House Dress Buttons
To understand house dress buttons, one has to understand what a house dress was in the 1930s and 40s, when most of these buttons were produced. According to Carol Hall, this simple cotton garment was once the unofficial uniform of the American housewife. Strictly utilitarian, they typically had buttons down the front, short sleeves, and pockets large enough to hold clothespins and a handkerchief. They were necessarily loose fitting to allow freedom of movement for ironing or floor scrubbing or engineering a wringer-washing machine, and other chores common to the era. Some were purchased from the J. C. Penney or Sears catalog, where they cost about $2. There were many patterns for house dresses available and many women sewed them from cotton fabrics including stripes, gingham checks, pastel flowers, or sometimes a vivid print fabric. An inexpensive, lightweight button was needed for those buttons down the front.
More House Dress Buttons
Enter the post-celluloid plastic button which was made in all sorts of decorative and colorful shapes. These became the norm on housedresses lending a slightly more sophisticated air to this otherwise plain garment. They were so commonly associated with the garment, that they became known as housedress buttons.
