Shirt stud

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Shirt studs are small, usually metal objects used to fasten the front of pleated or stiff-front shirts in lieu of buttons. They often have inlays of pearl, onyx or similar materials.

Shirt studs were born around the middle of the nineteenth century, when shirt cuffs became too stiff to close with buttons. This is rarely the case anymore, and shirt studs are now primarily ornamental.

There are several common kinds of shirt studs:

  • two metal bars connected by a light chain
  • two oval buttons
  • one golden button with a metal bar on the other side