Welcome to Further Details, a recurring column where we investigate what purpose an oft-overlooked product element actually serves. This installment: why men's and women's jackets button differently.
Have you ever noticed that jackets button differently depending on who they're made for? For women, buttons are located on the left side of the jacket. For men, they're on the right. The reason why, however, has been lost with time, but a few sound theories explain the sartorial switch between sexes.
This golden rule was likely set in medieval times because of war tactics, according to a 1975 exhibition catalog from the Metropolitan Museum of Art titled The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor: "To insure that an enemy's lance point would not slip between the plates, they overlapped from left to right, since it was standard fighting practice that the left side, protected by the shield, was turned toward the enemy. Thus, men's jackets button left to right even to the present day."
As for why women's go the other way, that's how they all used to button, according to the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture: "...At one time, both men’s and women’s wear had buttons on the left. During the Middle Ages, men’s buttons were changed to the right to enable one to open the coat with the left hand and draw their sword from across the left hip with the right hand."
Others argue that women's jackets are the abnormality, not men's. Back in the day, wealthy women didn't dress themselves, historians say. That meant the buttons were reversed to be easier for servants to fasten, 2008's The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for Everyday Enigmas reveals.
So, what does this mean now, some 1,000 years later? Well, not much, practically — other than being a fun fact. For men, the feeling of buttoning from right to left might feel a little weird, but it isn't wrong or even necessarily noticeable. It is, however, a hint to check how the jacket fits before buying it, though — like whether the sleeves are too short or the shoulders are too tight.
