Advanced Materials Research
ISSN: 1662-8985, Vols. 821-822, pp 755-758
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.821-822.755
© 2013 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland
Online: 2013-09-18
Modern Chinese folk clothing accessory – Buttons
NA Wei1, a,
1
College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, SuZhou, 215006, China
a
[email protected]
Keywords: knot button, aesthetics
Abstract. The structure and function of clothing buttons, to a great extent, influence the clothing
modeling, covering function and use function. It is a sign of evolution of clothing. This article
elaborates the modern women's clothing buttons type, and the relationship between function and
aesthetic culture connotation. The conclusion is button is an important organic part of clothing.
Introduction
Buttons in a narrow sense refers to the globular or flake pieces in clothing for closing purpose, while
in broaden sense also include invisible fastenings, snap buttons and zippers etc. Buttons are an
important part for closing and fixing clothes edges, which are the main purposes initially. With the
progress of society and evolution of clothing, buttons in addition to the original linking features, more
reflect decoration and beautification functions.
1 The Historical Origin of Button
The emergence of the button is in India at the earliest. Archaeologists find a talisman with two holes
and carved in shell in the Indus river valley. This might be the button before the year 3000 BC. In early
China, to make clothes keep warm and not scattered, cloth tape and rope are usually used, and later
more methods like feather tape and jointed born etc are adapted. In clothing system in Zhou dynasty,
cloth belt and leather belt are commonly used for buckling clothes. From the western zhou dynasty to
the spring and autumn period, straight and curved bronze belt hook with decorative patterns start to
appear. And underwear is buckled using silk and hemp belt. Those are replaced with belt buttons from
Han dynasty, which also influences the clothing in Sui and Tang dynasties. The use of buttons in
China originates from nomads in northern China for horsing and hunting convenient when needed.
On robe with narrow sleeve and round collar buttons are used for buckling clothes. Since Yuan
dynasty, buttons start to be used widely, and buttons made of gold, silver, jade, pearl, cloth and silk etc
appear. Golden, silvern and jade buttons carved with decorative patterns are popular in Ming dynasty.
To Qing dynasty, buttons shape and structure are developed relatively complete. Buttons in that
period are engraved with various auspicious decorations. And the button material become more rich,
such as enamel button, gilded button, jadeite button, coral button etc.
2 Type of the modern folk dress buttons
The main types of modern clothing buttons include buckle, mandarin button, snap button and the later
introduced zipper etc. They are categorized into Belt type, Chinese button, combination button styles
based on the buckling methods.
2.1 Belt type
Belt type, buckling the clothes using two belts knotted together, is a convenient and simple method
and widely used in children clothes. For example, the jacket’s tailoring (Fig.1), although similar to an
adult’s robe, differs from a full-size one in that the neckline shape is straighter and has no knot buttons
across it. The method of closure is a tie at the side instead-a throwback to earlier Chinese fastenings.
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Advances in Textile Engineering and Materials III
Fig.1 Children’s jacket[1]
2.2 Chinese button
Chinese frog is a button style using buttons made of pre-sewed cloth belt through winding, twisting,
knotting etc. steps. It is an ornamental braiding for fastening the front of a garment that composed of
two parts. The ‘eye’ is the half that includes the loop and sewn on the upper side of the garment. The
‘head’ incorporates the knot button and is fixed to the lower side. The usual purpose of frogs is to
provide a closure for a garment while decorating it at the same time. It is the main button style in
modern clothing button culture for both male and female clothes, and it’s usually seen in mandarin
flown and cheongsam dress. There are two structure types – symmetric structure and asymmetric
structure. In symmetric structure the both sides of the patterns around the knotted flower are
symmetrical. In asymmetric structure, both sides of pattern around the knotted flower have different
focus and take more lively and flexible forms. The subjects of knot all come from pattern with rich
national features and auspicious meanings. There are different kinds of frogging styles like Bionic
fastening, graphemic fastening and graphical fastening etc. Bionic fastening is characterized by
imitating plant or animal shapes, such as leaf style button, symbolizing ever green(Fig.2),
Pomegranate style button, symbolizing family's prosperity, butterfly buttons etc. Graphemic fastening
is auspicious symbols as basic graphics made of flower buckle, to pray for blessing, emolument,
longevity, happiness, lucky, such as Fig.3, there are two ‘long life’ characters incorporated into the
fastening. Abstract graphical button in the pursuit of form, such as elongated loops with knot
buttons(Fig.4).
Fig.2 Leaf button
Fig.3 Graphemic fastening
Fig.4 Loops with knot buttons
2.3 Combination button
Combination button refers to the same clothes appeared on two or more than two kinds of closure. In
the modern cheongsam, and loop generally located in the neckline, axillary etc. The dark green jacket
shown in Fig.5, with gold buckle parts, appears more beautiful. Although the buckle parts only
occupy a very small part on the whole clothes, their decoration effect is obvious through the
contrasting of color and brightness.The button fastenings on this black jacket(Fig.6), each loop has
two buttons, one of which is jade-coloured plastic, and the other a stamped metal flowerhead on a ring.
[2]
Advanced Materials Research Vols. 821-822
Fig.5 Dark green jacket
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Fig.6 Fastenings on black jacket
3 Aesthetic Expressions in Button Combinations
In the progress of China history of thousands of years, in the relatively stable and conservative state
the Confucianism and Taoism doctrine faith, interacting and complementing each other, become the
mainstream of China ancient philosophy thought. In the long history river, the profound clothing
culture is formed, along with the unique button culture. As closing system for clothes, buttons play a
better role in connecting clothes flies compared with the traditional silk winding belt. Its asymmetric
design made the loose clothes with big sleeves vivid and active with the intended decoration of
buttons with the sense of rhythm. The decoration effect of buttons reflects clothes’ sense of beauty
from another perspective.
3.1 “horizontal” and “vertical”
Fig. 7 mandarin jacket shows cases where loops are used in combination with knot. The buttons are
arranged vertically on horizontal line, and horizontally on vertical line. The interlaced layout of
clothing line and buttons expresses the vivid effect. It shows change in unity and realizes the
unification in changes on the other hand.
Fig.7 Mandarin jacket
Fig.8 Side opening blouse
3.2 “curved” and “straight”
Fig.8 shows a side opening blouse, with side opening line extending from neckline to right forepart.
The side opening line does not extending straightly to right side, which is neither as straight as front
opeing nor as curved as forepart. The side opening blouse uses curve line from front center seam and
straight line down to the bottom, which along with chinese button avoid the flat monotone. It appears
vivid in the balance, keeps order beauty in the changes, and embodies the elegant temperament.
3.3 “sparse” and “dense”
The entire robe (Fig.9) is framed with several trims, the densest decoration on the trimming for the
side slit, neckline and the front part of the robe. The wide band, densely covered with yellow
embroidery, go along the hem, and turn the corner with a curlicue shape just above the side slit
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opening. In addition, there is no special decoration in the front part and the cuff etc, which represents
the “sparse” effect. The overall view is, with the combined effects of “sparse” and “dense”, the robe
shows absolute elegant effect without any over decoration.
Fig.9 Embroidery robe [3]
3.4 “hidden” and “exposed”
In the late 1920 s, influenced by western humanistic thought, Chinese women began to get rid of the
bondage of traditional thinking, which in clothing is reflected in the pursuit of curvaceous figure. The
loop and knot button is hidden in improved cheongsam, and replaced with snap so that the previously
implicit piped edge is highlighted and the beauty of female body curve is expressed perfectly.
Compared with that in traditional cheongsam, the simplification of buttons used in improved
cheongsam hide the large area of overelaborate decorative details. As the result, the cheongsam itself
looks simple, but the express of human body is more obviously with the structure improvement like
make pleat etc. The “hidden” and “exposed” principle reflects the big changes in design philosophy.
The traditional clothing design put more focus on “clothes” itself. The improved clothing design idea
change the focus on expressing “people” that wearing this clothes. This is also a big clothing design
revolution in clothing history in modern China.
Summary
The traditional buttons, with exquisite modeling, are gradually evolved from simply being clothing
accessories to works of art integrating practical and decorative functions. Along with that unique
craftsmanship is formed which can never be replaced with machine. Button is not only for functional,
but most important the punch line of the whole clothes. It reflects the implication focus, connotation
focus and theme focus etc decorative interests in Chinese clothes.
References
[1] Museum: The Folk Costumes Biography Museum of Southern Yangtzee University, Wuxi,
Jiangsu Province, China
[2] Rosemary Crill, Jennifer Wearden, Verity Wilson: Dress in Detail from Around the World
(Victoria & Albert Museum, London 2004) (In English)
[3] National museum of history: The Folk Clothing in Early Taiwan, 1796-1932 (Taiwan republic of
china, Taipei 1995) (In Chinese)
Advances in Textile Engineering and Materials III
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Modern Chinese Folk Clothing Accessory-Buttons
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