If you have a thing for shirts, you’ve probably noticed that men’s shirts button up on the right side, while women’s shirts button up on the left. While it’s definitely a weird disposition, it’s also not that big of a deal. But one couldn’t help but wonder why would shirts also hold – dare we say it- gender.

It appears to be that everything in fashion can be traced back to military wear. By the same token, weaponry was usually hidden behind men’s shirts, and since men held swords in their right hands, the task was simultaneously made easier with the positioning of buttons. Indeed, pulling a weapon out “from left to right” as legend has it, dictated the terms of fashion, and does so till this very day.

Women, on the other hand, were extremely efficient in horseback-riding. So to avoid any unwanted shifts from the unexpected breeze as they trotted along, their shirt buttons were placed on the left, and this helped fight the breeze to some extent. Another theory traces back this habit to nobles and commoners. Since wealthy women used to have servants dressing them up, putting the dresses on and taking them off was made that much easier if the buttons were on the left (since most of the servants were right-handed).

There are a lot of theories as to why fashion rules seem so peculiar at times, but hey, who are we to judge, right?

Cindy Menassa