08/31/2026
Inside the Complicated Relationship With Amish and Buttons.
In our series of Amish life...
It is romanticized in pop culture that the Amish eschew buttons. But, like everything with the Amish, it's not so simple. If one could set their Facebook relationship status with buttons the Amish would likely pick "It's Complicated."
Buttons came to be viewed by some Amish generations ago as too ornate and flashy, back in the Victorian age buttons were often a frivolous, aristocratic luxury on clothing. But as times have changed so have the views of some Amish. Plenty of the more conservative Amish do still eschew buttons, preferring straight pins instead. Ouch. In some cases the "hooks and eyes" are still used and those are a bit less hazardous that the straight pin route. There are also metal "snaps" on jackets and clothing that some Amish find acceptable and others view buttons as perfectly fine so long as they aren't overly ornate.
So a lot of whether the Amish use buttons or not has to do with local community traditions and church ordnung. The ordnung is a set of unwritten rules that govern most of an Amish person's day to day life.
Do the Amish use velcro?
Velcro generally seems to be an acceptable alternative to buttons. Many Amish have clothing that uses velcro to fasten various aspects.
Do the Amish use zippers?
Again, these answers vary greatly from place to place. But zippers are generally frowned up among the Amish. But often these customs have more to do with tradition that any sort of strong theological objection. As a generally rule, though, fancier clothing has zippers and that is something most Amish would steer away from.
While men wear more buttons, the women mostly use straight pins on their dresses.
I hope you enjoy this series, I will be writing more as time allows. So keep those questions coming.
thank you and have a blessed day.
Marcel
