Pearly King suit decorated with pearl buttons, comprising a jacket, waistcoat, trousers, tie and braces. The suit was worn by Henry Bliss, Pearly King of Islington. On the back of the jacket is written in buttons 'Pearly King of Islington'. Pearly Kings evolved from the costermongers, tough market traders who decorated their clothes with pearl buttons. In 1875 the road sweeper Henry Croft smothered his clothing in discarded pearl buttons to raise money for hospitals and orphanages. His success encouraged costermongers to nominate Pearly families from different London boroughs to continue this charity work.
