Designed for Battle
Another theory ties this fashion feature to the battlefield. In earlier centuries, men commonly carried weapons such as swords, which were typically drawn with the right hand. Buttoning a jacket left over right allowed for quicker access to a weapon, giving men an edge in combat. Women’s fashion, which didn’t require such functionality, maintained the opposite orientation.
Fashion historian Chloe Chapin, a Harvard doctoral candidate, notes that many aspects of men’s clothing today still carry subtle influences from military uniforms.
A Masculine Influence on Women’s Wear
As women’s fashion evolved in the 19th century, many garments began incorporating masculine styles. However, in many societies at the time, it was illegal for women to wear men’s clothing in public. Maintaining the reverse button layout likely helped preserve a visual distinction while still allowing for crossover trends.
Chapin suggests that this distinction may have helped avoid legal or social backlash while giving women access to new styles.
A Sign of the Times—or Inequality?
British psychologist Havelock Ellis offered a different theory in 1894. In his study Man and Woman: A Study of Secondary and Tertiary Sexual Characters, he argued that the reversed buttons symbolized assumptions about women’s physical abilities. Since women were believed to lack the dexterity of men, clothing was designed with the expectation that they would need help dressing.
Though this idea feels outdated today, it reflects how clothing design often mirrored broader cultural attitudes about gender roles.
A Hidden Detail That’s Still With Us
Today, this subtle difference—sometimes called the “button differential”—still appears on most shirts, despite changing social norms. Some modern brands are challenging the tradition, offering more unisex designs or swapping button sides altogether. But in many stores, left-side buttons for women and right-side buttons for men remain the default.
Online, people continue to be surprised when they discover this design detail for the first time. “I was today years old when I learned that women’s shirts have buttons on the left!” one Reddit user posted. Others chimed in with similar reactions and theories—including the observation that zippers sometimes follow the same logic.
Did you ever notice this button difference before? What do you think—outdated tradition or fascinating fashion quirk? Join the conversation below and share this article with someone who loves fashion or history. Let’s see how many people have spotted the button flip! 👕🔁