A snap fastener, also called snap button, press 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 A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, o ...

to fasten

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

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

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylinder (geometry), cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the deformed e ...

ing 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. Snap fasteners are a noted detail in American

Western wear 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 ...

and were also often chosen for children's clothing, as they are relatively easy for children to use compared with traditional buttons.

Invention

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 Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, also obtained a patent. These first versions had an S-shaped spring in the "male" disc instead of a groove. Australian inventor Myra Juliet Farrell is also credited with inventing a "stitchless press stud" and the "stitchless hook and eye". In America, Jack Weil (1901–2008) put snaps on his iconic Western shirts, which spread the fashion for them. The

Prym Prym is an internationally active group of companies. It consists of four independent divisions that operate under the umbrella of a holding company: Prym Consumer, Prym Fashion, Prym Intimates and Inovan. The roots of the company go back to th ...

company has produced snap fasteners since 1903.

Use

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 A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

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 hook and loop fasteners in recent decades. Press studs were adopted by

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

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. Faux pearl snaps entered American mainstream

Western fashion The following is a chronological list of articles covering the history of Western fashion—the story of the changing fashions in clothing in countries under influence of the Western world⁠—from the 5th century to the present. The series foc ...

during the

1950s File:1950s decade montage.png, 370x370px, Top, L-R: U.S. Marines engaged in street fighting during the Korean War, late September 1950; The first polio vaccine is developed by Jonas Salk.Centre, L-R: US tests its first thermonuclear bomb with co ...

, when

singing cowboy A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western (genre), Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier. The original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, ...

s like

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

incorporated them into their embroidered and fringed stage shirts.100 years of Western wear
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Gallery

File:Rivet snap parts.jpg, Four pieces of a typical rivet snap fastener: from upper left, the "eyelet" "socket", "cap", and "stud" File:Snap fastener female (outer) side components.jpg, The socket and cap, the "female" parts of a riveted snap fastener File:Snap fastener male (inner) side components.jpg, The eyelet and stud, the "male" parts of a riveted snap fastener File:Sewing snap rivet tools.jpg, Tools used to apply a snap

References

External links

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Step-by-step guide to repairing snap buttons
– illustrated, CC BY-SA licensed {{Authority control 1940s fashion 20th-century fashion German inventions Textile closures Western wear de:Knopf#Druckknopf