Why you shouldn't button up the last button on your suit jacket!
Often when dealing with my customers during fitting sessions they see me undo the last button of their jacket. Then, I get this puzzled look. No, it is not because they fear I would not stop at that one button (hello, we are in our store and at least one other staff is around, usually my tailor) It is because they do not understand the reason for doing so. And I must say, they cannot be blamed, as the obvious reason is that there is no obvious reason. Or as I put it above - “Things happen, because things happen.”
If we look back in time, we will find some clues. I cannot confirm which specific one of those is true. Maybe they are all somewhat true. Actually, they all make sense and give an idea why we leave undone our last button of a suit jacket for a perfect fit.
The main reason I found is that jacket designs were related to horse riding. In a time before cars were invented -yes, such a time existed and there were no smart phones either- people who did not like to walk rode a horse to get from A to B, if they could afford it. Of course, sitting on a horse with a tight fitting jacket around your waist is not a good idea, so you simply leave the last button undone. But wait, wasn’t the first single breasted suit already recorded in 1906 in Britain and the car invented by Mr. Karl Benz in 1886? So, that means people were already using more and more cars. Then came the new design of the time; a single breasted jacket with two buttons. These events leave the question open as to whether leaving the last button undone really had something to do with horse riding.
At the beginning of the 20th century mass media was not that well developed and the super stars or mega stars of the time were not so much singers and actors, but typically members of the Royal Families and maybe a few politicians. So it is not surprising that another clue on how we came to the “fact” that we better not do up the last button of a two-buttoned single breasted jacket comes from a member of the British Royal Family. In this case it was King Edward VII who ruled as King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The story goes that he preferred the casual style of the single breasted suits over the double breasted formal suit. It was said that he simply got too fat to button up the last button and left it unbuttoned for comfort. Other high ranking people at court did not want to embarrass the king and just followed his style. Other sources say that he wanted to pay homage to the good old days of horse riding. Maybe it was a bit of both reasons. However, I have my doubts about the getting fat version. Yes, he was fat but as the king I am pretty sure he had a royal tailor in attendance round the clock to carry out alterations.
In the final analysis, the reason for this practice does not really matter. What matters is that a well-fitted bespoke suit just looks better when you leave the last button undone. In fact many suits are even tailored in such a way that you have to leave the last button undone.
What about a three-button single breasted suit jacket? If there are any rules, the last button must be left unbuttoned at all times. The middle one must always be buttoned up, while the top button may be buttoned up or undone as you wish. Where is the rule coming from? To keep the last button open is for sure again contributed from the horse riding experience. Everything else? I will write about it after I found out.
Summary
A single breasted 2 buttoned suit jacket shall be always buttoned in a way the the first and upper button is always closed while the lower bottom button is always to be kept open. A single breasted 3 button suit gives you some choice. While the lowest (bottom) button is always open and the middle button is always closed, the upper button is a choice whether you button it or not.
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