2007-03-19 07:06:41 · 4 answers · asked by Edmund cs 1 in Beauty & Style ➔ Fashion & Accessories
According to the book 'Evolution of Fashion', both men's and women's buttons were on the same side until 1625.
Buttons on jackets, rather than shirts, started to appear on opposite sides about 1635. The reasons for the switch are obscure.
One theory is that men wanted their right hand free to have immediate access to a weapon, such as a sword, and preferred to open and close their jackets with their left hand. Women, generally holding children on their left arm, preferred to button and unbutton their clothes with their right hand. It was also easier for maids to dress women in clothes that buttoned in the back.
2007-03-19 07:17:33 · answer #1 · answered by SDC 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
For gender identification. What other possible way is there for an observer to tell whether a person is male or female than by looking at their buttons?
2007-03-19 07:09:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's easier for the woman to do up the buttons when she has to dress her man! :P
2007-03-19 07:09:36 · answer #3 · answered by Ni 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To distinguish them. I work in a charity shop and when we tag them, sometimes there is no other way of knowing.
2007-03-19 07:13:45 · answer #4 · answered by Maria S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋