Buttonholes

[semperfiona]

T'other night I was looking at a cardigan pattern, and it specified different placement of the buttonholes depending on whether the garment was intended for a boy or a girl. So I got curious as to why buttonholes are placed differently on men's and women's clothing. The general upshot? Nobody knows. We do know that the convention developed in the late Victorian era There are some theories, but no proof.

Comments

[bbwoof.livejournal.com]

I like the theory (which is, as far as I know, only my fancy) that the left-right difference between men's and women's fashions is to make it easy for men and women to dress -- and especially to undress -- each other.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

It makes no sense to me, especially on children's clothes.