Tip... Cheap buttons!! and almost free fabric! Make due and Mend!

 I can see I have your attention. It's time people, really I mean it this time.  Time to get a wardrobe together.  Digging through the pile that had not been worn in a while, mostly because they had issues, and needed some tending.  Two shirts were pulled out for rehabilitation.  I set to soaking them to get rid of deodorant stains and to brighten them up.  The hard water in this area makes whites dingy, but I'll save that discussion for another time.

 I had a white pique stretch shirt, that I loved, which had the most impractical closure you've ever seen.  They were hooks instead of buttons and made the center front gape.  I loved this shirt, so I decided to bring it back into rotation and fix that front.  The buttons that were needed were 3/8", and plenty of them 13 to be exact. Off I went to my local Goodwill, where I noticed that most of the men's shirts were selling for $4.19, with the better brands selling for $7.19 or there abouts.  The last time I was at Joann's I could not pick up 13 buttons for $4.19.  Now, the buttons were pretty small, so I wandered off to the women's section looking for shirts with shoulder epaulettes and patch flap pockets, which should get me to the number I needed.  Low and behold, I found two shirts, with the same exact buttons (different colors)... and a crazy Christmas shirt with mother of pearl buttons.

They look tired, don't they?  

The fabric of the cream colored print is pretty bad.  It is a cotton sateen, which I thought was a flannel in the store but the buttons were in great shape.

There was only one button that was a bit worn but the rest look great. I think these are birds, let me know what you think.... they took liberties.

Here is the green shirt...

 

I think the print is pretty adorable, the fabric is a lightweight voile, but it wasn't constructed very well.  I can feel that there is no interfacing in the collar, cuffs, or pocket flaps.  It's very soft, and I may actually wear it.  It will need new buttons though, I may have something here at home that will work. It had the same buttons as the bird blob shirt but in silver.

Last but not least.... wow, I can tell you the fabric on this red shirt, will definitely make it into the rotation down the road, because the fabric is soft, silky, and super fine.  The brand is Bijan, the shirts sell for $55 - $195 on ebay.  There is some color bleeding on the white cuffs, so that's not an option.

 When you are checking for the total number of buttons, remember to check the inside label and side seams or center fronts where you might find spares.  These buttons were mother of pearl, with one cracked button on the cuff, I had plenty to rescue another favorite.

So now the reveals....

The pique shirt is now sporting the silver buttons from the bird shirt.

Then we have a white linen shirt, whose buttons just gave up.  It made the shirt look like it needed to be retired.

And now they have the bijan buttons!

Now I just need some bottoms!  So at the end of this, I've gained two shirts, with a possible third if I can find the buttons for that green shirt, and I have more fabric for other projects!