Buttons

What’s up with buttons these days?

Specifically, has there been some amazing but unsung advance in thread technology in the past couple of decades? Something that has completely escaped my attention?

I ask because it occurred to me while putting on my shirt this morning that it’s been YEARS since I lost a button on a shirt or jacket.

I can remember back in my single dad days that it was not uncommon to have a button come off once every month or so. Not to mention all of the buttons that came off of the kids’ clothes when they were much younger. I always had to have needle and thread handy, so much so that I kept one pre-threaded at all times in the valet on my dresser.

Now? I literally can’t remember the last time I had to sew on a button or lost one.

Trust me, as I’ve aged, my svelte, sexy, six-pack abs have expanded more than enough to put some massive strain on the shirt buttons. (David Attenborough narrator voice: “There were never any svelte, sexy, six-pack abs.“) There are plenty of shirts that I can only get on with some serious gut sucking, yet when I have the need to actually take a full breath, no buttons fly across the room like shrapnel.

So what changed? I’m clueless.

In other news, my brain really needs to get out more.