Vanity buttons are also sometimes called signature buttons or designer buttons. They are patterned with a name, initial or logo, which belongs to an individual, company, event, personality or store.
Vanity buttons started in the 1970s. At first they were used on expensive men's clothing, but before too long were being used on women's and children's clothes.

Collections of vanity buttons can be sorted into six categories, according to Pat Olsen in her NBS Bulletin article:

1. Designer buttons
2. Clothing manufacturers
3. Well-known personalities
4. Clothing brands
5. Stores selling clothing with their own identification
6. Stores selling clothing not of their own brand

Vanity buttons can be marked on the front, back or not-at-all. You can find them in plastic, metal or shell--with 2-holes or 4-holes (Rarely shanks).
Vanity buttons may become scarce in the future! One reason is because clothing is so often just thrown away. In addition, fashion's star designers are aging and dying.

Hunting for these buttons made for a fun Scavenger Hunt for several members of the Hernando County Button Collectors Group in Florida recently. A Goodwill Super Store was our hunting ground!

I had a wonderful time at the 2018 National Button Society Convention last week. My presentation, "The History of Buttons: Why We Collect the Little Works of Art," attracted almost three dozen people! Afterwards, I sold 10 copies of my presentation in the narrated format. This makes me really happy because it tells me that the buyers will use it as a recruitment tool or at their local meetings. I attended most of the educational presentations and was, once again, overwhelmed by the huge-ness of the vendor showroom and the competition trays display. Whew! But here are photos of most of the buttons I got at the convention. To see photos from the Convention, look on Facebook under Florida State Button Society or the National Button Society.

This was a great way to use some of my fabric and ribbon scraps with colorful buttons. The salt/pepper shakers are from the Dollar Store and thrift stores.