Having covered the use of laces, ribbons and garters last month, here we examine other ways in which clothes and personal items have been fastened over the centuries.

Until relatively recently, buckles and clasps were the primary means of securing loose ends and attaching separate articles to one another firmly, yet in an adjustable manner. Comprising four main components – the frame, chape, bar and prong – early examples include Roman and Scythian bronze and iron buckles used for strapping on armour: indeed the word ‘buckle’ derives from Latin buccula – the cheek strap of a helmet. Early buckles, having many military uses, were indispensable in warrior societies, becoming more of a fashion statement from the 1300s onwards, when courtly belt clasps and buckles for horse trappings were splendidly ornamented. During the Tudor period more advanced manufacturing methods brought cheaper moulded buckles to a wider population. By the 18th century both brass and silver were common materials and innovative shoe buckles were must-have accessories for fashionable men. Ladies’ dresses often used clasps of delicate materials like pearl and shell, while plastic, known from the 1860s, became common for modern buckles in the early-mid 20th century.

Changing fashions demand new ways of fitting garments to the body and the development of functional buttons with corresponding buttonholes in the Middle Ages enabled the drawing in and tight closure of the fabric of bodices, doublets and sleeves. Individually-made or, later, mass-produced, over time buttons have been fashioned from diverse materials including shell, ivory, pearl, bone, glass, rubber, wood and various metals. Brass buttons were traditionally used with military and occupational uniforms, while large Industrial Revolution-era factory-made cut steel buttons became fashionable during the 1780s. Buttony – or the craft of making buttons – was a major local occupation in areas such as Dorset, where the industry spanned the 17th to the early 20th centuries.

Buckles and buttons are still important in dress, along with the most modern fastening, the zipper or zip. Originally called a clasp locker, the device used rows of interlocking ‘teeth’ to close the opening of garments and accessories like bags. Early versions were pioneered from the mid-1800s onwards, but not until the turn of the century did functional models appear. Zips became more commonplace from the 1930s, encouraging self-reliance in children, who could more easily dress themselves. Even today we would not be without the zip fastener.

Jayne Shrimpton is a professional dress historian and picture specialist, and author of several family photo and dress history books. Read her features on the Edwardian home and Edwardian photos in Issue 8 of our print edition, out now – see discoveryourancestors.co.uk