Zimu Kou (子母扣, metal clasp button) is the most common accessory for making Ming-style Hanfu, and if you make a Ming Hanfu yourself, they are a must-buy material. Usually, you need about 7-10 buttons to make a Duijin Duan Shan (对襟短衫) with a stand-up collar.
A good-looking Zimu Kou can become the highlight of the clothes, adding texture and a sense of sophistication, and good clothes should find a matching button to complement each other.
About Zimu Kou's selection
Metal Zimu Kou is more suitable for autumn and winter Shan and Ao and other outer clothing, but sometimes too thin fabric to support too heavy Zimu Kou.
Pifeng's Zimu Kou larger (only one, so need a larger one, can do embellishment, or highlight). Zimu Kou applied to the collar should choose easy to buckle on, the size of the buttons than the size of the garment is a little smaller. Gorgeous button style, more suitable for clothes with woven gold, dark pattern and so on.
About the care of Zimu Kou
General copper and silver-plated material button are easier to oxidation, over time will become black. Usually to keep clean, dirty to wipe as soon as possible. If it becomes black, you can try to brush with toothpaste, silver-plated material can be cleaned with a silver polishing cloth. You can apply a layer of transparent nail polish to isolate oxygen when you just buy it.
6 kinds of exquisite Zimu Kou
The first is the lotus pattern, inspired by the Lotus Lantern, the lines of the lotus are too graceful. The style is relatively rare, the design is novel and original. This is a larger size, suitable for matching the Pifeng.
The second is a square Zimu Kou, inspired by the classic ice crack plum pattern, with a square outline, like the ancient hollowed out windows, elegant. There are two sizes, the small size is suitable for standing collar Shan Ao (立领衫袄), the large size is more suitable for Pifeng or Bijia.
The butterfly's posture is light and fluttering. The hollowing process can highlight the beauty of the butterfly's posture. This is slightly larger than the size of the standing collar Shan Ao, more suitable for making a Heling Shan (合领衫), Pifeng, Bijia. But should not be too thick and heavy fabric.
Zimu Kou with cute animal elements, also very interesting and vivid.
Zimu Kou material is not only metal, in ancient times there are many jade buttons, jade buttons have good texture, but delicate, especially fragile, ordinary people do not dare to use easily. Now there are also imitation jade Zimu Kou, the appearance and real jade is very close.
Quite a traditional flavor of the auspicious clouds pattern, outlining the auspicious clouds of the spirit, the middle part of the buckle is not the traditional round, is irregular curvature.
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Thank you for this article. It got me to think about pan kou. The artistry and ingenuity in all the details to hanfu is so beautiful, down to the buttons.
So many patterns in buckles too?