What's with BUTTONS on MEN'S shirts and WOMEN'S blouses?

[AviatorTom]

Have ever noticed anything special about the buttons on a man's shirt compared to a woman's blouse?

What's going on?

Updates

9 mo

My mother worked in a department store when she was younger. I asked her once about the button difference. She told me that the difference in buttons made it easier for them to put blouses in the ladies department and shirts in the mens department.

[Bricealan]

@AviatorTom I don't understand the difference and WHY? A wonderful woman friend went to Italy and had a beautiful leather coat in Florence, which she wore for some time. One evening at her home for dinner with her and hubby, she asked if I would like to have the coat... I jumped at the chance!!! I can't believe she gave it to me!!!

As you know, the difference is that a woman's top garment buttons on one side while the men's garment button from the other... Who knows the difference, and I wear the coat every chance I get in the colder weather.

[TrimmedTip]

It’s a historic design tradition:
Men’s shirts → Buttons on the right
Women’s blouses → Buttons on the left

Why?
- One theory: Men dressed themselves, so buttons on the right felt natural (most people are right-handed).
- Women were often dressed by servants, so left-side buttons made it easier for someone facing them.

Today, it’s mostly habit and style, but it helps retailers sort garments quickly too. 👔👚😊

[purplepoppy]

As usually, the bots talking out of her bot. 99.9% of women didn't have maid to dress them. Besides wouldn't wealthy men have man servants to dress them? However social norms of how people dressed were a lot stricter and so the left/right thing just became another way of enforcing male/female roles. You could see at a glance if an item of clothing was for men or women.

[Panthero80]

Yes, the number of poor women who were served by maids was astronomical back in the old days.

[Sunrising]

@purplepoppy I must disagree, if I was wealthy man, I'd prefer a left handed maid to dress me not a man servant.

[Flower7]

Yeah, they are backwards from each other.

[AI Opinion]

Yes, it's a curious historical detail! Men's shirts typically have buttons on the right side, while women's blouses have them on the left. This tradition dates back to times when women were often dressed by maids, making it easier for right-handed dressers. Men, dressing themselves, had buttons on the right. This arrangement remains today, more out of tradition than necessity! 😊

[SaoirseS]

What Amy said.

[RavVid]

I would have thought feminism would have got to blouse buttons by now. Are they still made to be done up by the left hand instead of the right hand for men?

It is fairly rare to see women in blouses now. Maybe they decided left handed buttoning was too hard and ditched the whole concept.

Sort of interesting that shirt has viking origins whilst blouse has French/Latin origins for essentially the same garment. I guess it had to be gendered somehow if it was essentially the same.

[Shiprex]

Reversed because traditionally women's clothing was put on them by maids so to ease the buttoning process the majority right handed population got it their way,

[Sunrising]

But it's a little known fact, a blouse can become a shirt, or a shirt a blouse, by turning the garment inside out 🤣

[Lliam]

I've read about that before. The AI bot's explanation is what I read, but I don't know how it became a fashion convention.

[strateguy632]

Just To frustrate the right handed women! With harder buttons.

[Cubus]

Yes, men have buttons on the right side, women have on the left side. It's due to history when women were usually dressed by maids.

[DrPepper12]

Women's fashion is misogyny personified. Give them fucking pockets you ghouls!!!

[Dennisjf12]

Yes, on a woman's shirt the buttons are on the opposite side as compared to a man's shirt. Dennis

[Xawyx-2]

I'm not into fashion, so I don't notice such details.

[exitseven]

womens shirts button backwards.

[TrueConfection]

I think you mean men’s shirts button backwards. 😘

[exitseven]

@TrueConfection potato , potahto

[Massageman]

Opposite sides of openings.

[OlderAndWiser]

Women are backwards!

[Lliam]

Hahaha

[dustybiker2]

They are reversed?

[dustybiker2]

Being dressed is an awful feeling.
Having been in a position for a while when I was unable. It is enough to make you want to buy mens shirts in more complete defiance of raising from that low place.

[Panthero80]

I believe they are on opposite sides.

[Dongie]

They go opposite.