Zippers

Sewing machines became more affordable in the 1870’s, making them more available to home sewers. Many women made clothes for the household as evidenced by local newspaper ads featuring fabrics, trims, and other sewing supplies sold in local stores. 

Although early versions of the zipper appeared in the nineteenth century, the fastener did not become widely accessible to people sewing at home until the early twentieth century. Military demand during World War I helped demonstrate its practical value.

 By 1937, zippers were increasingly replacing buttons in men’s trousers, a change sometimes described as the “Battle of the Fly.” French designers also embraced the fastener, while Esquire promoted it as a modern tailoring innovation that could help prevent the “possibility of unintentional and embarrassing disarray.”

Research by N King and M Wagner