Why Are Women’s Buttons the Opposite of Men’s?

Did you ever wonder why women’s buttons are on one side and men’s are on the other? There are several reasons why clothes button up differently…and one reason may have to do with a short tempered dictator’s ego! Read on and find out more!

Hey, Kathy!

I have a question: Recently, my wedding crew and I were getting fitted for our suits. I noticed that Samantha’s suit buttons were on the opposite side of the men’s and asked the tailor is there was some mistake. He told me that of course everyone knew that men’s and women’s clothes button differently. Well, I never noticed. Since I didn’t feel he was the friendliest fountain of information, I’ll ask you: Why?

Thanks!

–Quentin, Questioning in Quincy

Hey, Quentin!

That’s a great question! As the Ainsworth House & Gardens historian, I am happy to answer!

First, let’s establish the ground rules of fashion;

Women’s shirts, blouses, and suits button right over left. The buttonholes are on the right side.
Men’s shirts and suits button left over right. The buttonholes are on the left side of the garment.

Why is this so?

It could be because of swords, servants, saddles, suckling, or a short-tempered emperor.

According to certain fashion historians, these button-placement customs may have originated as far back as the 1300s in the Middle Ages.

Why are men’s buttons on the right side of the garment?

In the Middle Ages, this might have been because many men—whether they were in the military or not—carried swords. Since most men were right handed, they wore their swords on their left sides so that they could draw out the sword easily. Buttons were sewn to avoid interfering with the drawing of the sword.

Why are women’s buttons of the left?

In the Middle Ages, buttons were expensive and only affordable by the aristocracy. Women in the upper classes were often dressed by their servants, many of whom were right-handed. The buttons were sewn on the left to make it easier for the maids to dress these wealthy women.

If you like horsing around, there is another theory about why women’s buttons are where they are: horse saddles. Lost in the mists of time is exact date a woman first rode a horse side-saddle but it could have been as far back as the Dark Ages. The sidesaddle was developed for women to preserve their virginity and to protect them from the vulgarity of a forward facing saddle. Did they succeed? We’ll never know…

We do know that Princess Anne of Bohemia rode sidesaddle in 1382 when she married King Richard II of England…and caused quit a stir!

So why did the horses influence button placement?

When riding sidesaddle, the right side of a woman’s body faced front. By having the buttons on the left, this protected the rider from unwanted breezes blowing through her clothing.

And then there’s the legend that Napoleon, the possibly short dictator who had the shortcoming of being short tempered, may have interfered with fashion.

Napolean Bonaparte, who crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804, was fond of having his portrait painted posing with his hand in his waistcoat.

Women who thought he was pompous and overbearing made fun of him by dressing in exactly the same men’s clothese and posing in this same way.

Bonaparte was not pleased and ordered that henceforth women could only wear shirts that buttoned on the opposite side from men’s.

And that ended women’s making fun of Napoleon!

I hope that helps!

Your friend in the history business,

Kathy Bazan

The images above are courtesy of Pixabay.com.

The images below are from the Ainsworth House & Gardens wedding gallery.