What kind of buttons come on Alara shirts?

[turkey_sandwich]

First post on SF!

So, please help me -- the dry cleaners cracked several of the buttons on my favorite shirt, and I'm trying to figure out which replacements to buy.

Sub-topic: this has happened before, though not regularly. It's on new shirts, so it's not an age of the buttons thing. WTF are they doing with my shirts? I don't have a washer/dryer or ironing board, so I'm forced to have them laundered... is there a way to prevent this from happening in the future?

 

[neyus]

Dry cleaners often break the buttons because of the equipment they use. I heard some of the better cleaners iron by hand or snip off all the buttons press the shirt and sew them back on. But I think the latter is a little bit to obsessive compulsive. I would ask them nicely to see if they can repair your shirt free of charge.

If they aren't willing to do that. Don't stress, there are other options.

Some dude on the forum was selling mother of pearl buttons for a pretty good price. The other alternative, which I think is possibly cheaper is thrifting or buying an older shirt on ebay that is possible damaged or stained and then snip off the buttons and sew them on to your alara shirt.

I haven't heard of this brand Alara before though. They any good?

 

[turkey_sandwich]

Gotcha. I'll bring it back to them and see if they can replace the buttons. I like the idea of snipping buttons from a stained/damaged shirt if they refuse. I'll scour ebay...

Alara is relatively new to me, too. I found them at Century 21 in NYC when looking for reasonably priced but nice dress shirts. Check this out to have a look at their shirts. I like the fit of the slim shirts and the fabric is soft. Only problem is, I've found that it wrinkles easily...

 

[S. Paul]

Originally Posted by neyus

Dry cleaners often break the buttons because of the equipment they use. I heard some of the better cleaners iron by hand or snip off all the buttons press the shirt and sew them back on. But I think the latter is a little bit to obsessive compulsive. I would ask them nicely to see if they can repair your shirt free of charge.

If they aren't willing to do that. Don't stress, there are other options.

Some dude on the forum was selling mother of pearl buttons for a pretty good price. The other alternative, which I think is possibly cheaper is thrifting or buying an older shirt on ebay that is possible damaged or stained and then snip off the buttons and sew them on to your alara shirt.

I haven't heard of this brand Alara before though. They any good?

Alara shirts are decent, I wouldn't pay retail for them at $80 or whatever it is but on a sale at NM Last Call for sub-$40, the slim fit ones are all right. They fit the description of "slim" but definitely not athletic, in my opinion the armholes are not high enough and the waist not slimmed enough to really make the OTR fit great.

OP, another thought for you finding replacements for the broken buttons - have you tried contacting Alara directly? Sometimes, just doing a little Google searching, finding contact information and calling or emailing can solve the problem. Tell them how much you like their product and how disappointed you are that a few buttons broke while asking if they could please send you a handful. Many companies will help out in response to a well-worded email or phone call.

good luck,
Sean Paul

 

[turkey_sandwich]

Great idea. I'll try tracking them down.

Agreed that I would never pay full retail for the shirts (in some cases $100+!), but for $40 or so, I think they're a good deal. They fit me better than most any other shirt I've worn. But I also am just now beginning my professional career, so I don't have much experience with buying dress shirts. Up til now it's mostly been hand-me-down tent-ish shirts from my Dad.

Any other ideas for reasonably priced, trim shirts? I've got relatively broad shoulders and a larger back than many shirts seem designed for, but also have a smaller waist. So many shirts that fit in the shoulders and back wind up way too baggy around the mid-section.

 

[Erthlng]

Alara Shirts has a Web site now. You can contact their customer support at http://alarashirt.com/Pages/CustomerService Their toll fee number is 855-997-9400.

 

[AlaraShirt]

We don't use Mother of Pearl buttons anymore, because of the frequency of them breaking during dry cleaning or being tumble dried. We now use a Mother of Pearl Blend which is virtually unbreakable and still has that nice mother of pearl sheen to it. If you have an Alara shirt and needs replacement buttons, please drop us an email at [email protected] and we'll arrange for replacement buttons.

 

[S. Paul]



We don't use Mother of Pearl buttons anymore, because of the frequency of them breaking during dry cleaning or being tumble dried. We now use a Mother of Pearl Blend which is virtually unbreakable and still has that nice mother of pearl sheen to it. If you have an Alara shirt and needs replacement buttons, please drop us an email at [email protected] and we'll arrange for replacement buttons.

AlaraShirt, were your Mother of Pearl buttons of the thinner variety? Hearing that you moved away from them because of a lot of breakage sounds strange to me, as thicker MOP buttons of high quality usually do not chip or break unless mistreated at the dry cleaners.

Is this "Mother of Pearl Blend" a natural shell material of some sort?

thanks,
SP

 

[AlaraShirt]

The biggest problem was the dry cleaners. Many larger dry cleaning establishments now use a mechanized iron/press system. On some of these machines, the cuff buttons and the top collar button were getting crushed. So we found a button that uses a powdered natural mother of pearl blended into a resin that does not break. So far, they have held up well and we are no longer getting reports of buttons breaking.

 

[S. Paul]



The biggest problem was the dry cleaners. Many larger dry cleaning establishments now use a mechanized iron/press system. On some of these machines, the cuff buttons and the top collar button were getting crushed. So we found a button that uses a powdered natural mother of pearl blended into a resin that does not break. So far, they have held up well and we are no longer getting reports of buttons breaking.

Great info, thanks for your reply!