Buzz
You might not have thought much about the gendered button placement on shirts—unless, like me, you’ve tried to button up a gingham shirt in a thrift store fitting room and found yourself utterly confused.
The reasoning behind this peculiar feature is a bit mysterious, but it is often seen as a leftover tradition from times when fashion was more intricate. During the Renaissance and Victorian periods, wealthy women often had servants to dress them. To make this process easier, the buttons were placed on the right side (from the woman’s perspective), assuming the servant was right-handed, which was the common belief. Meanwhile, men typically dressed themselves, so their buttons were placed on the opposite side.
There’s some debate about whether this practice truly makes sense today, considering only a small portion of the population could afford servants, but the aristocracy were the trendsetters in fashion. It’s likely that their habits trickled down and persisted over time simply because no one ever thought to alter them.
Some theories suggest that centuries-old fashion trends, when men’s clothing often featured weapons, could explain the difference in button placement. A right-handed man could draw his weapon with his dominant hand while using his other hand to unbutton his shirt. This idea is supported by period portraits where men are depicted with their right hand tucked into their waistcoats.
Another theory ties button placement to combat strategies: the standard fighting stance required a soldier to face the enemy with their left side, holding a shield. A shirt with a left-to-right overlap would prevent an opponent from attacking through an open slit.
Perhaps the answer lies with babies? Women commonly hold a child on their left side to keep their dominant hand free, and a shirt that opens on the right would make breastfeeding more convenient.
There are various other ideas, including those related to horseback riding, Napoleon’s complex, church customs, and the most disturbing theory—that the differentiation in buttons was introduced during the mass production of clothing to reinforce sexist ideas by forcing women to use their 'weaker' hand to button up.
However, the most likely explanation is that it’s simply because royalty like Marie Antoinette needed assistance to fasten their elaborate bodices.
