People are baffled after discovering the historical reason men’s and women’s shirts look very different, as experts explain the strange clothing detail in depth
The answer to the shirt button conundrum may be found in the history books but there’s a question mark over why we are still using the
tradition
today.
It’s one of those weird things in life that we’re so accustomed to, it may not have ever cross your mind. But the question remains: why are men and women’s shirts buttoned on opposite sides?
Like many traditions, the answer probably lies in the history books. Although there isn’t any particular point in time when a dressmaker declared men’s shirt buttons must be sewn on the right and women’s on the left, with a town crier announcing it was now law – reasonable deductions point to why the decision was made.
In medieval times, clothing was held together with clasps, brooches or laces. Buttonholes first began to be used in the 13th century and rose to prominence in the 14th century when they became a sign of wealth. Gold, silver or ivory buttons indicated you were rich or held rank but wood or bone ones were more common.
The answer as to why the holes are on opposite sides depending on your sex is probably due to status as well. Poorer women tended to wear aprons or tunics that were easy to slip on without fastening. But ladies in the higher classes, favoured buttons to show status and wore many layers of clothing and needed assistance getting dressed.
A clothing expert explained the thinking to the Huffington Post: “Back in the day, dressing up was a big deal, especially if you were wealthy,” Scott Liebenberg , the CEO of Tapered Menswear said. “Ladies often had maids to help them dress, so having buttons on the left made it easier for a right-handed helper.”
Men’s clothing was much more simple and they generally dressed themselves. As most people are right handed, it made sense for their buttonholes to be on the right.
A designer at Our Visn agreed with this theory. Natalie Hicks commented: “Noble women wore heavy textiles and gowns could have up to six layers, so they would have a servant or attendant assisting them into their multilayered garment of petticoats, bustles, a corset and other undergarments.
“Buttons were therefore installed in the opposite direction of what was standard for men’s clothing as the attendant would stand in front of her mistress and quickly dress or undress her.”
So why are we still choosing to stick to the tradition despite most women dressing themselves these days? Again there’s no concrete answer but it’s probably down to tradition and the fact that designers still use old patterns as the basis for their new creations.
Scott explains: “Once a particular style or feature becomes standardised, it tends to continue. Although style evolves, the general patterns remain the same.” He also believes it could be because it’s easier in a factory for the assembly line to tell if it’s a men’s or women’s shirt.
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