Buttoning your shirts and coats, suit, is so easy. But do you know that there are some waldrobe mulfunctions when you do it wrongly?
A Quick History Lesson and a Fat King
Historically, in the early years of the suit as everyday menswear, it appears there were no formal buttoning rules. Look to trade magazines and illustrations from the earlier part of the 20th century, and one sees jackets with between one and five buttons, each buttoned in a manner that suited the personality of the wearer or the cut of the garment.
But much of this changed with a king who was too fat to button his jacket. Or at least, that’s what legend says.
According to the lore of menswear, in the early 1900s King Edward VII started the trend of leaving the bottom button of a suit undone.
Apparently, he grew so rotund that he was unable to fasten the bottom button of his waistcoat and jacket. To not offend the king, those associated with him started doing the same. The custom then gradually spread the world round (as England was still largely an imperial power with great influence across the globe).
Rules to follow
When buttong your suits, the following are the rules to follow.
1. Suits and Blazers
With one-button, three-button, and double-breasted suits and sport coats floating around, it can be hard to know what to button when. Here are the only rules you need to know:
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The One-Button Jacket
This one is easy; it should be buttoned while standing and undone when you sit down. Leaving it buttoned can stress the fabric and make the jacket feel a bit uncomfortable. Relax and loosen that button once you have a seat.The Two-
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Button Jacket
The top button is all you need. The two-button jacket should never have both buttons fastened.
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The Three-Button Jacket
The three-button suit comes with a simple rule: “sometimes, always, never.” It means you should sometimes fasten the top button (if you feel like it), always fasten the middle button, and never button the third.
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The Double-Breasted Jacket
Fasten every button save for the bottom button, though even here there is some leeway. English royalty and dandies have been known to fasten every button when they feel like it. You can keep your double-breasted blazer buttoned when you sit.
2. Shirts
When wearing a necktie, all buttons from your neck to the bottom of the shirt should be buttoned. If you decide to leave the tie at home, you can either button the shirt to the top for the “air tie” look or leave the top two buttons open to play it more casual. Never leave more than two buttons open though, unless you want to look like Keith Richards, which spoiler alert: you don’t.
3. Vests
If you decide to throw on that three-piece suit, keep the bottom button of the vest unfastened. Though Anglophiles claim that fat King Edward VII created this look out of, um, necessity, it also helps keep added stress off the fabric, which is good for your vest and your comfort.
Why Does Buttoning Your Suit The Right Way Matter?
Let’s begin with the ‘why.’ There are several reasons to care about how and when to button your suit jacket:
- It sends a signal that you pay attention to the details. The vast majority of men who violate these rules do so because they do not wear a suit regularly. These small rules are used by “those in the know” to identify other men “in the the know”.
- In most situations, this makes a suit look better on a man. A buttoned suit when standing cuts a cleaner silhouette.
- Prevent the buttons from popping. When seated, unbuttoning allows you to sit more comfortable, prevents wrinkles and keeps the buttons from popping.
- Suits are tailored with the assumption that the bottom button will never be fastened. Modern suits are cut in such a way that the fabric doesn’t drape properly when the bottom button is fastened for a two button or three button jacket.