To shop the different decades at Lovely's Vintage Emporium clickHERE
Samantha Hammond Donald is a great friend of Lovely's Vintage Emporium and she is also superwoman in our view. She is a make-up artist, was the founder of the very magnificent website Makeup Advice Forum and took her first foray into online beauty waaaayyy before everyone else. She is also mother to four, yes FOUR boys (give her a medal). She also somehow finds time to blog at 4 Boys' Mother Photograph: Sam (below right) at work as a make-up artist
But there is one area she does NOT excel in, and that is handling buttons. Bizarre, but true. She is terrified of them. Scared of buttons.
She has a condition which officially has the name 'koumpounophobia' (fear of buttons). We were so fascinated by this we had to ask her to guest blog about it.
Over to Sam:
I don't like buttons. Weird fiddly things. What's wrong with a zip?
I don't like the feel of them when they slip through their hole, and I get a bit twitchy if they click together. I am fully aware that this is a peculiar phobia. I have issues with submarines too, but that's another story.
Buttons however send shudders through me.
It is a particular type of button though. I'm mostly okay with big look-at-me-aren't-I-the-best-thing-about-this-outfit buttons that are on coats and jackets.
No, it's those little ones that are on blouses and shirts. Little ninja buttons hiding away out of view, stealthily waiting to pounce and touch your skin when you least expect it.
Those are the ones that make me squirm, I have goosebumps as I type this.
And fish-eye buttons, those horrendous semi-transparent ones with a slice cutout.
I can't even bring myself to Google an image and if Lovely puts one in this article, I shall be skipping past it quickly.
(Sorry Sam, we couldn't resist)
However in a bizarre twist, I'm not so far traumatised by the thought of a button that I can't deal with them on other people. I don't mind my husband wearing shirts (though he's less likely to get a cuddle if he's wearing one) and my children wear shirts for school and assisting the buttoning-up process isn't as bad as it once was.
You won't catch me voluntarily buying a shirt for one of my sons and I did have to put a hand-knitted baby cardigan to the back of the wardrobe because it had white fish-eye buttons, but I can handle it now.
Even more strange is that I work with papercrafts as a hobby and adore using buttons to embellish projects (though still no fish-eyes). It's quite clearly a phobia that is directly related to me and definitely related to clothing.
If there's a hidden button out there, it's waiting, ninja style, to pounce on me.
Sam x
THANKS SAM!
Do you have you have strange phobias? Please do comment on this blog. We would LOVE to hear about them!
To shop the different decades at Lovely's Vintage Emporium clickHERE
Aww Mum, I mst have driven you crazy with it. Sorry. X
I understand now why you didnt like blouses when you were little Mum xxx
Great read Sam & very funny, I would have never known you hated them so much. Of course you are wonder woman xxx
But you are superwoman Sam! Thanks for the blog post again, flipping hilarious. xx (Lynnette, LVE)
You had to put in a picture with LOADS of fish eye buttons didn’t you?!
I’ve got shivers up and down my arms now!
But thank you for the very flattering intro! Made my day.
S x