What is Wednesday.
This weekly Wednesday post is aimed at answering some of the more basic and critical aspects of tailoring and the terminology we use to describe them. It stems from realizing that I’m constantly throwing out different terms with my clients and quite often they’re unsure as to what I exactly mean. The goal of this section then is to alleviate this terminology gap and provide you with some know-how to talk tailoring with a little more ease.
What is…meant by contrast button and buttonhole thread?
Before I begin though – happy new year! I trust the holiday season treated you well and you’re ready to go for the upcoming year. Although the break was fantastic I must say it’s nice to be back – let’s get to it.
Contrast thread – whether to create the buttonhole or the thread used to attach the button itself – is simply a thread done in a different color than the suit cloth itself. The image below is a great example of both options.
At the very top is an example of a contrast buttonhole done in pink thread; you then see the same pink thread used to attach the buttons themselves. This is obviously a pretty intense contrast with the blue cloth – do keep in mind that the level of contrast can be as bold or as minimal as one likes. In fact with this type of blue cloth you’ll often see a white or soft navy as the contrast thread – both being distinctly more subtle than the pink yet still providing a hint of detail that many guys find appealing.
Keep in mind that you don’t need to do both; or either for that matter. It must be noted that doing the buttonhole is a pretty aggressive play – you have to feel comfortable with your suit always playing a more fashion forward roll if you choose this path. If you’re entering the world of law or banking I would advise against it until you’re well up the food chain; if ever at all. As for the button thread – this is a much more subtle approach. The impact is only seen upon closer inspection and provides the wearer with much of the joy as opposed to screaming it out to the rest of the world with the buttonhole. More importantly though it’s easily changed in five minutes if you grow weary of it – something which is not possible for the buttonhole!
As for my opinion – on a personal level I never choose the contrast buttonhole as it’s too drastic for me. My subtle detail is brown buttons on my suits (I only wear brown shoes) thus I keep the thread matching the cloth as it always contrasts the button anyways. To each their own – the question is what is yours?
As always please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or comments. Better yet book a free appointment and we can banter in person and see if we might be a good fit to work together.
Take care – Michael
info@martinfishertailors.com
