Where to find good buttons

Horn buttons can make a major difference to the look of a jacket. Darker, more conservative horn is a subtle sign of quality; mottled or blonde horn give a more casual feel. But all horn has natural variation and depth of colour. You can see immediately in these photos from my spare button jar which are horn and which are plastic.

Much as I love good Italian ready to wear, manufacturers tend to use Corozo buttons, or on more casual garments, even embossed plastic (Zegna, for example). Changing the buttons is simple enough, so long as you can find a good supplier.

My recommendations in the UK are:

Duttons have three retail locations (in York, Harrogate and Ilkley) and hold a vast stock of buttons of all kinds. They pride themselves in providing buttons for dramatic costumes and historical dress as well as modern tailoring. If you’re trying to find a replacement button for any garment they’re probably your best bet. No e-commerce to speak of, though they do have a mail order service



Bernstein and Banleys / The Lining Company

The Lining Company (e-commerce) has a wide range of high quality polished and unpolished horn buttons, as well as tailoring supplies including silk buttonhole twist and gimp (for making handmade buttonholes), which is otherwise fairly difficult to find without purchasing hundreds of metres at once. Service is excellent and orders are dispatched quickly.

Kenton has a smaller choice of buttons (especially if you are looking for polished horn) but is similarly high quality and a bit cheaper. Service is also fantastic. Kenton also supplies a wide range of tailor’s accessories. There is also a retail location in London.





