On which side are the buttons on women's clothing? Why do men's clothes fasten to the right and women's to the left? Buttons on different sides.

It turns out that there are three main versions that explain why men and women fasten 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 the nobles could afford such a luxury. It was not customary for noble ladies in those days to dress themselves, they were helped by maids. For the convenience of the servants, the buttons were located on the right, but in relation to the fastener. On clothes, they were sewn on the left.

Men, even 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 the left hollow garment.

2. Practicality

According to the second version, buttons were sewn with different parties to female and Men's shirts it was impossible to confuse.

3. Care 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 breasts so that their right hand remains free for other things. At the same time, the child could be covered from the cold with the right hollow clothing.

Now everything is in place!

The differences were not only in the richness and intricacy of the clothes, but also in the way they were put on. Ladies from high society were always dressed by maids. This began in the era of corsets, which had to be pulled tight on a woman's back, which only servants could do. The lady herself was absolutely helpless when it came to putting on a corset and a dress.

This tradition has been preserved until the use of buttons as fasteners. When buttons appeared on the dresses of aristocrats, they quite naturally began to be sewn only on the left side. So the maid standing in front of her mistress, it was more convenient to fasten her clothes. On men's robes, buttons were sewn on the right, because even noble gentlemen fastened their camisoles on themselves and generally dressed on their own.

Since the majority of people on Earth are still right-handed (about 85%), the way they use buttons was “customized” to their needs. The described customs existed for so long that they gradually turned into a stable tradition. Until now, buttons on women's clothing are sewn on the left, and on men's - on the right.

No man will wear a shirt with buttons sewn on the left side. Simply because in this case it is female. Indeed, on things from women's wardrobe buttons are usually sewn on the left side, and for men's things - on the right.

Where exactly this feature came from is not exactly known, but it probably originates from a time when people wore much more complex and richly decorated clothes than they do now. These days, girls dress themselves, but from the Renaissance to the Victorian era, girls from well-to-do 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 properly put on the entire set on your own. And it was much easier for helping servants to fasten their clothes if the buttons were sewn on the left side (in the case when the assistant was facing the girl, as most often happened). Men at all times preferred to dress themselves.

Of course, the question arises why such a small group of people who could afford to keep 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 class (for example, visual).

Another popular explanation is that in the past, it was mandatory for a man to carry a weapon with him. 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, unbutton their outer clothing and get the necessary thing (it is much easier to unbutton buttons sewn on the right side of a shirt with their left hand than with their left hand). On the left side). And in the more distant past, when they fought with swords, the standard fighting stance involved the left leg put forward, the shield in the left hand and the weapon in the right. Meeting the enemy, the protective shirt was buttoned with an overlap not from right to left, otherwise the enemy sword could find a gap, but from left to right.

But, perhaps, it's not at all about fashion or carrying weapons, but about small children? After all, when a woman wears baby, she prefers to hug him with her left hand while feeding him with her free right. It is likely that it was for this purpose that the 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 distributed by gender, and in modern stores it is often the place where buttons are sewn on that helps to distinguish men's clothing from women's clothing.

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There are three main versions that explain why men and women fasten their clothes on different sides:

1. The custom of sewing fasteners on the left side of women's clothing comes from the Middle Ages. Then buttons in Europe served as decoration and were made of precious metals. Made of gold, silver and ivory, they symbolized wealth and a high position in society. Only the nobles could afford such a luxury. It was not customary for noble ladies in those days to dress themselves, they were helped by maids. For the convenience of the servants, the buttons were located on the right, but in relation to the fastener. On clothes, they were sewn on the left.

Men, even of a noble family, more 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 the left hollow garment.

2. According to another version, the buttons were sewn on from different sides so that women's and men's shirts could not be confused.

3. There is 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 breasts so that their right hand remains free for other things. At the same time, the child could be covered from the cold with the right hollow clothing.

On which side were buttons sewn in Russia?

At times Ancient Russia men's shirt-kosovorotka fastened on the left side. Until the first half of the 20th century, gymnasts were also fastened to the left.

Fashion is, of course, a changeable lady. She, like a weather vane, can at any moment turn in the opposite direction. But still, there are several traditional features in clothes that are not subject to time. We decided to talk about one of them today.

The most popular and, as it seems to us, reliable is this version. The fact is that in the old days, rich ladies (and initially not everyone could afford button-down clothes) dressed with the help of maids. Therefore, for girls who were most often right-handed, it is much more convenient to fasten clothes on the mistress if the buttons are on the left. Men, even the very rich, most often dressed themselves, so they have buttons on the right.

In addition, there is a version associated with breastfeeding. It turns out that when breastfeeding, women are more likely to hold the baby at the left breast. And if the buttons are located on the left, then in this way the right part of the clothes 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 coat, after which he ordered the ladies to change the buttons on the other side.

It is also said that such an arrangement of buttons could have appeared due to the fact that women used a side saddle while riding. The right half of the clothes, located on top, better protected from the wind ...

In general, these versions are walking on the Internet. Or maybe everything is much simpler, and with such an arrangement of buttons, it is easier for a man and a woman to undress each other.

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