New MOP at Jantzen?

[Earthmover]

So I just got my order of seven (yay!) shirts from Jantzen. The orders are great as usual, but I noticed that they didn't put the thick MOP on the buttons, but rather thinner, concave MOPs that are not on their website. Did anyone receive their shirts recently and notice this? These are, I think, a bit more iridiscent than their regular MOP, less staining in the back, but only the thickness of a standard plastic button. Only other place I remember seeing anything like this is the J.Crew Thomas Mason shirts with MOP. Anyone else?

 

[lawyerdad]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but is it possible they're the 1 cm rather than the 1.2 cm buttons on the website? As I'm sure you know, they have several different types of buttons on the website, and I've found that the way they phrase things and the way the order form is set up it's often less than entirely clear which buttons are being referred to.

 

[Earthmover]

It's possible that it's a 1mm button, although these don't appear to be trocas (at least as Jantzen calls them: I've ordered the thick trocas and they are not iridescent at all) from the pictures on the website. I actually like them, since they do button up easier and are less prone to breakage on commercial irons, but I was just curious since I asked for extra buttons, and now they are no good to replace my olde buttons...

 

[maxnharry]

Call or email Ricky

 

[CaptChaos]

Can you post some pics?

 

[luk-cha]

yeah i got them too so what why i was not so overall inpressed with them, say one and deliver another!

 

[Earthmover]

Originally Posted by CaptChaos

Can you post some pics?

Sorry it took a bit, but here are the photos. As always, pardon the quality of photos:

Here is the "new" button I got from Jantzen... Front.

Back...

This is the Jantzen thick "troca"...

Here is their old thick MOP...

Here are three different MOPs side by side. From left to right, Jantzen old MOP, new MOP and an RL Blue Label MOP for reference (my favorite is the RL one):

Sideview of the above:

I think from the pictures, the texture of the old MOP looks the best, but I think this is misleading, as many other Jantzenites can attest -- the pearlescent quality of the old MOP varies quite a bit from button to button, and I chose the best MOP on that particular shirt, vs. a random extra button from the new Jantzen MOP, and an extra MOP I had from an RL shirt.

It seems that the new buttons are consistently better on the pearlescent aspect, as well as it not being yellow on the underside (there is light staining from time to time). I'm not sure if this is cognitive dissonance talking, but I may like the new MOP slightly more. Either way, I guess I don't mind it too much; I was just curious whether this was just an error, or Ricky switched button suppliers.

 

[CaptChaos]

Thanks for posting the pics. I have shirts with the old MOP and the trocas and I like the old MOP better even though the backside is discoloured.

To others that have recently ordered shirts, what sort of MOP buttons are you getting?

 

[Roger]

A couple of points. Troca is not MOP. It is shell, but not necessarily oyster shell (which is the only kind of shell that produces true MOP). Buttons described as troca are usually not MOP unless a mistake has been made in describing them, and they (troca) will generally lack the luminous rainbow irridescence of MOP. Second, what do you mean by "thick"? Truly thick shirt buttons tend to be close to 4 mm. in thickness. Borrelli buttons, for example, run about 3.90 mm. "Thin" buttons run less than the 1.7 mm. that you see on many RTW shirts. The other dimension is width, which is typically measured in ligne, where one ligne equals about .025". Typical front buttons run 16 to 18 ligne, gauntlet and cuff buttons, 12-14 ligne. Finally, troca and MOP buttons vary considerably in price on the basis of not only thickness but also purity of color. The best have no darker color patches anywhere on the button.

Here's a website from which I recently bought some MOP buttons (the "Queen of Mother of Pearl" ones). You'll see the great differences in price between the lesser varieties and the better ones. The difference in price between cheap troca buttons and really good MOP ones can get to over $1 per button. Thus, for, say, 7 front buttons and 4 sleeve buttons (two gauntlet and two cuff), the cost difference might run to $11. In the final analysis, this is not a huge increase for a shirt with fabulous buttons, but the maker will typically charge you probably 3 or 4 times that. If you like really great buttons, you could always buy them online and have them put on your shirts when you order, or replace the cheaper ones after receiving the shirt.

http://www.hst.com.sg/acatalog/Mothe...l_Buttons.html

 

[maxnharry]

Originally Posted by CaptChaos

Thanks for posting the pics. I have shirts with the old MOP and the trocas and I like the old MOP better even though the backside is discoloured.

To others that have recently ordered shirts, what sort of MOP buttons are you getting?

I just received two shirts with the new MOP style.

 

[chorse123]

I have an order coming soon (received an e-mail yesterday!

). I'll post what I get when I get it.

 

[scnupe7]

I noticed the same thing with an order I received late last month. I thought they screwed up the order.