# horizontal buttonhole? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401 "2016-04-16T20:30:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/21 "2016-04-18T03:27:26Z")
On reflection, the bottom one is horizontal so there is less chance of coming undone while tucking in your shirt. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/22 "2016-04-18T03:34:44Z")
I also wondered about this issue, but thought it might be so that, when you’re dressing but can’t see the buttonhole, you can still find the correct one. This is convenient if it’s dark, cramped, or if you have personal mobility issues or vision problems. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/23 "2016-04-18T04:24:38Z")
[Why is my last buttonhole horizontal?](http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/2007/04/why-is-my-last-button-hole-horizontal.html) > [@](#): > > Why are neckline/collar buttonholes on shirts are always horizontal (as are almost all center-front buttonholes on outerwear)? Because horizontal buttonholes take horizontal stress with less deformation of the buttonhole shape and offer much less likelihood of the button pulling out from such stress than do vertical ones. > > But this results in the button being pulled to the end of the hole rather than staying centered. Since a well fitted shirt shouldn’t naturally have any fitting stress across its width above the waist, the custom is to prefer vertical holes with centered buttons above the tuck-in level; they look better, especially on a vertically striped fabric. Below the belt or at the waist, where there might be more stress, you can revert to the stronger position…and demonstrate that you (the maker) are willing to take the time to shift the shirt to change the placement of the hole, further proof that your expensive shirt is worth the money. Pretty much what I said. Some other sites allege that the horizontal lower buttonhole is a relic of when shirts used to button to trousers, but since there is a practical modern reason I question that. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/24 "2016-04-18T04:32:27Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I think you must be wrong about that. Every single one of my shirts that I checked, and I checked a couple dozen, has the collar button horizontal. This includes Van Heusen, St. John’s Bay, Dockers, Cambridge, Columbia, and others. Oh, I get it now! Y’all are talking about that little tiny button hole for the little tiny collar button, way up there on the very top. I wasn’t even thinking about that one – I don’t think I’ve ever buttoned that one since my Bar Mitzvah, and I totally never even think about it. So I was thinking of the top regular button. Never seen one of those with a horizontal button hole. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/25 "2016-04-18T04:36:39Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Oh, I get it now! Y’all are talking about that little tiny button hole for the little tiny collar button, way up there on the very top. I wasn’t even thinking about that one – I don’t think I’ve ever buttoned that one since my Bar Mitzvah, and I totally never even think about it. So I was thinking of the top regular button. Never seen one of those with a horizontal button hole. Yes, we were talking about the actual _top button_, for the collar button. Except on dress shirts it’s usually same size as the other buttonholes. ---
**Author:** ![teddybound](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@teddybound](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teddybound)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/26 "2016-04-18T04:42:02Z")
Some of my shirts have that too - and I really hope there’s an answer to this question. I had assumed it was a spare button, but obviously it’s more than that. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/27 "2016-04-19T18:34:02Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Bottom hole vertical: > Land’s End, Van Heusen, Cambridge Classics, Manhattan, Chaps, Arrow > > Bottom hole horizontal: > Land’s End, Stafford (2), St. John’s Bay (2) > > Note Land’s End, one of each – they’re the same style shirt too. > > None of them have the top hole horizontal. I don’t recall that I ever saw one like that. Glad you clarified this post later on, because I was confused as hell. The only shirts I wear are Land’s End Hyde Park Oxfords and the top and bottom buttonhole are both horizontal. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/28 "2016-04-19T20:57:45Z")
Man, I clicked this thread so fast and am so disappointed. No horizontal buttholes. Zero stars. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/29 "2016-04-19T21:31:43Z")
Is there an award for “Most Misinterpreted Thread Title Ever”? Cuz this would win. It might even win the “Most Disappointing Actual Thread When You Opened It” award. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/30 "2016-04-19T22:05:10Z")
Not only did I misread the title like so many others, but I misread it EVERY…SINGLE…TIME I scroll through the thread list. EVERY TIME! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/31 "2016-04-19T22:37:28Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > Is there an award for “Most Misinterpreted Thread Title Ever”? Cuz this would win. It might even win the “Most Disappointing Actual Thread When You Opened It” award. If so then add me as another misinterpreter. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/32 "2016-04-19T23:39:21Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > Is there an award for “Most Misinterpreted Thread Title Ever”? Cuz this would win. It might even win the “Most Disappointing Actual Thread When You Opened It” award. Well, there was also that thread about [Storing Fried Condoms](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11321506&postcount=1). Apparently a lot of Dopers misread [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=494659) too. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/33 "2016-04-20T01:07:50Z")
Wow… did I ever misread the title of this post :smack: ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/34 "2016-04-20T03:53:40Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Man, I clicked this thread so fast and am so disappointed. No horizontal buttholes. Zero stars. A butthole is kind of like a zero with a star. “It’s because I have three buttholes, isn’t it?” ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/35 "2016-04-20T08:08:00Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I did NOT read the second word of this thread title correctly the first time! You are not alone. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/36 "2016-04-20T17:50:10Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Not only did I misread the title like so many others, but I misread it EVERY…SINGLE…TIME I scroll through the thread list. EVERY TIME! Yes, me too. Also, I just responded so the thread stays at the top, to give even more dopers the chance for a doubletake. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/37 "2016-04-20T22:19:43Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I did NOT read the second word of this thread title correctly the first time! Same here. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/38 "2016-04-20T22:21:56Z")
Bend over and smile! ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/39 "2016-04-20T22:28:02Z")
**)-(** ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2016, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401/40 "2016-04-20T22:28:39Z")
I misread the title and it was awful. Sorry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horizontal-buttonhole/752401.md?page=3)