Have you ever borrowed a shirt from someone of the opposite sex and noticed that the buttons were on the other side? You’re not imagining it. Traditionally, men’s shirts have buttons on the wearer’s right, while women’s shirts have buttons on the left. But why do two garments serving the same purpose follow different conventions? Let’s find out. (Also read: Everyday explained: Those little ribbons inside your tops and dresses help prevent them from stretching. Here’s how )
Theory of wealthy women and their maids
One of the most widely repeated explanations concerns the clothing worn by wealthy European women in earlier centuries.
During the Victorian era and other periods of European history, fashionable women often wore complicated outfits consisting of multiple layers, including corsets, petticoats and fitted gowns. Getting dressed could be a lengthy process, and affluent women sometimes relied on servants to help them.
The theory suggests that dressmakers placed buttons on the left side of women’s garments to make fastening them easier for predominantly right-handed maids standing in front of the wearer. Men, who were more commonly expected to dress themselves, retained buttons on the right.
Over time, this difference may have become a familiar convention in clothing production.
Did men’s clothing have a military connection?
Another theory links the placement of buttons on men’s garments to historical military clothing.
Some explanations suggest that the arrangement of overlapping fabric on men’s jackets was intended to provide practical advantages when soldiers wore armour or carried equipment. Others connect the design to the way right-handed men historically drew swords.
According to this interpretation, the direction in which a jacket fastened could help prevent its opening from interfering with a weapon or its handle. The theory offers a possible explanation for the convention in menswear, but there is no definitive evidence proving that military requirements established the modern button arrangement.
Another suggestion connects women’s button placement to breastfeeding and childcare. The theory proposes that mothers who held babies in their left arms could use their right hands to adjust their clothing. Some accounts suggest that the traditional placement of buttons may have made this easier.
Why has the tradition continued?
Whatever its original cause, the difference has persisted largely because clothing conventions tend to endure once they become established.
Manufacturers, designers and consumers are familiar with the traditional arrangement, so there has been little pressure to standardise button placement across all garments. The widespread production of ready-to-wear clothing may also have helped reinforce established design patterns.
Importantly, these conventions are not universal rules. Modern clothing may use either arrangement, and some garments are designed without traditional gender distinctions.
