There’s something special about a trench coat – you can wear it with almost anything, dressing it up or down. It’s a timeless classic. Affordable trench coats can be readily found on the high street. At the other end of the scale, you can spend hundreds, even thousands, on a high-end fashion label.

My trench coat is from La Redoute. It’s comfy, and I loved wearing it until it unexpectedly began shedding buttons. It’s inconvenient when you’re out for the day when it happens! I sewed them back on, and next time others would drop. 😦

The old look, minus buttons

Fed up at that point, I put it in my wardrobe where it hung for ages, looking sorry for itself. I didn’t wear it for at least a year. Eventually, the penny dropped: I should see it as an opportunity to replace all of the old buttons and make it unique to me.

The original buttons were embossed with a crest design, and, I assume, were made to look like antique pewter. I wasn’t really in love with that style, to be honest. It was crying out to be given a more modern look.

Pretend “antique pewter”

Always wanting to support independent stores where possible, I started my button search in Ely. I had an idea of what I was looking for. The difficulty was that I needed the same buttons in two different sizes (large for the main body of the coat; small for the cuffs & epaulettes), and I didn’t manage to find that in Ely, so resorted to looking online.

It took a while as I had the same problem of finding buttons I liked that came in the two sizes. Eventually, I found some from Totally Buttons.

The buttons have arrived

Which do you prefer?

Leaving things to the last minute is a trait of mine (will I ever learn?), and I contacted them to see if I could receive the buttons in time for an event I was going to the following week – breakfast at The Ivy in Cambridge. The service was great and Julie from Totally Buttons sent them out that day, and I managed to sew them on in time. The trench coat was back. 🙂

Watch those fingertips!

Neutral look

Fingertips were most definitely harmed in the making of this blog.
Before the next project, I need to buy a thimble…

Joking aside, it was a very easy little project. All you need is a needle & thread, scissors and some new buttons. If I can do it everyone can, and there are plenty of online video tutorials if you need a helping hand to get you started.

Need to practise my pose!

Unlike me, you don’t need to wait until the buttons fall off to decide on an update! You could look for a buttoned piece in your wardrobe that you no longer enjoy wearing, and think about how you could personalise it and fall in love with it all over again. I think you’d enjoy it. 🙂

Bye for now!