DIY: Coat Buttons

It's been cold lately. Very very cold. I've been living off hot coffees and disposable heat packs and wearing 10 layers of clothes. No one told me Hong Kong winters would be like this. HAHA. Ironic, coming from a Canadian, but hey, in Canada there's something called indoor heating, which is absolutely non-existent here. So alas, I am doomed to suffer the consequences of being too cheap to buy a small portable heater because I'm stubborn and keep telling myself that the cold spell will only last a few more days so "I'll tough it out til then", only to keep waking up to the morning chills. Anyway, I did buy a coat, which I guess is a cheaper/more fashionable option to a heater.

This coat was around $20CDN (um, Hong Kong shopping = ridiculously cheap). It even came with a detachable fur collar, and you can unzip the midsection to shorten the length of the coat. The only thing I didn't like were the silver buttons - they were made of a cheap plastic and were sewn on badly. But I knew that was an easy fix and in my mind I already had big plans for this coat... big plans... <<insert evil laughter>>...

Moving right along then.

Silver has never really been my colour. I prefer gold or bronze jewelry because I find the warmer tones match better with my wardrobe. So I decided to rip off the silver buttons and replace them with gold ones. 

 I found these gold + pearl buttons in one of those alleyway markets where people set up stalls and sell random odds and ends. I love exploring quaint little markets over big commercial malls, any day. 

Of course, all I needed for this was simply a needle, thread, and half an hour. 

...I'm quite happy with the result. It's probably hard to tell from the pictures, but the new gold buttons make a really big difference and totally change the look of the coat.

Changing the buttons on a coat is so easy and it's simple DIYs like these that can improve the look of old pieces in your wardrobe.

=)