A snap fastener, also called snap 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 to fasten

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the 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 sheets of materials ...

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 cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...

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 garmen ...

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

Invention

Dresses press-studs, Hungarian product, 1968

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 lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

, 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 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 is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Wor ...

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

Velcro Velcro, officially known as Velcro IP Holdings LLC and trading as Velcro Companies, is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fast ...

in recent decades. Press studs were adopted by rodeo 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 during the

1950s The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the "Fifties" or the " '50s") (among other variants) was a decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959. Throughout the decade, the world continued its re ...

, when

singing cowboy A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early 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, hardships, and ...

s like

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

and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

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

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

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1940s fashion 20th-century fashion German inventions Textile closures Western wear de:Knopf#Druckknopf