Everyone has heard since childhood that there are differences between the location of the fastener in men's and women's clothing. How do you know which side is “female” and which is “masculine”? And where did these differences come from?
According to all the rules, buttons and zippers in women's wardrobe items are located on the left side. And no one can say for sure why this happened. There are several versions on this matter. But all of them are unproven and have no basis. Although some of them have some common sense. For example:
- for the convenience of feeding, when a woman could open her breasts, holding the baby with her left hand, and covering him with the hem of her clothes from the cold with her right;
- Another assumption claims that this was done so that the shirts could not be mixed up. When women began to wear men's clothing, fashion trendsetters decided to make the location of the clasp a distinctive feature;
- some sources state that the woman went to the market holding a grocery basket in her right hand or a child. And it was more convenient for her to get the wallet with money that hung around her neck than her left one.
Why such differences with men's clothing?
During the Middle Ages, when buttons were used as decoration or jewelry, only ladies from high society could afford them. Since they were made from precious stones and metals. And, of course, it is not proper for noble persons to dress themselves. For this purpose they had maids, who found it more convenient to do this by grasping the button with their right hand and pushing it into the loop with their left. Representatives of the stronger sex most often dressed themselves, and it was easier for them to fasten with their right hand.
According to another version, it was believed that at the time of a duel or battle, a man could quickly grab a weapon from his bosom and get ahead of his opponent in battle.
But in Ancient Rus', the kosovorotka shirt worn by men was buttoned on the left side. Until the mid-twentieth century, military tunics also had buttons on the left flap.
In general, in the modern world these boundaries are gradually erased. Jeans, shorts, and trousers have already begun to be produced by the clothing industry without gender characteristics. They included polo-shirts, shirts, and outerwear. With the development of feminism, stereotypes are being destroyed more and more every day. And the most stylish ladies choose fashionable items in the men's departments of the store.
Fashion is, of course, a fickle lady. She, like a weather vane, can turn in the opposite direction at any moment. But still, there are several traditional features in clothing that are timeless. We decided to talk about one of them today.
The most popular and, it seems to us, reliable version is this version. The fact is that in the old days, rich ladies (and initially not everyone could afford clothes with buttons) dressed with the help of maids. Therefore, for girls, who were most often right-handed, it is much more convenient to fasten clothes on a lady if the buttons are on the left. Men, even very rich ones, most often dressed themselves, which is why they have buttons on the right.
In addition, there is a version associated with breastfeeding. It turns out that when feeding, women often hold the baby at the left breast. And if the buttons are located on the left, then the right side of the clothing can cover the child from the cold, for example.
There is even a version that this feature appeared thanks to Napoleon himself. Allegedly, for some reason, women began to copy his famous pose, when he hid his hand under his frock coat, after which he ordered the ladies to change the buttons to the other side.
They also say that this arrangement of buttons could have appeared due to the fact that women used a side saddle while riding. The right half of the clothing, located on top, provided better protection from the wind...
In general, these are the versions floating around on the Internet. Or it may be that everything is much simpler, and with this arrangement of buttons it is easier for a man and a woman to undress each other.
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No man would wear a shirt with the buttons sewn on the left side. Simply because in this case it is female. Indeed, on items from a women's wardrobe, buttons are usually sewn on the left side, and on men's items - on the right.
Where exactly this feature came from is not known exactly, but it probably originates from a time when people wore much more elaborate and richly decorated clothing than they do now. Nowadays, girls dress themselves, but from the Renaissance to the Victorian era, girls from wealthy families could afford a servant to dress them before going out. Often the clothes contained so many small details and nuances that it was extremely difficult to put on the entire set correctly on your own. And it was much easier for the helping servants to fasten clothes if the buttons were sewn on the left side (in the case when the assistant was facing the girl, as was most often the case). Men have always preferred to dress themselves.
Of course, the question arises: why did such a small group of people who could afford servants set the fashion for everyone else? But this is not surprising: the upper class has always been the source of fashion trends for the middle and lower classes (for example, visual).
Another popular explanation is that in the past a man always carried a weapon. It is assumed that men wore clothes with buttons on the right side in order to hold a weapon with their right hand, and with their left hand, if necessary, to unbutton their outer clothing and get the necessary thing (it is much easier to unfasten buttons sewn on the right side of a shirt with your left hand than with your left hand on the left side). And in the more distant past, when fighting with swords, the standard fighting stance involved the left leg extended forward, a shield in the left hand and a weapon in the right. When meeting an enemy, the protective shirt was buttoned overlapping not from right to left, otherwise the enemy’s sword could find the gap, but from left to right.
But perhaps it’s not about fashion or carrying weapons, but about young children? After all, when a woman is carrying a baby, she prefers to hug him with her left hand, while she feeds him with her free right hand. It is likely that this is why buttons on women's clothing began to be sewn on the left side.
Be that as it may, the method of fastening clothes in our time is divided by gender, and in modern stores it is often the place where buttons are sewn on that helps distinguish men's clothing from women's clothing.
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Many of us have asked this question since childhood, as soon as we heard that a boy’s shirt can easily be distinguished from a girl’s by which side the buttons are sewn on.
Many of us have asked this question since childhood, as soon as we heard that a boy’s shirt can easily be distinguished from a girl’s by which side the buttons are sewn on. It turns out that this has been the case since the 1850s. Why? Below are some unexpected theories on this issue...
To avoid confusion
One theory says that with the onset of emancipation, when women began to increasingly wear clothes reminiscent of men's, buttons on women's clothing began to be sewn on the other side in order to somehow indicate the difference between the sexes.
Because of horse riding
Since the rider sits slightly sideways in a side saddle, turning to the left, the left-side fastener does not allow the head wind to get under her clothes.
Because upper class ladies didn't dress themselves
This version is the most common. Since noble ladies were dressed by maids, the clasp was made for the right hand of the maids. Those who do not agree with this theory object: but rich men were also dressed by servants. In addition, the masters treated their servants without trepidation and would not change the fashion of the servants to please them.
If the theory from the previous paragraph is correct, then why did the tradition of sewing buttons on the left shelf of women's clothing spread to the masses, although ordinary people did not have maids to serve them during their morning toilet?
Because people liked to copy the clothes of the gentlemen. Moreover, buttons were once very expensive, and when they became more accessible, everyone happily rushed to use them - just as they use cheap rhinestones and jewelry now.
Because of the weapon
Because men carried weapons on their left sides to make it easier to grab them with their right. And with such a movement, it is more convenient for the left shelf to be located on top of the right, otherwise the hand will catch the edge of the clothing, and this can cost the hunter or duelist his life.
Because of Napoleon
Allegedly, women parodied the emperor's famous habit of placing his bent arm over the side of his vest, and he ordered that women's clothing be sewn with buttons in the other direction to prevent them from doing this. This sounds more like an anecdote, but such a version exists.
Due to breastfeeding
Since most people are right-handed, women often hold the baby on their left hand so that the right hand is free. And with this arrangement of buttons, it is supposedly more convenient to free up the breasts for feeding.
It turns out that there are three main versions that explain why men and women button their clothes on different sides:
1. Medieval version
The custom of sewing fasteners on the left side of women's clothing originates from the Middle Ages. In those days, buttons in Europe served more as decoration and were made from precious metals. Made of gold, silver and ivory, they were a symbol of wealth and high position in society. Only noble nobles could afford such luxury. In those days it was not customary for noble ladies to dress themselves; they were helped by maids. For the convenience of the servants, the buttons were placed on the right, but in relation to the buttoner. On clothes they were sewn on the left.
Men, even of the most noble family, most often dressed themselves, and therefore it was easier for them to fasten the buttons on the right. In addition, European aristocrats in those days often had to fight. And if necessary, an armed man had the opportunity to warm his right hand, in which he held a weapon, under his left hollow robe.
2. Practicality
According to the second version, buttons were sewn on different sides so that women's and men's shirts could not be confused.
3. Caring for mothers
There is also a third version, according to which it is more convenient for nursing mothers to hold babies with their left hand and feed with their left breast, so that the right hand remains free for other matters. In this case, the child could be covered from the cold with the right, hollow clothing.
Now everything has fallen into place!
