• News
  • Life
  • TV & Film
  • Beauty
  • Style
  • Home
  • News
    • Celebrity
    • Entertainment
    • Politics
    • Royal Family
  • Life
    • Animals
    • Food & Drink
    • Women's Health
    • Mental Health
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Travel
    • Real Life
  • TV & Film
    • True Crime
    • Documentaries
    • Netflix
    • BBC
    • ITV
    • Tyla Recommends
  • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Make-up
    • Skincare
  • Style
    • Home
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
Submit Your Content
People are only just realising why women's buttons are on the left hand side

Home> Life

Published 17:56 3 Nov 2022 GMT

People are only just realising why women's buttons are on the left hand side

There's a reason why buttons on women’s clothing tend to be on the left hand side, and the holes on the right

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

People are only just realising why women’s buttons are on the left hand side when men’s are on the right, joking: “Haven’t they suffered enough?!”

You may have noticed that buttons on women’s clothing tend to be on the left hand side, and the holes on the right, while it’s the other way round for men.

But this isn’t just a random sartorial feature, as it’s actually rooted in tradition – something that some people have only just realised.

Tweeting about the topic, one person tweeted at the end of last month: “I *just* found out that shirt buttons are on the left for women & right for men. Wtf!!!!”

Advert

Another Twitter user also recently wrote: “I was today years old when I learned that women's shirts have the buttons on the left side! Haven't they suffered enough?! #enoughisenough.”

Someone else – a man – then asked earlier this week: “Why do women's shirts/blouses button on the wrong side?”

Many historians and fashion experts believe it all comes down to habits from the past, when wealthier women – who were able to afford new fashions like buttons – would be dressed by someone else.

As someone else would button and button up the woman’s garments, dressmakers would sew buttons on the left hand side of clothes.

Advert

People are only just realising why women's buttons are on the left, not the right.
Anton Brehov/Alamy Stock Photo

The only thing is, no one ended up changing them back, meaning the right-handed women of the world have been struggling ever since - unless you're one of the fortunate left-handed folk, of course.

Melanie M. Moore, founder of women’s blouse brand Elizabeth & Clarke, told Today: “When buttons were invented in the 13th century they were, like most new technology, very expensive.

“Wealthy women back then did not dress themselves - their lady’s maid did.

Advert

"Since most people were right-handed, this made it easier for someone standing across from you to button your dress.”

Live Science writer Benjamin Radford also said of the matter: “Depending on the era, men might wear waistcoats, pantaloons, gaiters and wool jackets.

"But women's clothing was far more elaborate, and could consist of a dozen or more garments including petticoats, bloomers, gowns, corsets and bustles.

“Thus, especially in middle- and upper-class society, men generally dressed themselves, whereas women did not. Instead, maids and servants might spend an hour or more dressing the lady of the house.

Advert

Marco Huerta/Alamy Stock Photo

"Clothiers soon realised that reversing the buttons on women's clothes made the job faster and easier for all involved. Because men were not dressed by servants, there was no need to reverse the buttons on their garments, and thus a custom was born.”

There are a number of other theories, but many of these only relate to why men’s buttons sit on the right without accounting for women’s buttons being on the other side.

Chloe Chapin, fashion historian and Harvard University Ph.D. candidate in American studies, told Today: “I think it’s important to question which time period we're talking about, since shirt and jacket buttons are a relatively new phenomenon.

Advert

“But as a general rule, many elements of men’s fashion can be traced back to the military."

Paul Keers, author of A Gentleman's Wardrobe, seems to agree, having also explained to The Guardian: "A gentleman's sword was always worn on the left side, so that it could be drawn with the right hand.

"If a jacket buttoned right over left, the handle of the sword would be likely to catch in the jacket opening when drawn, so any serious swordsman would demand a tunic which buttoned left over right.

"As an indication of a masculine lifestyle, this tradition was then extended to other items of menswear.”

Fashion... but make it sexist!

Featured Image Credit: Westend61 GmbH/ronstik/Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Fashion

Jess Hardiman
Jess Hardiman

Jess is Entertainment Desk Lead at LADbible Group. She graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

X

@Jess_Hardiman

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

19 hours ago
a day ago
3 days ago
  • 19 hours ago

    Mounjaro user reveals unexpected side effects after first week on the drug

    A 28-year-old man who started using the injectable medication on Saturday (7 June) has opened up on his experience so far

    Life
  • a day ago

    Your partner might be 'dry begging' you without you even noticing

    A group of relationship experts have opened up on the risk of allowing yourself to be 'dry begged'

    Life
  • a day ago

    Warning issued to any couples in the UK who live together but aren’t married

    Martin Lewis is encouraging couples to be 'blunt' when facing one key issue

    Life
  • 3 days ago

    Chilling reason woman let strangers do ‘whatever they wanted’ to her in disturbing experiment

    Marina Abramović described herself as an 'object' for the performance piece

    Life
  • People only just realising why Melania Trump's 'scribble' dress looks so familiar
  • People are just realising why Melania Trump’s inauguration outfit looks so familiar
  • People are only just realising what symbol on Lurpak wrappers means
  • Jennifer Lopez fans are only just realising why she looks so familiar in latest F1 appearance