[Emergency First Aid Included] What to Do When a Button Falls Off a Suit or Shirt

September 10, 2026 September 10, 2026

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Suits and dress shirts, which many people wear for ID photos, have many buttons. Have you ever noticed a button falling off before you realized it, or a loose thread?

Personal appearance and grooming are crucial for job hunting ID photos. Knowing how to handle a missing button will give you peace of mind.

Today, we will introduce a few useful methods to deal with such situations.

Quickly Sew It Back On with Portable Items

It might be a good idea to keep a sewing kit tucked away in your job hunting bag just in case.

・100-yen Shops

Everyday 100-yen shops sell simple sewing kits.
They also sell spare buttons, which comes in handy if the lost button goes missing.

Shops Where You Can Request Emergency Repairs

Another option is to ask a clothing repair specialist located in station buildings or commercial facilities. Many shops will sew on a button for about 300 to 500 yen per button.

Here are some examples of clothing repair specialty stores:

・Mama no Reform
・Magic Machine
・Gin no Ito
・Onaoshi Concierge Big Mama
・Oshare Kobo
・Form I

Additionally, dry cleaners can also sew buttons on for you, so if it is not an emergency, you might want to request it at the counter when dropping off your clothes for dry cleaning.

A Secret Trick Taught by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department

The Disaster Management Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Security Bureau posts useful tips on Twitter for emergencies. They have tweeted a neat trick for when a button comes off, but you don't have a sewing kit or convenient tools, and there are no shops nearby to ask for a button repair!

急にボタンが取れて困った経験はありませんか？そんな時、生地の裏側にボタンをあててボタン穴に生地ごと通すと一時的に留めることができます。生地の厚さや固さによっては難しいかもしれませんが、穴の大きいものだと簡単に出来ます。避難所や外出先など急な場面で知っておくといいかもしれません。 pic.twitter.com/ujbImg56r1
— 警視庁警備部災害対策課 (@MPD_bousai) December 20, 2018

＜Steps＞

① Place the fallen button against the back side (inside) of the fabric
② Flip back to the front side and hold the button together with the fabric so it doesn't slip
③ Push the button—wrapped in the fabric—straight through the buttonhole

Since this method can easily damage the fabric, avoid leaving your clothes in this state for a long time.

This time, we introduced what to do when a button comes off a dress shirt or suit.
Now you should be able to handle it calmly when the time comes!