If Women are always right, Why are their Shirt Buttons on the left?
Have you ever noticed the difference between men’s and women’s garments? Why are men’s shirts buttoned left over right? Well, different people have a different take on this. Yes, women are always right; but their shirts have buttons on the left. This question about the difference in the buttons being different for men and women has been answered several times, and everyone has a different story to tell.
It is a widely accepted theory that women’s shirt buttons are placed right over left because of their mistresses who dressed them up in the medieval times.. It is said that wealthy women back then, did not dress up themselves; their lady maids did so and since most of them were right handed, it became easy for them to button it up. While men’s shirts have buttons on the right placket and left flap is opened.
Except these basic facts that we all might have heard; the women’s shirt buttons mystery has more reasons to it. It is also said that since women had to handle babies; giving the right hand dominance, women held babies in left hand, keeping the right one free. So shirts whose open flap is on the right, makes it easier for them to open with their free hand for breastfeeding. In the early days of industrialization, when clothing practice became standardized, the manufacturers took advantage of these little details in clothing to emphasize bigger differences between genders.The most commonly explained theory behind this was the fact that clothing for wealthy men included weaponry. Since, most men held their swords in the right hand; it was more convenient and quick for them to unbutton their shirts with left hand. And yes, there is always a ‘no-more further questions’ evidence to prove whatever people once said. The pictures that became popular in the 19th century, generally involved slipping of hand into an open area of the coat, from right to left; and which explains a lot.
Fashion evolves, as it does; trickling down from the wealthy to the common masses, the right over left design strategy remained even after dressing became a DIY affair. When buttons became easy to manufacture and be used on clothing for mass consumption; buttons remained on the left so the masses could mimic the style of the wealthy. Today, a masculine left to right strategy is a quaint relic of the earlier times.
#buttonart #buttonhole #
