Wednesday, March 19th, 2025

Why are the buttons on women’s shirts only on the left side? There is a deep connection with history, not fashion.


In this world, there are many different things between men and women. This also includes the attire of both of them. While on one hand shirt, paint and jeans are the identity of men, on the other hand saree, suit and lehenga show the identity of women. However, with changing times, unisex fashion is now much discussed in the modern era. That means clothes that both men and women can wear. From glasses to jeans and many other types of clothes are unisex.

In such a situation, now women have also started wearing shirts, pants and jeans. But have you ever noticed why the buttons in women’s shirts are designed on the opposite side compared to men’s shirts? Why are the buttons on women’s shirts on the left side and on the right side in men’s shirts? Now, there are many arguments as to why this happens. The answer to this question is also found in some pages of history.

First know history

Talking about history, it involves design as per need. It is said that in ancient times, men used to keep their midwives and swords and women kept their wives and children. At that time, when a man needed to open or fasten the buttons of his/her shirt, he/she used his/her left hand for this. Therefore the buttons of the shirt should be on the right side.

On the contrary, women used to hold the child on the left side, so to feed the child, they had to use the right hand to open the buttons of the shirt. Therefore the buttons were made on the left side.

There is also a connection with Napoleon

There is also a connection with Napoleon

Some facts related to history say that Napoleon Bonaparte had given the order to put buttons on the left side of women’s clothes. According to stories, Napoleon used to stand in a special style, during which one of his/her hands was inside his/her shirt. And, women started making fun of his/her standing position, and even imitated it. When Napoleon came to know about this, he/she ordered women to button their clothes on the left side to stop them.

Horse riding is also a reason

Horse riding is also a reason

It is also said that in olden times women used to ride horses. In such a situation, to prevent her shirt from being blown by the wind, she used to wear a shirt with buttons on the left side. The argument was that due to the button being made on the left side, air would enter inside his/her shirt from the opposite direction and help him/her in riding. However, no concrete evidence has been found for these stories.

There is also an argument

There is also an argument

For various reasons related to history, it is also said that when the fashion of buttoned shirts or blouses came into the world, such clothes were worn only by women from rich families. There were also maids to dress them. To dress the women of rich families, the maid was in the front, hence the buttons were placed on the reverse side so that they could easily wear the buttoned clothes.

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