Buttons on the other side of garmet

[ChrissyRyan]

As a right hander I still find it harder to button women's clothes as I dress myself than men's clothes, when the buttons are of the same size and material, as the buttons are almost always on different sides. 

Although I have done this different buttoning-up many times, this morning I buttoned-up my oxford style blouse and I said to myself, why is this taking sooooo long to do?  This is not yet second nature for me! 

Even when the buttons are bigger or the garmet is made of softer or "silkier" fabrics, the cuffs are still hard to button quickly.  I am still fumbling around!

Has anyone else experienced this fumbling around or this extra effort required to button-up?  Maybe I am just a klutz!   

Now when you have your outfit all set and it looks nice on you, all that extra effort was worth it!

Chrissy

[Maid Marion]

I switch hands depending on what side they are on.

[ChrissyRyan]

I switch hands depending on what side they are on.

I am not ambidextrous.     Although that would be very handy, no pun intended! 

Maybe that is something I should learn how to do, switching hands.  Perhaps that will take even more of my time, at least in the short run!   

Chrissy

[Devlyn]

It was awkward at first for me, but I took to it like a cat to water. 

[Jessica]

I definitely have a coordination issue with all this.

I found some information from the Smithsonian that sheads light on the matter, even though it is not a definitive answer.

Are the buttons on your shirt on the left side or on the right? There's actually a pretty easy answer: if you wear women's clothing, the buttons are on the left side of the shirt. However, if you wear men's shirts, the buttons line up on the right side. This would make sense if all women were left-handed and all men were right-handed, but because the majority of all people are right-handed, that's clearly not the reason. So what gives?

Like many old customs, no one's really sure how the button-side switcheroo came to dominate fashion design. But according one of the more popular theories, it might have to do with how middle- and upper-class European women used to dress.

During historical periods like the Renaissance and the Victorian Era, women's clothing was often much more complicated and elaborate than men's - think petticoats, corsets and bustles. But while rich men often dressed themselves, their female family members most likely had servants to help them put on their clothes, both out of luxury and necessity. To make it easier for servants to button up their employer's dresses right, clothiers might have started sewing buttons on the opposite side. Eventually, as clothing became more and more mass-produced, women's clothes kept being made with the buttons of the left, and the design became standard.

That's one explanation for why women's clothes button on the left - but why would men's clothes always button on the right? That particular tradition might have roots in how men once dressed for war. Just as wealthy women needed servants to help them get dressed, men's clothing might have taken cues from military uniforms.

Because male soldiers also often drew their weapons with their right hand, building their clothes with the buttons on the right side would have made it a lot easier to adjust and unbutton with their free left hand. But these are far from the only theories that seek to answer this question. Others include the fact that many women breastfeed while holding their baby in their left arm, or that Napoleon mass-produced clothing that was intentionally difficult for women to put on. Historians may never know exactly how women's buttons ended up on the left, but regardless of its origin this design quirk is now just another sartorial custom.

[Lyric]

I prefer pull-over tops, so I rarely button anything, but I know what you mean. Think of it as a good mental exercise, though. I've read that when we have to perform minor physical tasks that are new or slightly challenging it expands the synapses of the brain, i.e. making us smarter. It's good for us to get out of routines.

[ChrissyRyan]

I switch hands depending on what side they are on.

Marion,

I actually tried this hand switching today.  Buttoning my blouse was remarkably easier when I just used my left hand, even though I am right-handed.  This completely surprised me.  I will see over time if this holds true with the buttonning of other clothes.  Thank you.  I thought I had to be ambidextrous to simply switch to the other hand. 

I did not try the left hand for buttonning the right sleeve yet, as I simply rolled up my sleeves today.

Chrissy

[ChrissyRyan]

No matter how much more effort it takes to button, when your outfit looks good, it was worth it.   

Chrissy

[barbie]

The buttons or the zipper in skirts are also so confusing. I figure out it by trial and errors.

barbie~~

[ChrissyRyan]

It is pretty easy to handle the buttoning on the opposite side nowadays.
You just have to do it for a while until it is no big deal.

Chrissy

[Northern Star Girl]

Buttons, Zippers, Belts  .... ALL on the "wrong" side !!!!!  LOL

[ChrissyRyan]

I think women's clothes have buttons where they are because well to do women long ago typically had right-handed servants buttoning their clothes.  That is right, ladies had staff who helped them get dressed.

I wonder if those helpers lifted a leg and pushed on the back of the lady to help get her corset tightened.  Nah!


Chrissy

[Lori Dee]

I bet they used their knee in the small of their back and yank hard!

When you have to DIY, it's like we do now. Lie on the bed so you can suck your tummy in and button those tight jeans. 

[ChrissyRyan]

There is a legend that says mens clothing have buttons placed so they can undo the buttons with their left hands while using their right hands to draw their swords.