Snap fastener

Last updated
The two halves of a riveted leather snap fastener. The top half has a groove which "snaps" in place when "pressed" into the bottom half. Druckknopf.jpg
The two halves of a riveted leather snap fastener. The top half has a groove which "snaps" in place when "pressed" into the bottom half.

A snap fastener, also called snap button, press stud, press fastener, dome fastener, popper, snap and tich (or tich button), is a pair of interlocking discs, made out of a metal or plastic, commonly used in place of traditional buttons to fasten clothing and for similar purposes. A circular lip under one disc fits into a groove on the top of the other, holding them fast until a certain amount of force is applied. Different types of snaps can be attached to fabric or leather by riveting with a punch and die set specific to the type of rivet snaps used (striking the punch with a hammer to splay the tail), sewing, or plying with special snap pliers.

Contents

Snap fasteners are a noted detail in American Western wear and are also often chosen for children's clothing, as they are relatively easy for children to use compared with traditional buttons.

Invention

Tich buttons for dresses (1968) Dresses press-studs, Hungarian product, 1968.jpg
Tich buttons for dresses (1968)

Modern snap fasteners were patented by German inventor Heribert Bauer in 1885 as the "Federknopf-Verschluss", a novelty fastener for men's trousers. Some attribute the invention to Bertel Sanders, of Denmark. In 1886, Albert-Pierre Raymond, of Grenoble, also obtained a patent. [1] These first versions had an S-shaped spring in the "male" disc instead of a groove. [2] Australian inventor Myra Juliet Farrell is also credited with inventing a "stitchless press stud" and the "stitchless hook and eye". [3] In America, Jack Weil (1901–2008) put snaps on his iconic Western shirts, which spread the fashion for them. [4] The Prym company has produced snap fasteners since 1903.

Use

Iconic cowboy singer and actor Roy Rogers wearing Western shirt with faux pearl snaps RoyRogersperformingKBF.jpg
Iconic cowboy singer and actor Roy Rogers wearing Western shirt with faux pearl snaps

Snaps were incorporated into military gear for their speed of use, comparative freedom from snaring, and ease of disentanglement when caught; they were particularly adapted to paratroop equipment due to the danger of snares in the myriad lines attaching a parachute canopy.

They were also adopted for use with law enforcement holsters and their myriad accessories for similar reasons – replaced in both fields largely by Velcro in recent decades.

Press studs were adopted by rodeo cowboys from the 1930s onwards, because these could be quickly undone if, in the event of a fall, the shirt became snagged in the saddle.[ citation needed ] Faux pearl snaps entered American mainstream Western fashion during the 1950s, when singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers incorporated them into their embroidered and fringed stage shirts. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punk fashion</span> Fashion of punk subculture

Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewellery, and body modifications of the punk counterculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited to the dressed-down look of North American hardcore. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including glam rock, skinheads, greasers, and mods have influenced punk fashion. Punk fashion has likewise influenced the styles of these groups, as well as those of popular culture. Many punks use clothing as a way of making a statement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirt</span> Garment for the upper body

A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zipper</span> Device for binding the edges of an opening of fabric or other flexible material

A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing, luggage and other bags, camping gear, and many other items, zippers come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and colors. In 1892, Whitcomb L. Judson, an American inventor from Chicago, patented the original design from which the modern device evolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Button</span> Small fastener

A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suit</span> Western business attire of matching jacket and trousers

A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of trousers. It is currently considered semi-formal wear or business wear in contemporary Western dress codes, however when the suit was originally developed it was considered an informal or more casual option compared to the prevailing clothing standards of aristocrats and businessmen. The lounge suit originated in 19th-century Britain as sportswear and British country clothing, which is why it was seen as more casual than citywear at that time, with the roots of the suit coming from early modern Western Europe formal court or military clothes. After replacing the black frock coat in the early 20th century as regular daywear, a sober one-coloured suit became known as a lounge suit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torx</span> Screw drive with 6-lobed star-shaped flower-petal pattern

Torx is a trademark for a type of screw drive characterized by a 6-point star-shaped pattern, developed in 1967 by Camcar Textron. A popular generic name for the drive is star, as in star screwdriver or star bits. The official generic name, standardized by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 10664, is hexalobular internal. This is sometimes abbreviated in databases and catalogs as 6lobe. Torx Plus,Torx Paralobe and Torx ttap are improved head profiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rivet</span> Permanent mechanical fastener

A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the tail. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched or drilled hole, and the tail is upset or bucked, so that it expands to about 1.5 times the original shaft diameter, holding the rivet in place. In other words, the pounding or pulling creates a new "head" on the tail end by smashing the "tail" material flatter, resulting in a rivet that is roughly a dumbbell shape. To distinguish between the two ends of the rivet, the original head is called the factory head and the deformed end is called the shop head or buck-tail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fastener</span> Hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together

A fastener or fastening is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together. In general, fasteners are used to create non-permanent joints; that is, joints that can be removed or dismantled without damaging the joining components. Steel fasteners are usually made of stainless steel, carbon steel, or alloy steel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cufflink</span> Items of jewelry

Cufflinks are items of jewelry that are used to secure the cuffs of dress shirts. Cufflinks can be manufactured from a variety of different materials, such as glass, stone, leather, metal, precious metal or combinations of these. Securing of the cufflinks is usually achieved via toggles or reverses based on the design of the front section, which can be folded into position. There are also variants with chains or a rigid, bent rear section. The front sections of the cufflinks can be decorated with gemstones, inlays, inset material or enamel and designed in two or three-dimensional forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frog (fastening)</span> Fastening in the form of an ornamental knot

A frog is a type of ornamental braiding closure made out of cord, consisting of a button and a loop; it is used to fasten garments without creating an overlap. Its purpose is to act as a fastener as well as providing a decorative closure for the garment. It is especially used on the cheongsam, where the frog represents the cultural essence of the dress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitcomb L. Judson</span> American inventor (1843–1909)

Whitcomb L. Judson was an American machine salesman, mechanical engineer and inventor. He received thirty patents over a sixteen-year career, fourteen of which were on pneumatic street railway innovations. Six of his patents had to do with a motor mechanism suspended beneath the rail-car that functioned with compressed air. He founded the Judson Pneumatic Street Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western wear</span> American clothing style associated with the Old West and cowboy culture

Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garments popularized by Western film and television or singing cowboys such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers in the 1940s and 1950s. It continues to be a fashion choice in the West and Southwestern United States, as well as people associated with country music or Western lifestyles, for example the various Western or Regional Mexican music styles. Western wear typically incorporates one or more of the following, Western shirts with pearl snap fasteners and vaquero design accents, blue jeans, cowboy hat, a leather belt, and cowboy boots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dress shirt</span> Type of shirt

A dress shirt, button shirt, button-front, button-front shirt, or button-up shirt is a garment with a collar and a full-length opening at the front, which is fastened using buttons or shirt studs. A button-down or button-down shirt is a dress shirt with a button-down collar – a collar having the ends fastened to the shirt with buttons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Army M1943 uniform</span>

The U.S. Army's M1943 uniform was a combat uniform manufactured in windproof cotton sateen cloth introduced in 1943 to replace a variety of other specialist uniforms and some inadequate garments, like the M1941 Field Jacket. It was used through the remainder of World War II and into the Korean War with modifications before being replaced by the OG-107 uniform beginning in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denison smock</span> WWII British military jacket

The Denison smock was a coverall jacket issued to Special Operations Executive (SOE) agents, the Parachute Regiment, the Glider Pilot Regiment, Air Landing Regiments, air observation post squadrons, Commando units, and other Commonwealth airborne units, to wear over their Battle Dress uniform during the Second World War. The garment was also issued as standard to the scout and sniper platoons of line infantry battalions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Placket</span> Opening in the upper part of certain clothing

A placket is a finished opening in the upper part of trousers or skirts, or at the neck, front, or sleeve of a garment. The finish frequently consists of a fold of fabric that is attached to the opening in order for the fasteners to be sewn to it. In modern usage, the term placket often refers to these double layers of fabric.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirt stud</span>

A shirt stud is a decorative fastener that fits onto a buttonhole on the front of a pleated shirt, or onto the starched bib of a stiff-front shirt. Such shirts have special buttonholes solely for shirt studs.

A back closure is a means for fastening a garment at the rear, such as with a zipper, hooks-and-eyes or buttons. Back closures were once common on Western female clothing, but have recently become less so, especially on female casual and business attire. They continue, however, to be widely used in underwear, formal wear and specialized clothing. Back closures are also common in garments for infants and toddlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dzus fastener</span>

The Dzus fastener, also known as a turnlock fastener or quick-action panel fastener, is a type of proprietary quarter-turn spiral cam lock fastener often used to secure skin panels on aircraft and other high-performance vehicles. It is named after its inventor William Dzus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pin-back button</span> Ornament or badge for wearing, as on a lapel, often with a slogan or image

A pin-back button or pinback button, pin button, button badge, or simply pin-back or badge, is a button or badge that can be temporarily fastened to the surface of a garment using a safety pin, or a pin formed from wire, a clutch or other mechanism. This fastening mechanism is anchored to the back side of a button-shaped metal disk, either flat or concave, which leaves an area on the front of the button to carry an image or printed message. The word is commonly associated with a campaign button used during a political campaign. The first design for a pin-back button in the United States was patented in 1896, and contemporary buttons have many of the same design features.

References

  1. Brevet d'invention n° 176 400 du 29 mai 1886.
  2. "Zwei Köpfe und ein Knopf". Westdeutscher Rundfunk (in German). March 5, 2005. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  3. "Woman Inventor". Western Age . Dubbo, NSW. 28 August 1915. p. 4. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  4. "Story of Rockmount Ranch Wear" . Retrieved 2011-01-29.
  5. 100 years of Western wear