I hate buttons.

WHY do we still use buttons? In my opinion, they should've been left behind after the advent of the snap. There's no place for them, now that a simple snap is not only easier to put together, but hardier in the long run.

I just lost a second button on a pair of khakis. Fortunately, this particular pair came with way too many buttons in the first place, so a flapping pocket is not really that big a deal (to me, anyway - it bothers my husband, and probably half the people unfortunate enough to be in line behind me at the Post Office). But someday (maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow), the final button will pop off, and it won't be a pretty sight. [Please avoid making comments here about how if my behind weren't so large, I might not have so many pocket buttons catching on walls and desks and floor lamps.] The worst part, though, is that once I lose one too many buttons, I have no choice but to abandon the garment to that pile of clothes that will never be touched again (can't send it to Goodwill - I might fix it. . . someday). Here you may be asking why I don't simply REATTACH the buttons the day that they fall off. Good question. Perhaps I'll ponder it tonight as I work on the rest of my mending. . . maybe after I milk the cows. . . of course, once the sun goes down, it's hard to get much work down with only a kerosene lantern to provide light. . .

On the other hand, I own a lovely pair of jeans that has snaps; sure, it has about five million snaps, and I do question the thought-process behind that, but at least they're easy and permanent! And this way, I know that when the snaps fall off, it's genuinely time to get rid of the garment.

Perhaps those As Seen on TV people who make the easy-button-attacher are in a great conspiracy to retain the use of the nasty little buggers. Or maybe Gap has discovered that it's just a good way to get people to buy new clothes. Or perhaps the manufacturers just don't feel like they're making quality clothing if they can't attach a cute little ziplock bag of buttons to the price tag.

This all leads me to an even greater question - why in the world did Levi's think it was such a great idea to have "Button Down" jeans??? I mean, it's one thing to lose the clasping mechanism for a back pocket - but a FLY? That's just dangerous. Thank goodness the fad has mostly passed. What a dumb way to wear clothes. DOWN WITH BUTTONS!

Ok. Rant over. Now I have to go see if I can dig up a needle somewhere. (sigh)