why to mens shirts button opposite of womens?

[Quigley Brown]

Sorry to walk in here like this (I knocked first ). Yesterday I found a great Eddie Bauer white dress shirt at a thrift store. The label had my measurments, but did not indicate mens or womens. I tried it on today, but was a bit surprised that the buttons buttoned the opposite way. The shirt fits perfect. It was difficult to button at first. It has the perfect collar for thin 1960s ties (tie bars placed opposite side, though). If I do wear it would I be a man wearing womens clothes? lol I cannot tell the difference....

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Because men are backwards!








(sorry, but you asked for that....)

 

[Quigley Brown]

good one, Miss Neecerie...lol

Any one wanna see me in 'drag?'

 

[Lady Day]

From what Ive seen of it, the practice is ancient. Womens robe even folding over the left, mens the right.

Im not totally sure but it could be an association with the left side being the 'weaker' side, or sinister in a lot of the globe but I wont go there.
But today women wear mens clothes all the time, and Im sure if you wear a tie, no one will notice.

LD

 

[Grnidwitch]

I was told that women had "dressers". Ladies maids that did all the buttoning.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

If I do wear it would I be a man wearing womens clothes?

Quigley, have you seen the episode of The Office TV show when the boss came into the office wearing a woman's suit by accident? It wasn't a pretty sight.


Stick to men's clothes, if possible.

.

 

[Lady Day]

I was told that women had "dressers". Ladies maids that did all the buttoning.

That makes sense, but why is the right side the dominant side then?

LD

 

[Doctor Strange]

I Googled this up:

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/39506

Several reasons are suggested. The main reasons cited seem to be: (1) that well-off women were dressed by servants, and it's easier to button someone else's clothes that way; and (2) that men required cross-draw access to swords hung on the left, and buttoning this way prevented the possibility of snagging them on garments when drawing.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Maybe it's as simple as a function of "handedness" --- there's more right handed people than lefties. A lady's maid buttoning up her lady would be buttoning with her right hand, which is where the buttons would be if she was facing them as opposed to wearing them.

There are exceptions to the button rule, by the way -- British women's uniforms in WW2 buttoned the same way as men's, possibly because it made it easier to adapt existing patterns.

Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor models her uniform, c. 1944. She had to make do without a lady's maid.

 

[Yeps]

I have always heard that it started back when dueling was relatively common, and men had to unbutton a couple of the buttons on their tight doublets. The way they face means that you can do that with your left hand while you hold a sword in your right.

 

[Lady Day]

There are exceptions to the button rule, by the way -- British women's uniforms in WW2 buttoned the same way as men's, possibly because it made it easier to adapt existing patterns.

And I have this WWII pattern that was made *specifically* for use of a mans existing suit front.

LD

 

[Lauren]

I know that in the 18th century and before it didn't matter which side you fastened either mens or womens clothes. I had never heard the explaination of being dressed by servants, but men also had manservants to dress them, so I wonder how accurate that really is? [huh] Though I think the practice of men being dressed by servants faded out in the Victorian times, so I say blame the Victorians for it lol They liked to make silly rules.
Kidding... kidding...

 

[hailey greenhat]

Doctor Strange's second reasoning (swords hung on the left) is the one i've heard most often.

 

[anon`]

Access to weaponry is most often cited, but I suspect that it has much more to do with the fact that most people are right handed, and it's easier for a right handed individual to close a garment left-over-right. It might also arise, at least in a European context, from early cloaks, which were often thrown over the left shoudler and fastened over the right. This both covered the (right handed) individual's weapon and any pouch or purse that might be carried on that side, while leaving the dominant arm generally free for combat or other tasks.
The notion that it is due to "dressers" is flawed insofar that there is ample evidence that men had them as often as women did. Someone on the Lounge even recently suggested that we modern men are "doing it wrong" (with specific respect to belts) and that a "real" gentleman would have his manservant dress him, which would reverse the direction. Whatever.

I suspect that the disparity (at least in Western cultures) arose from the fact that for centuries men and women had vastly different roles in society (yes, even the egalitarian ones) and this was often evident in costume. But that's just my theory.

Or maybe someone just got it wrong once and everyone followed suit? Not unlike cutting the top of the turkey off...

 

[Lauren]

I suspect that the disparity (at least in Western cultures) arose from the fact that for centuries men and women had vastly different roles in society (yes, even the egalitarian ones) and this was often evident in costume. But that's just my theory.

I think this is the most accurate viewpoint. Most people had their clothing made by tailors and seamstresses as ready to wear was not really utilized until the turn of the last century, so the fastening was probably left to individual preference when you made a commission. Those who made it at home did it how it most made sense and the easiest to get into.
I admit I've used the excuse of the "no laws of fastening" to my advantage when I make a costume and mess up plackets. lol

 

[Lady Day]

Huzzah!
Another rule I dont have to strictly follow when sewing! W00T!

LD

 

[cecil]

And I have this WWII pattern that was made *specifically* for use of a mans existing suit front.

LD

I've heard that it was popular for women to re-work mens suits but I have never seen a pattern for it before. That is so cool.

Re: shirts, I've been wearing mens shirts for so long that when I bought a blouse recently I got all clumsyfingered. lol

 

[hailey greenhat]

This reminds me

A few years back i bought a pair of ladies cuffed jeans super cheep (sales woo) but they fit so strangely i couldn't figure out for the longest time why i had such a problem with them, later i realized the zipper and button are on the opposite side for all other female jeans :eusa_doh:

 

[Grnidwitch]

Lady Day

I love that pattern. I have a pamplet that shows how to refashion a man's suit for a woman. I'd love to have that pattern for help. I'm not that accomplished with sewing and tailoring.

 

[ColeV48]

It actually didn't exist like that until late 19th century when clothing became industrialized. In fact, in the late 18th c. male tailors still made any women's clothing that was masculine in style: the riding habit. Nothing else usually buttoned closed until the 1780s. Extant garments from that time show an equal number of women's garments closing on both sides and even some mens. At that point it was up to the wearer and the tailor. Consistency was something that was decided by garment manufacturers to differentiate much later.