{{Short description|Two-part snap-together fastener}} thumb|The two halves of a riveted leather snap fastener. The top half has a groove which "snaps" in place when "pressed" into the bottom half.
A '''snap fastener''', also called '''snap button''', '''press button''',<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HMwpAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22press-button%22+sewing&pg=RA2-PA49 |title=Dun's International Review |date=May 1918 |publisher=R.G. Dun |language=en |chapter=Haberdashery and Notions: Trade Terms that Have a Somewhat Different Meaning in the British Empire and in America—Just what they Signify When Used in Connection with the Export Trade of the United States}}</ref> '''press stud''',<ref name=":0" /> '''press fastener''', '''dome fastener''', '''popper''', '''snap''' and '''tich''' (or '''tich button'''), is a pair of interlocking discs, made out of a metal or plastic, commonly used in place of traditional buttons to fasten clothing and for similar purposes. A circular lip under one disc fits into a groove on the top of the other, holding them fast until a certain amount of force is applied. Different types of snaps can be attached to fabric or leather by riveting with a punch and die set specific to the type of rivet snaps used (striking the punch with a hammer to splay the tail), sewing, or plying with special snap pliers.
Snap fasteners are a noted detail in American Western wear and were also often chosen for children's clothing, as they are relatively easy for children to use compared with traditional buttons.
==Invention== thumb|Tich buttons for dresses (1968)
Modern snap fasteners were patented by German inventor Heribert Bauer in 1885 as the "Federknopf-Verschluss", a novelty fastener for men's trousers. Some{{who?|date=April 2025}} attribute the invention to Bertel Sanders, of Denmark. In 1886, Albert-Pierre Raymond, of Grenoble, also obtained a patent.<ref>Brevet d'invention n° 176 400 du 29 mai 1886.</ref> These first versions had an S-shaped spring in the "male" disc instead of a groove.<ref>{{cite news|title=Zwei Köpfe und ein Knopf |url=http://www1.wdr.de/themen/archiv/stichtag/stichtag1446.html |access-date=8 July 2013 |newspaper=Westdeutscher Rundfunk|date=March 5, 2005 |language=de}}</ref> Australian inventor Myra Juliet Farrell is also credited with inventing a "stitchless press stud" and the "stitchless hook and eye".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136727841 |title=Woman Inventor |newspaper=Western Age |location=Dubbo, NSW |date=28 August 1915 |access-date=24 February 2014 |page=4 }}</ref> In America, Jack Weil (1901–2008) put snaps on his iconic Western shirts, which spread the fashion for them.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.rockmount.com/our_story.htm|title = Story of Rockmount Ranch Wear|access-date = 2011-01-29}}</ref> The Prym company has produced snap fasteners since 1903.
== Use ==
[[file:RoyRogersperformingKBF.jpg|thumb|Iconic cowboy singer and actor Roy Rogers wearing Western shirt with faux pearl snaps]]
Snaps were incorporated into military gear for their speed of use, comparative freedom from snaring, and ease of disentanglement when caught; they were particularly adapted to paratroop equipment due to the danger of snares in the myriad lines attaching a parachute canopy.
They were also adopted for use with law enforcement holsters and their myriad accessories for similar reasons – replaced in both fields largely by hook and loop fasteners in recent decades.
Press studs were adopted by rodeo cowboys from the 1930s onwards, because these could be quickly undone if, in the event of a fall, the shirt became snagged in the saddle.{{cn|date=March 2022}} Faux pearl snaps entered American mainstream Western wear fashion during the 1950s, when singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers incorporated them into their embroidered and fringed stage shirts.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BxdipV0WeI0C&dq=western%20wear&pg=PA37 100 years of Western wear]</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery widths="120" heights="80"> Rivet snap parts.jpg|Four pieces of a typical rivet snap fastener: from upper left, the "eyelet" "socket", "cap", and "stud" Snap fastener female (outer) side components.jpg|The socket and cap, the "female" parts of a riveted snap fastener Snap fastener male (inner) side components.jpg|The eyelet and stud, the "male" parts of a riveted snap fastener Sewing snap rivet tools.jpg|Tools used to apply a snap Antistatic wrist strap (2).jpg|Antistatic wrist strap with 10 mm snap fastener </gallery>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Snap fasteners}}
{{Sewing}} {{Clothing materials and parts}} {{Authority control}}
Category:1940s fashion Category:20th-century fashion Category:German inventions Category:Textile closures Category:Western wear