Modern Tailor: better MOP buttons

Last week a bunch of us on the MT thread expressed interest in better mother of pearl buttons from Modern Tailor. The thin ones are too thin, the thick ones are small and just not that lustrous. I just wrote to them to ask if it would be possible to have a nicer alternative, either one they stock on their own, or one that we buy and mail to them. They wrote back within a day and seem open to the idea. They asked me which buttons I had in mind, and I thought I'd consult with the people interested here first. Here's my suggestion: post links to suppliers you know of and identify the particular button type you like. Tomorrow, we can create a poll and vote for our favorite, then suggest the top couple to MT and see what they say about how feasible it is. To get started, I saw this seller linked on the Forum: http://www.hst.com.sg/acatalog/Holla...er_Button.html. Other sources? Any preferences? Update: Gritti (http://www.grittivn.com/php/index.php) seems to be a big brand too. Unfortunately their product listing page doesn't work very well but we could contact them if someone has used them before and was satisfied.

Great news!

One more candidate:
http://www.handicraft-vn.com/shop/re...html?cPath=193

I am pretty flexible.. just want nice thick MOP buttons.

I like both of the sets that have been posted so far. Just wanted to say that I am 'definitely in' if MT decides to carry these buttons.

Anyone know the thickness of MT's current thick MOP buttons? MrInvariant's look nice, but seem pretty thick. Just want to make sure they aren't too thick to button!

Yeah, it would be good to know the thickness and also the diameter of the current MOP thick buttons for comparison. Looks like the ones at other sites are either 16L or 17L in diameter. I had no idea what the L meant but I assume it's this (http://www.apparelsearch.com/button_size_chart.htm)? If that's the case, I measured the thick MT buttons as about 9.75MM in diameter, which is not that much smaller than 16L according to the chart. I measured the thickness as about 3.5MM. Someone should check my measurements though.

I like T2556 or T2754 from hst. Thanks for doing this!

Am I the only one that doesn't like thick buttons?

I find MT's 'thick' buttons thick enough.

Originally Posted by jobro

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I find MT's 'thick' buttons thick enough.

Agree. The issue is the color.

Yes, I agree too actually. The current thickness is fine with me, but the color and brightness are mediocre, and I think I'd like them a little larger in diameter too. Once you've seen nicer ones on a shirt, it's hard to be satisfied with these.

Originally Posted by david123

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Yes, I agree too actually. The current thickness is fine with me, but the color and brightness are mediocre, and I think I'd like them a little larger in diameter too. Once you've seen nicer ones on a shirt, it's hard to be satisfied with these.

I'm with this. Bigger and better buttons would be nice! The thickness is fine as it is.

Originally Posted by david123

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Yes, I agree too actually. The current thickness is fine with me, but the color and brightness are mediocre, and I think I'd like them a little larger in diameter too. Once you've seen nicer ones on a shirt, it's hard to be satisfied with these.

+1

It seems silly to me to expect a shirt manufacturer to stock buttons sold in single quantities at retail. No way they'll stock buttons that cost $2 each. Now, they might consider switching sources in the future if people aren't happy with the buttons. That's probably where you should direct your efforts.

They're also very unlikely to accept buttons from customers. I imagine it's a real pain for them to recalibrate the machines that sew them on. I could be wrong, though. In the meantime I'm sure you can find someone to sew the buttons on for you locally. Or just do it yourself. It's not hard.

Originally Posted by bleachboy

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Am I the only one that doesn't like thick buttons?

No. They are hard to fit through regular-size buttonholes.

I have super thick MOP buttons on most of my Borrelli shirts, and I love them.
They look fabulous, and I'd think that they are more robust against dry cleaners.
The buttonholes can be made larger to accomodate the thicker buttons. I don't think that's a problem.

Therefore, I vote for super thick buttons, but if I'm alone with this, then of course any high quality, white MOP button (not thinner than the current 'thick' version) will do. Any suggestions for suppliers?