The Button Queen

It’s a shop, it sells buttons. Lots of them. Every button imaginable. Every button except the 25 mm dark brown leather ‘football’ buttons that I was looking for. It’s amazing that a shop like this exists in one of the most expensive areas in London, but I’m glad it does. Much better a button shop that another estate agency.

I went all the way to the store to find some buttons for my winter coat. The older gentleman running the shop was dismissive and grumpy, making me feel if he was doing me a favour even talking to me. I was so uncomfortable that I left without buying anything, even though I really needed some buttons! A shame as the shop has some interesting buttons.

The toggles fell of my beloved vintage (ie. second hand) duffel coat after a booze-​fuelled night in Paris. It was the treasured one my friends called my ‘homeless coat’
Mwaaaahhh ;_​_​;
How can I be homeless without the correct toggles? So a trip into London was on to find the exact substitutes and my first stop was the ever dependable John Lewis. No such animal in their haberdashery section, but their staff did point me out of the back door to some place called ‘The Button Queen’.
This is where my brain detached and went on vacation to the Azores. What? London has shop dedicated JUST to buttons? INDEED. And within 5 minutes walk from Oxford Circus I was there in the place where buttons go to die, to live and to be reincarnated. Sadly they couldn’t match up my toggles to their collection but I did get to enjoy the experience of a wondrous world of buttons… a veritable Button Moon (without Mr Spoon).

Indeed an oasis for button seekers, this is where you can find just about any kind of button your heart desires. The problem is, you can’t see the buttons easily (if at all) as most of the goods are behind the counter, and because the shop is so small and usually in possession of 1 – 2 too many customers, it’s really often difficult to make a choice then purchase.
The owners are very helpful though (it’s an old family business which is cool), so if you tell them what you’re looking for, they will definitely give you a hand.

I am not a huge fan of shops that make it difficult to browse. In small shops where the products are all located behind the counter such Button Queen I tend to feel rather rushed into making a decision.
Bar that factor, Button Queen is home to the most impressive array of Buttons, antique to modern, cheap to precious. This shop is so completely and utterly dedicated to buttons, no wonder dressmakers come from across the country visit The Button Queen.

When I’m waiting for students to turn up at the rehearsal studios a few doors up, I can often be found at the window of The Button Queen, my nose and hands pressed to the window, marvelling at the wonders inside.
The Button Queen stocks vintage, rare, and unusual buttons, and is frequented as much by the collector as by the craft hobbyist and dressmaker. Personally, I like to buy 1920s and 1930s mother of pearl and jet buttons to put on knitwear, just to make it look a bit different.
Prices range from several pounds for rare early Victorian buttons, to 20 – 30 pence for more common buttons. Recently, they’ve had some really funky 1950s buttons. I’m staring at them now. I’ve bought some, but have not a clue what to do with them

Located just near Marylebone High Street on the sleepily charming Marylebone Lane, The Button Queen is, predictably perhaps, button Mecca. A one-​stop-​shop for buttons ranging in price from a few pennies to a lot of pounds and run by button experts Isabel and Martyn Frith.
Boasting an extraordinary range of buttons, from nautical inspired gold lovelies replete with anchor motifs to full on disco dolly swarovsky encrusted beauties that could literally render your average piece of clothing show stopping, The Button Queen is highly recommended for button enthusiasts and neophytes alike.

Button Queen-​as their name would suggest-​pride themselves on selling every imaginable type of button for every occasion.
As well as modern buttons there is a lot of vintage stuff. I have to say that some of these, although undeniably authentic, did look a tad dusty, but would probably brush up OK.
At the more recherché end of the stock there are antique buttons in enamel, silver and glass.
If all else fails and you still can’t find what you want there is a button covering service-​matching your chosen material.