The Ben Silver Collection began with Mr. Ben Silver's men's overcoat business, which collapsed after John F. Kennedy famously entered the White House coatless in the January 1961 cold, tanking demand for overcoats nationwide. Silver pivoted to making traditional blazers finished with enameled university-crest buttons, and it was the buttons, not the blazers, that became the company's defining product, picked up by colleges, prep schools, and haberdashers across the country. It has since made blazer buttons for American presidents, corporations, and clubs, alongside its retail menswear and accessories business based in Charleston, South Carolina.