# Are men and women's button locations due to slavery? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 14, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065 "2009-09-14T18:57:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/1 "2009-09-14T18:57:17Z")
If you look at a man and woman’s dress shirts, you’ll notice that the buttons are on opposite sides. For men, the buttons are on the right, and you thread that through the hole on the left. For women’s shirts, its the opposite. I once heard that it is because men, back in the old days (whenever that was) put on their own shirts, thus the right hand/right side button locations. Women, however, were dressed by servants or slaves, so the buttons were located on the other side. Is this really true? If not, why the difference? I don’t know how poor women with no slaves dressed, presumably they wore buttonless clothes or ran around naked 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/2 "2009-09-14T19:06:59Z")
Just a nitpick - you don’t have to have a slave to have a servant. A servant can dress you up, get paid, and go home at the end of the day. I don’t know the answer to the questions, though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/3 "2009-09-14T19:15:53Z")
It’s so that women can button their men folk up easier ---
**Author:** ![SGT42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@SGT42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SGT42)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/4 "2009-09-14T19:16:33Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > If you look at a man and woman’s dress shirts, you’ll notice that the buttons are on opposite sides. For men, the buttons are on the right, and you thread that through the hole on the left. For women’s shirts, its the opposite. I once heard that it is because men, back in the old days (whenever that was) put on their own shirts, thus the right hand/right side button locations. Women, however, were dressed by servants or slaves, so the buttons were located on the other side. Is this really true? If not, why the difference? > > I don’t know how poor women with no slaves dressed, presumably they wore buttonless clothes or ran around naked 😉 I read once (no cite) that men’s shirts have their buttons arranged in a way that allowed them to button the shirt with the left hand, while holding the sword in the right. Women could unbutton the shirt with the right hand, while holding the baby in the left arm. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/5 "2009-09-14T19:17:58Z")
From Wikipedia [Blouse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blouse) > [@](#): > > Blouses (and many women’s shirts with buttons) usually have buttons reversed from that of men’s shirts (except in the case of male military fatigues). That is, the buttons are normally on the wearer’s left-hand and the buttonholes are on the right. The reasons for this are unclear, and while several theories exist none have conclusive evidence. Some suggest this custom was introduced by launderers so they could distinguish between women’s and men’s shirts. One theory purports that the tradition arose in the Middle Ages when one manner of manifesting wealth was by the number of buttons one wore. Another that the original design was based on armour which was designed so that a right-handed opponent would not catch their weapon in the seam and tear through, and also that a person could draw a weapon with their right-hand without catching it in a loose seam of their own clothes. Female servants were in charge of buttoning their mistress’s gowns (since the buttons were usually in the back). They tired of attempting to deal with buttons that were, from their point of view, backwards and as such they started reversing the placement when making or repairing them. Another possible reason is so men can easily undo blouses as, from the front, buttons are on the same side as a men’s shirt. One other theory is that women were normally dressed by their maids, while men dressed themselves. As such, women’s blouses were designed so it could be easily buttoned by the maid but that of men were designed so it could be easily buttoned by the person wearing it. > > Although in all the cases proposed the reasons for the distinction no longer exist, it continues out of custom or tradition. Seems to be unknown at this point. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/6 "2009-09-14T19:23:05Z")
You probably aren’t going to get a definitive answer to this - somebody’s going to bring up swords and suits of armor quite soon. History of the button, which dovetails nicely with this legend: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23623616](http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23623616) > [@](#): > > By the middle of the 1300s buttons were big business and people loved them. Tailors produced garments with row upon row of buttons with matching buttonholes. France, by this time, was the button capital of Europe and the Guild made considerable profit producing buttons for coats, dresses and anything that looked as if it needed a button. Europe was so button crazy that even the Church got in on the act and denounced them as ‘the devil’s snare’, seemingly referring to the ladies in their button-fronted dresses. > > This attraction for buttons resulted in some outfits adorned with thousands of buttons, all of them with accompanying buttonholes. Dressing and undressing became a chore, but created a niche for the employment of professional dressers. Button mania ran on unabated, and in 1520 reports tell of a meeting where King Francis I of France, his clothing bedecked with some 13,600 buttons, met King Henry VIII of England, similarly weighed down with buttons. Poor people presumably wore clothes with a sensible number of buttons, or none at all. I’ve heard a variant of this that clothes that buttoned were expensive, and the poor people in 13th century Europe couldn’t afford them. They continued to wear smock type garments that they pulled over their heads, or garments which were tied or pinned shut. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/7 "2009-09-14T19:58:58Z")
The hypothesis that buttons were on garments for the luxury class and that men of that class had their clothes laid out for them but that women had maidservants who dressed them, so buttons on women’s clothes were placed for the ease of a right handed maidservant, is what I have heard and believe. Certainly buttons were used primarily as closure items [not until the late 16th century](http://kraplap.blogspot.com/2008/08/buttons-vol2.html) and were indeed a symbol of status. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/8 "2009-09-14T20:14:02Z")
I would like to see how a shirt would look like with 13600 buttons :eek: ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/9 "2009-09-14T20:28:07Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I would like to see how a shirt would look like with 13600 buttons :eek: Yeah, I wondered about that even as I was quoting it (I was quoting for the general point to be made, not the particulars, namely that rich people in 13-16th century Europe were button-crazy, and wore lots of buttons to show off). If true, I’ll bet a lot of them were purely decorative, and didn’t fasten. I admit, it STILL sounds impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/10 "2009-09-14T20:41:17Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Just a nitpick - you don’t have to have a slave to have a servant. A servant can dress you up, get paid, and go home at the end of the day. > > I don’t know the answer to the questions, though. In a thread a few months back (can’t search for it yet), I cited a historical article about immigration and domestic servants. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the most common profession for unmarried young women was “domestic servant”; it was a way to bring in extra money for the family, and usually get free room and board as well. Maybe it was the rise of industry that led to extra household income or something, but suddenly there was a boom in hiring young women, many of them recent immigrants, to take care of the household chores. I believe that at one point, 10% of American homes had at least one full-time domestic servant. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/11 "2009-09-14T22:05:28Z")
My own theory, which may be a partial consideration: Many of today’s dresses and blouses have a zipper in the back. Most women can reach around and zip up partially, then need someone’s assistance to finish the job. Before there were zippers, there were buttons, and I imagine many women wore dresses or blouses that buttoned up the back. Both the woman and whoever finished the job would need them to button the other way. ---
**Author:** ![Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bag_of_mostly_water/32/1029_2.png) [@Bag\_of\_Mostly\_Water](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bag_of_Mostly_Water)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/12 "2009-09-15T01:05:14Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Yeah, I wondered about that even as I was quoting it (I was quoting for the general point to be made, not the particulars, namely that rich people in 13-16th century Europe were button-crazy, and wore lots of buttons to show off). If true, I’ll bet a lot of them were purely decorative, and didn’t fasten. I admit, it STILL sounds impossible. I suspect the buttons were used as we would use rhinestones – completely covering most or all of the garment with small, decorative buttons. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/13 "2009-09-15T01:52:48Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > …Seems to be unknown at this point. The Master agrees: [Why do men’s and women’s shirts button on different sides? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/635/why-do-mens-and-womens-shirts-button-on-different-sides) ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/14 "2009-09-15T07:58:03Z")
> [@](#): > > **panache** : Most women can reach around and zip up partially, then need someone’s assistance to finish the job. I could always manage to zip my own dress when I was living by myself. Never could seem to accomplish that after I married though. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/15 "2009-09-15T08:03:46Z")
Are belt buckles also worn on different sides? When I am putting on a belt, I first run it through the loops on the left side, then around the back and through the loops on my right side. Then I buckle up, leaving the end or tip of the belt on the left. How about you men? Do any of you women wear it with the buckle on the right? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/16 "2009-09-15T13:18:33Z")
> [@Ex\_Chemist](#): > > I suspect the buttons were used as we would use rhinestones – completely covering most or all of the garment with small, decorative buttons. A modern example being [the Pearly Kings and Queens](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearly_Kings_and_Queens) of London. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/17 "2009-09-15T15:03:13Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Are belt buckles also worn on different sides? When I am putting on a belt, I first run it through the loops on the left side, then around the back and through the loops on my right side. Then I buckle up, leaving the end or tip of the belt on the left. > > How about you men? > > Do any of you women wear it with the buckle on the right? I run the belt through the loops on the right first. I’ve never heard of belt sides before, maybe its just the preference of the person. Are you left handed? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-men-and-womens-button-locations-due-to-slavery/510065/18 "2009-09-15T16:10:04Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I run the belt through the loops on the right first. I’ve never heard of belt sides before, maybe its just the preference of the person. Are you left handed? Left first, and I’m right handed. Pushing it through the loop on the right with my right hand seems awkward.