undergarments and breeches.  Tailors also used drawstrings to adjust necklines and sleeve openings on early tunics.  In the 18^th and 19^th centuries, women used drawstrings at the back of formal gowns to adjust the fit of the bodice.

Drawstring on Medieval style breeches.

 

As metal buttons, snaps, and zippers became common (see below), drawstrings shifted toward casual wear and activewear.  They are now a staple feature on sweatpants, swimwear, and hoodies.  In 1996, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission issued guidelines restricting neck and waist drawstrings on children's hoodies and jackets to prevent choking and entanglement hazards.

 

Lacing

Stone age people used a cord laced back and forth through holes cut in their animal skin garments to close them around the body to provide warmth or to lace garment pieces together to form larger garments.  The cords were cut from flexible strips of leather or sinew (tough, fibrous animal tissue).  Instead of tying a knot, they tied a small piece of wood, bone, or antler (called a toggle) into the end of the lace loop and twisted them tight.  Lacing was the best way to pull loose, shapeless cloth tight to the body.  It allowed one garment to fit different sizes.

Ancient toggles carved from bone.

 

Ancient people also tied cord through small loops or holes to close shoes and used toggles to hold them securely.  Greeks and Romans tied up their leather sandals using cords and Viking widely used them in clothing.  Until Medieval times, toggles were the main way to close clothing.

Before the 1300s, clothes were loose and baggy.  Lacing allowed tailors to create fitted clothing that showed the shape of the body.  Working people wore garments called kirtles that could lace up the front, back, or sides to make them easy to put on and take off.

In the Renaissance and Victorian Eras (1500 - 1900), royalty and wealthy people used expensive gold and silver cords to lace their fancy outfits.  Lacing became famous in women's corsets and bodices.  Stiff laces pulled fabric tight to create a very small waist.  In the 1800s, metal eyelet rings were invented.  These metal rings protected the cloth holes from tearing when the laces were pulled extra tight.

When zippers and elastic were invented (see below), lacing largely disappeared from everyday clothing.  Today, lacing remains a popular way to fasten shoes, corsets, swimsuits, and heavy outdoor coats and jackets.

 

Pins

I’m going to talk about two kinds of pins: straight pins and safety pins.

Straight Pins:  Thousands of years ago, people used basic, pointed items like thorns, fish bones, and slivers of wood to hold animal skins and early clothing together.  Around 10,000 years ago, early humans crafted crude decorated straight pins.  By the Bronze Age, pins were made from copper and bronze, and eventually iron, serving both functional and highly decorative purposes.

Wealthy Romans wore highly decorated silver and gold pins that showed off their family status.

Roman silver straight pin.

 

In the 1300s - 1600s, Europeans continued to use simple straight pins.  Poor people used sharpened wooden skewers to hold their clothes together.  Rich people used pins made of bone, ivory, silver, or gold.  As clothing styles became more fitted during the 14^th and 15^th centuries, people relied heavily on pins to tuck and fold fabrics into place.  In Tudor England, for example, pins were so essential that you could not easily get dressed without them. 

Simple metal or bone pins were mass-produced in the Renaissance era.  They were extensively used by tailors to pin a woman tightly into her bodice, ensuring a smooth, tailored fit.

Pin makers learned to draw metal wire through holes to make uniform pins.  The pin-making process was complex, requiring up to 18 distinct steps by hand.  Moreover, early hand-made pins were prone to rusting.  Seamstresses and tailors used bags of emery grit (from very hard rocks) to scrub the rust off their pins before using them.

Before the 1800s, pin heads were tiny, separate pieces of wire wrapped around the top of the pin.  In 1824, the solid-headed pin was invented.  In the 1830s and 1840s, British and American inventors patented machines that could automatically cut, sharpen, and shape a pin from a single piece of wire.  In 1843, machines were invented to automatically crimp paper cards and insert the pins directly into them for sale.  By the mid-to-late 1800s, nickel plating was used to keep steel pins from rusting.

Today, straight pins come in various sizes and materials, including titanium and rust-proof stainless steel.  Some also feature brightly colored plastic or glass heads so they are easy to see in fabric.

Safety Pins:  A straight thorn or bone pin could easily fall out when a person moved.  To fix this, around 1200 BC, ancient Grecians and Romans invented the fibula, a metal pin attached to a small bow or ring.  The sharp end of the pin pierced the cloth.  It then bent around and hooked into a little slot (catch-plate) on the other side, pinning cloth securely with a pin and catch.

Fibulae were the earliest antecedents to the modern safety pin, functioning as a clasp to hold fabric together at the shoulder. They stopped the pin from poking the wearer and held fabric much more tightly.  These ancient devices were often made of bronze, gold, or silver, and decorated with carved animals or intricate patterns.

Roman bronze fibula pin.

 

In the 1800s, people were still using dangerous, open straight pins to fasten clothing and diapers. American mechanic Walter Hunt twisted a piece of metal wire into a coiled spring and added a clasp to cover the sharp point.  This solved the problem of people poking themselves while dressing.  He patented the design on April 10, 1849.

Modern safety pin.

 

Today, machines produce an estimated one billion safety pins each year using this exact same design.

 

Buttons

Buttons began as ancient status symbols, made of bone, shell, animal horns, and bronze in the Indus Valley (Pakistan and northwest India) around 2000 BC.  People did not use buttons to fasten clothing yet.  They used buttons primarily as decorative badges and jewelry to show how rich they were.

Early buttons had a V-shaped or curved design with holes.  Early crafters tied a thread through or around the button.  They used them to decorate belts, cloaks, and armor.  Because bronze was a brand-new metal alloy (a mix of copper and tin), it was expensive.  Bronze buttons instantly showed that the wearer was wealthy or important.

Decorative conical buttons from the Bronze Age.

 

The first functional use of buttons was in ancient Rome where metallic buttons were pushed through leather slits (precursor buttonholes) to fasten their equipment and shoes.  By the 5^th century AD, the Byzantines began using buttons to securely fasten the necks of tunics and close cuffs.  Instead of the cut-and-stitched buttonholes we use today, Byzantines and early Medieval tailors paired small buttons with flexible “loops” made of thread or fabric.

In the Middle Ages, before the 13^th century, European clothing was loose.  People held clothes together using pins, laces, and buttons on one garment edge paired with loops on the other garment edge.  Then, tailors in 13^th-century Germany invented the buttonhole (a reinforced slit in the fabric). This changed everything, allowing tailors to make tight, form-fitting clothes.

The most common type of Medieval buttons was made by gathering scrap linen or silk over a scrap core into a tight ball.  Rich people used cast pewter, bronze, bone, or gold. The buttons acted like jewelry.  People also made flat molds decorated with jewels or carvings.  Women and men wore long rows of buttons tight around the wrists and forearms.  Jackets and dresses had tight rows of buttonholes down the front.

Cast bronze Medieval buttons.

 

In the Industrial Age, in the 18^th and 19^th Century, machines made it possible to create many buttons at once.  People used cheaper materials like brass, glass, and wood.  Women's boots and dresses had so many small buttons that people used a special tool called a "button hook" to fasten them quickly.

In the 1900s, scientists invented plastic, making it easy to create cheap, durable buttons in every color.

Modern plastic buttons.

 

Buttons are the most popular and enduring clothing fasteners in history. Today, they remain a ubiquitous staple in modern fashion, blending practical utility with decorative design.

 

Hooks and Eyes

Hooks and eyes date back to at least Medieval Europe in the 14^th century.  Before the 1300s, most clothing was draped and tied.  As tailors began cutting clothes to tightly fit the body, they needed strong, hidden fasteners to provide a discreet way to fasten fitted bodices, corsets, and heavy outerwear.

These early hand-formed metal fasteners typically came in two basic pieces: The hook was a curved piece of wire (often shaped like a U) with two small round loops.  Tailors sewed these loops onto the edge of one fabric layer.  The Eye was a tiny metal ring or straight bar. These were stitched to the overlapping edge of the garment.

Medieval hooks and eyes.

 

Depending on a person's wealth, these closures were made of different metals.  Poor people used iron or bronze.  Wealthy nobles used silver or gold.

During the Industrial Revolution, in the late 18^th century, machines allowed for fast, mass production.  Stamped sheet-metal and standardized sizing made hooks and eyes very cheap.  They became a standard feature for mass-produced clothes.

In 1900 and 1902, inventors patented attachable hooks and eyes that gripped directly onto fabric without stitches. To make dressing easier, companies attached many hooks and eyes to rows of fabric tape. This "zipped" closures together instantly.

Today, hooks and eyes are most common on bras, corsets, and shapewear.  They are also used at the top of zippers on formal dresses to prevent the zipper from sliding down.  See below.

 

Snap Fasteners

Snap fasteners are interlocking metal or plastic discs.  One piece has a small bump, and the other has a matching hole.  They snap together with a simple click.  Patented by Heribert Bauer in 1885 in Germany, the ball-and-socket mechanism replaced traditional lacing and heavy buttons on gloves, children's clothes, and undergarments.

Metal snap fastener.

 

In 1903, the German company, William Prym Holding GmbH, bought Bauer's patent and improved it.  They began mass production, making the snaps durable and affordable.  Both World Wars heavily pushed the use of snaps.  Militaries needed fast, reliable closures for gear, tents, and uniforms that soldiers could use with gloved hands.  In the 1940s, snaps changed everyday workwear.  They were used on overalls because they did not snag on fences or machinery.

In 1946, designer Jack Weil (founder of Rockmount Ranch Wear) introduced decorative metal snaps (often "pearl snaps") to cowboy shirts.  This made snaps a major staple of American Western style.  By the mid-20^th century, plastic-capped prong snaps became popular for children's clothes.  They were safe, rust-proof, and easy for parents to quickly snap.

Today, snap fasteners are manufactured by the millions using automated machines.  They range from heavy-duty metal snaps on leather jackets to hidden plastic snaps on baby clothes.

 

Belts, Buckles, and Suspenders

Early humans used ropes, vines, and raw animal hide as belts to secure loincloths and wrap tunics. 

Belt buckles to help secure belts date back to the Bronze Age, around 1500 BC.  Ancient nomadic groups and early civilizations used them on belts to fasten clothing and secure leather armor.  Roman soldiers used them for their gear and as a way to show rank.  The more important a soldier was, the more precious the metal on his buckle.

Roman military belt buckles.

 

During the Middle Ages, knights used buckles on belts to keep their heavy armor and weapons securely in place.  By the 1600s and 1700s, buckles were no longer just for the military.  Over time, they evolved from practical armor fasteners to powerful status symbols and highly prized trophies.  European royalty wore large, shiny buckles made of silver or gold to show their wealth.  Poor people wore simple straps.  People even wore buckles on their shoes. 

By the 1800s, trousers were worn too high for belts, and belts were replaced with suspenders, straps worn over the shoulders to hold up pants.  (The first suspenders in the 1700s were simple fabric ribbons attached to buttons to holdup hidden undergarments.)  In the 1820s, British designer Albert Thurston created the modern version to hold up trousers.  He used leather loops and an "H-back" shape.  In 1871, author Mark Twain got a patent for adjustable and detachable straps.  He wanted to make them more comfortable.  In 1994, metal clips were invented, and pants did not need special buttons anymore. 

Early suspenders.

 

Pants styles changed after World War I.  Waistlines dropped, and belt loops were added to jeans.  Belts quickly replaced suspenders because they offered a tighter, more flexible fit.  Men kept wearing suspenders, but belts slowly became the standard. Today, belts with buckles serve both functional and highly decorative purposes.

When the belt buckle came to the American West in the 1800s, it was simple and tough.  Cowboys used them for everyday work.  This changed in the early 1900s.  Hollywood movies made the cowboy a hero, and costume makers created oversized, shiny buckles that looked great on camera.  Soon, rodeos started giving giant, engraved buckles to their champions instead of ribbons or trophies. Today, wearing a big Western buckle is a sign of great pride, achievement, and history.

 

Zippers

In 1851, American inventor (sewing machine) Elias Howe patented an "automatic continuous clothing closure," but he never developed it.  In 1893, American machine salesman, mechanical engineer and inventor, Whitcomb Judson, patented a "clasp locker" to replace long, tedious shoelaces.  This bulky device painfully pinched the skin and frequently popped open.

In 1913, Gideon Sundback, a Swedish-American electrical engineer, working at the Universal Fastener Company, created the first true zipper.  Patented in 1917, the "Separable Fastener" used interlocking metal teeth that nested together seamlessly. This meant that the two sides of the fastener were identical, making it much more reliable.  He added a pocket (dimple) on the underside of each tooth and a nib on top.  This allowed opposite rows to securely nest together via a slider.  Sundback also engineered a highly efficient production machine that punched out the Y-shaped teeth from wire and clamped them directly onto fabric tape without wasting raw material.

Gideon Sundback created the first true zipper.

 

While religious groups and clothing brands initially rejected the fastener as too mechanical, the U.S. military heavily adopted it during World War I for flight suits and money belts.  In 1923, the B.F. Goodrich Company put Sundback's fastener on rubber boots. They coined the name "zipper" because of the fast, zipping noise the boots made.  The device exploded into mainstream clothing during the 1930s, heavily driven by children's clothing manufacturers who marketed zippers as a way for children to dress themselves.  By 1940, zippers replaced the button-fly in 85% of men's trousers.

Today, zippers are one of the most widespread and universally used clothing fasteners in the world, prized for their speed, security, and convenience.  The zipper dominates modern garments ranging from everyday denim to high-performance athletic wear.

 

Velcro

Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral invented Velcro, a hook-and-loop fastener, after noticing how burrs stuck to his clothes and dog's fur.  He named his product Velcro - a mix of the French words velour (velvet) and crochet (hook).

The story begins in 1941, when De Mestral went for a hunting trip in the Alps and returned to find cockleburs from the burdock plant stuck to his wool pants and his dog's fur.  Curious about how they held so securely, he examined the burrs under a microscope, and discovered thousands of tiny, flexible hooks that latched perfectly into the small loops in fabric and fur.  De Mestral spent years trying to replicate this mechanism synthetically.  He eventually discovered that nylon was the ideal material for durability and memory.  

Creating thousands of uniform, tiny hooks and loops proved difficult.  To make the fastener work, the material had to be woven into hundreds of tiny loops, but then each loop had to be sliced down the center at a very precise angle to create the functional hooks.  While trying to automate the process, De Mestral was inspired by the mechanical movement of barbers' clippers.  He designed a specialized machine (a modified loom) featuring a razor blade that could trim the woven loops at exactly the right, consistent angle.  He was granted his first patent in 1954.

George de Mestral invented Velcro, the hook-and-loop fastener.

 

De Mestral first tried to sell his product as a "zipperless zipper" for everyday clothing.  The high-fashion industry hated it.  During a 1959 fashion show in New York, designers rejected it as "ugly" and cheap-looking.

NASA saved De Mestral’s Velcro clothes-fastener dream.  Astronauts needed a quick, secure way to fasten their bulky space suits and equipment in zero gravity.  The world saw astronauts wearing suits with Velcro closures, giving the material a major image upgrade.

The ski and scuba industries quickly adopted the fastener.  In 1968, Puma made history as the first brand to release sneakers with Velcro straps.  Velcro became a massive hit for kids' clothes.  Children could easily put on their own shoes and jackets without needing to learn how to tie laces.

Today, Velcro is used on everyday apparel like gloves, hats, jackets, and shoes, as well as aerospace applications and medical gear.

 

Magnetic Clothes Fasteners

The earliest magnetic apparel fasteners were patented in the 1930s and 1940s. They used weak, heavy iron magnets to hold clothing securely without needing traditional buttons or hooks.  These early designs were mostly experimental. The magnets were too bulky and weak to be used on everyday clothing.

In the 1990s, the invention of “rare-Earth” neodymium magnets (a mix of neodymium, iron, and boron) created incredibly strong magnets that were tiny and lightweight.  Designers began embedding these tiny, powerful magnets into jacket closures, wallets, and handbag clips.

In 2009, the MagZip magnetic zipper was invented for people with muscle diseases to zip up jackets using only one hand.  Major brands like Tommy Hilfiger launched adaptive clothing lines. These use hidden magnetic closures to replace standard buttons, making getting dressed easier for people with disabilities or limited hand mobility.  In 2016, modern inventors received patents for "no-sew" magnetic spheres and rings that can be clipped onto clothing without causing damage or requiring needles.

Today, there is growing demand for magnetic clothes fasteners driven by a few key areas and advantages:

·        Adaptive Fashion & Ease of Use: Magnets are revolutionizing clothing for the elderly, individuals with arthritis, and people with disabilities.  By replacing tricky buttons and zippers, magnetic clasps allow for independent dressing, and are increasingly found in mainstream casual and high-end wear.

·        Baby and Children's Wear: Magnetic closures are incredibly popular in infant clothing, hats, and bibs.  They allow parents to change diapers quickly in the dark without the frustration of aligning traditional snaps or zippers.

·        Outerwear & Accessories: Designers frequently hide magnetic strips and snaps in jacket fronts, coats, and handbag closures.  High-end fashion lines are adopting them for a seamless aesthetic, though traditional mechanical snaps still dominate some premium outerwear.  Magnetic fasteners are also increasingly used to attach jewelry.

·        Styling & Tailoring Clips: Removable magnetic clothing clips have exploded in popularity as a versatile wardrobe tool.  They allow users to cinch oversized t-shirts, shorten pant hems without sewing, and style scarves or hijabs without damaging delicate fabrics with traditional pin holes.

Magnetic clothes fasteners are increasingly popular today.

 

 

 

 

What was the inventor of suspenders awarded for their discovery?

The no-belt prize.

 

 

 

Sources

This article was produced entirely from answers to many queries using Google in AI-Mode.