What kind of closures exist?
The first time a closure was used on clothing was reported back in 1851. Since then garment closures have been dominating our lives. It's almost impossible to imagine a world without these closures to keep our garments fitted on our bodies.
But garment closures aren't just used to make sure your clothes are fastened. They in a way are also sewn accessories. Since you have so many closure types, it is important to choose a type of closure that fits the kind of look you're going for, but also the material, and most importantly, that the clothes are comfortable to wear.
So now that you know how important it is to choose the proper fastening for your garments, there is still a question that needs to be answered before you are able to choose the perfect closure type for your new jacket. What kind of closures exist?
Since there are many different ways to close a jacket we have made it easier for you to look through this page to find the perfect type of closure for you.
These closures include; buttons, snap fasteners, zippers, toggle fasteners, and loop closures. On this page, we will tell you what kind of garment closures you can find on jackets, but also other types of clothes.
But most importantly, we will tell you what each closure type is, and what they can be used for.
Button closures
Another popular way to close a jacket is through regular buttons. Buttons have been around since 2800 BC when they were used by the Indian-Pakistani Indus Valley civilization. Although, during this time period buttons were mainly used for ornaments or seals, rather than as a fastening. The first sign of buttons being used as we know them nowadays, was during the Roman Empire in the Byzantine Empire.
Clothing can be closed by using a single row or a double row of buttons, or via various types of buttons. A single row has buttons on only one side of the garment, while a double row contains buttons on both sides.
Buttons are usually made of wood, plastic, or metal that can come in various types of shapes and colors. The most commonly used buttons are round flat buttons, single-holed buttons, and two-holed buttons, but these buttons can also come in other funky shapes.
All of these buttons have a different look, but also a different way of connecting the materials, which is why it is important to know the difference between the various button closures that exist.
You want to choose a kind of button that fits your style, but is also comfortable to open and close. That is exactly why we have mentioned a couple of button types below.
Snap fasteners
One variation of button closure types are snap fasteners. Snap fasteners consist of two matching parts that you can press together to close your jacket or shirt.
They secure your garment by the bottom part being pressed into the top part of the closure. By being vacuumed together with a little strength, the buttons will secure your clothing from suddenly opening.
These easy-to-close buttons are popular among children and vintage garments. They can also be concealed easily, to give your jacket a neat look. These fasteners are probably not the best choice for people who have a little trouble with their strength or hands, as it can be tough to close the fasteners then.
Frog closures
Similar to buttons is the frog closure, or they are also known as toggle closures. These tied knots of Chinese origin have been used in ancient China ever since the Song Dynasty about a millennia ago, and they're still used on modern-day garments as a type of closure. The Chinese sew these garment closures to their dresses, jackets, and other fashion garments.
Nowadays, and especially in Western countries, a different design is used for these closure types. Instead of the flower-like design, most of the time a wooden bar is used to have the jacket stay closed. These kinds of garment closures are used on duffel coats, for example.
These toggle fasteners are still used as decorative fasteners, just like they were back in ancient China. In a fun way, they're basically sewn accessories to your jacket.
Zippers
Although overall garments closures have been around and used since the 1800s. The first zipper was created and used in 1917 by a Swedish-American engineer by the name of Gideon Sundback.
Before this year the most commonly used closure types were buttons or hook-and-loop fasteners, but nowadays we can't imagine zippers out of our wardrobes. It was truly a revolutionary product.
A zipper is a closure that attaches pieces of fabric. Zippers have two strips of fabric. On one side of the zipper are teeth, and on the other side are notches. You can close and open the zipper by pulling the zipper's tab.
Zippers are the most commonly used closure for jackets. But what kind of zippers are there exactly?
Chain zippers
Chain zippers are the most used and common type of zipper. These zippers are created from materials like metal or molded plastic that are used to form the teeth of the zipper. These teeth are put together by the head of the zipper (or the slider you use to close your garment).
The bottom of the zipper has a stop as a fastening edge, this is used to make sure the zipper is secure and doesn't open further than it should.
These types of zippers with spaced intervals are mainly used for garments with heavier fabrics and clothing that need to be opened fully, like a jacket, for example, but they could also be used as a fastening for other types of clothing.
Invisible zippers
These zippers are used mainly on feminine clothing like dresses, skirts, and blouses, but they can also be used on other garments that are more masculine.
Sometimes you just don't want people to see what kind of clothing closures you use for your garments. In that case, a concealed zipper is ideal to use, as the lining is like the name says, invisible.
To make the zipper invisible in the fabric, it is sewn into the material in a way that you cannot see the seam of the zipper on the outside of the clothes. By making the head of the zipper small and of the same color as the fabric of the garment.
Coil zippers
These nylon zippers - also known as 'nylon coil zippers' - are similar to invisible zippers. A coil zipper is a concealed zipper and so less visible than 'regular zippers' like the chain zipper.
Coil zippers are regularly flat zippers, which already makes them less visible. When the color of the material of the zipper is matched to the color of the fabric of the clothing, the zipper becomes even harder to spot.
Although these zippers can be like invisible zippers, there are also many other types of coil zippers, as nylon is a very versatile material. The zipper type is not only used on garments, but for example also on tents, suitcases, and backpacks, making it the perfect zipper for your winter jacket.
Hook and loop fasteners
Or also known as 'hook and eye fasteners', are fasteners that are used to close clothing by looping one side of the material through the other side of the garment. Hence why the name 'loop closures', as the overlapping material, is what works as garment closure.
Of course, there are also different kinds of these clothing closures, just like with the other types of garment closures mentioned above. These types are as following:
Eye fasteners
One of these kinds of ways to fasten your clothes is by hook and eye fasteners. These exist out of loops and holes that are sewn to either side of the fabric of the clothes.
The fastening is usually created out of metal, to make sure that the hooks and loops are sturdy enough to stay secured for an entire day of wearing, without suddenly detaching from each other.
To close an eye fastener, you need to have both sides of the fastener. First, you take the hook part of the closure type. To attach it to the other side of the closure and to make sure your clothing stays secure for the entire day, you hook the part through the loop part, making sure the two are connected with each other.
Loop closures
Loop closures most of the time exist out of two separate sides. One side usually contains a button-like part, as the other part is the loop that you put the button through.
This closure type also has decorative purposes, just like frog closures. The button for example can be in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors. All to fit the garment they're attached to, but as well to the person that will be wearing the garment.
To close the clothing, the separate parts of each side of the closure are put together by putting the shape (usually a button) through the loop. By this, you attach both clothing sides to one another, so they securely fit around your body
Velcro strips
Introduced to the world in the 1950s, the Velcro strips soon became a hit as this fastening type is practical, effective, inexpensive, and easy to use. They are now used on many types of clothing and cannot be imagined out of our lives. But what exactly are Velcro strips?
This is the type of fastening you expect when reading the words 'hook and loop fasteners'. These strips are known for being easy to use as they can be put together and pulled apart at any given moment with minimal effort. They don't require strength, and neither do you need to struggle by putting one loop through the other, or to press two snap fasteners together.
Due to this reason, Velcro strips are mainly part of clothing for children or elderly people, as they are easy to attach and detach.
Although the closure type's most frequently used garment is shoes, it is also used on other types of clothing like dresses, skirts, vests, and more. Velcro strips are even used on accessories like bags.
