Which button to button?

[Hercule]

Can anyone speak to the practice (style) of buttoning only the top button of a suit and its transition to buttoning only the middle button? It seems to me it may have been an evolution away from formality to a more casual style starting in the early 30s?

 

[Kishtu]

Not sure about 20th century usage, but in the 17th century it was fashionable to unbutton one's doublet from the bottom upwards in order to display the fineness and cleanliness of one's personal linen.
I wonder if it evolved from that in the first instance?

 

[Hercule]

Not sure about 20th century usage, but in the 17th century it was fashionable to unbutton one's doublet from the bottom upwards in order to display the fineness and cleanliness of one's personal linen.
I wonder if it evolved from that in the first instance?

That's interestimng, is that to suggest that it may harken back to an even earlier time when a coat or such overgarment was really a cape with sleeves?

 

[Undertow]

Some scans of clothing catalogs from the 30's show the bottom waistcoat buttons left undone just below the waist line. I've seen as many as three waistcoat buttons undone in this fashion. Additionally, you may see the bottom button of some jackets left unfastened just below the waist line. However, it seems there are far more scans where ALL buttons were fastened on the vest, and no buttons fastened on the jacket.

I suppose it goes without saying that the catalog scans reveal an "optimal" presentation of the clothing, while men typically wore the suits naturally.

Now for a bit of conjecture. In practice, the bottom button of a jacket may have been left unfastened to "loosen things up", just as one might unbutton the bottom of the waistcoat. It may not have been so much casual as it was practical. In America, one did not necessarily remove one's jacket in polite company, and certainly not their waistcoat. Considering jackets tended to fit closer around the waist, giving that T shape, it may have been a bit more comfortable to let a button loose.

I guess I wouldn't necessarily chalk up the buttoning of the middle button to an evolution of style in and of itself, so much as a shift in jacket closures. Jackets seemed to have centered on a standard 3 button closure and stayed that way since the 50's. As a result, it's now possible to only button a middle button or two top buttons. This wasn't necessarily possible with your typical 2 button 30's jacket.

 

[Sam Craig]

I was taught never to button the bottom button on a suit jacket unless you're out in the elements because keeping the bottom button buttoned causes wrinkles in the fabric when you sit down ... especially at a desk or in a car.

I would presume on a three-button jacket the top button issue would have more to do with the popularity of deeper lapels in the 40s and 50s.

In Edwardian fashion you button the top button as a rule and that allows the skirts of the coat to open and reveal the waistcoat ... vest.

The shirt was considered an undergarment until recent years ... historically speaking.

As late as the Spanish American war ... 1890s ... there were propaganda pics of cigar rollers in Cuba who were shown working in their shirtsleeves to show how brazen they were.

I have talked with gentlemen who ... even in the 30s and 40s ... would always slip their suit jacket on if they were waiting on a lady, even in the summer.

People had some knowledge of "respect" in those days, whether we like their style or not.

Sam

 

[Undertow]

Can anyone speak to the practice (style) of buttoning only the top button of a suit and its transition to buttoning only the middle button? It seems to me it may have been an evolution away from formality to a more casual style starting in the early 30s?

So I've been digging through some LIFE magazines lately, and in the June 6, 1938 editition there is a brief article on Princeton students "uniform". In a word, the writer mentions these young men leaving their bottom button (on a 3bt jacket) undone. The article also discusses how tailors and haberdashers watch these young men closely as they are leaders in fashion.

I'm certain these students weren't the first to leave a bottom button unbuttoned, but they may certainly may be the "leaders in fashion" paving the way for a more widely accepted habit across the country.

LIFE June 6, 1938 (see pg 31)

On an aside, you may also notice how they mention the students aren't wearing hats. Perhaps Kennedy didn't kill the fedora?

(haha, okay, just kidding - please don't send me into the abyss! I know there are heated battles raging in the hearts of some loungers over this issue...just wanted to poke a bit )

 

[Undertow]

:bump2:

 

[scottyrocks]

Here is my grandfather in or around 1930, on the left.

Three piece suit, two-button jacket, bottom one buttoned. Maybe it was cold outside.

Anyway, it's one example, and by no means definitive.