Agree, thanks so much, loved reading thisI'm not sure. Perhaps someone else here knows.
The only regionalisms I know: In the past, four-button cuff on suits and sport coats was considered the standard. This was especially true for Savile Row tailors, but many tailors tell me they've done other styles in the last twenty years as customers draw inspiration from different sources.
At the same time, there are lots of examples of conservative, British tailors making other things. This is an Anderson & Sheppard sport coat with a slightly more casual three-button cuff.
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This is at a Henry Poole trunk show, although I don't know if this coat is by Henry Poole.
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Neapolitan tailors tell me they've always preferred three buttons for sport coats and four buttons for suits. Here's Mariano in a three-button sport coat and four-button suit
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As you prob know, two-button is an old Ivy detail. It started with Brooks Brothers, but J Press later adopted it. J. Press first did it for thier Gordon Ford sport coats. In summerwear, they used it for sport coats in poplin, Madras, and seersucker; in fall it was used for corduroy. Later, the New York store adopted a two-button cuff for thier suits, which ended up constituting about 40 percent of their business.
The Ivy tradition was to have the two buttons spaced slightly apart, but not enough so that a third button could fit in the middle. Bobby Kennedy:
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The number of buttons can also distinguish rank or regiment in the foot guards of the British Army. This is used for what's known as "Home Service Dress," which is the official name of the ceremonial garb (what we imagine when we think of Brits marching around the palace). One button is Grenadier, two is Coldstream, three is Scots, four is Irish, and five is Welsh
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Prince Charles has a five-button cuff blazer, I assume deriving from military origins
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But he otherwise has a very conservative style and generally sticks with four buttons, which I've always understood to be the "standard." He even does four buttons on casual suits
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Lastly, I don't think people in the past were necessarily as strict or rulebound as we may imagine them today. Lots of photos of guys mixing it up with three-button suits, etc. Even very formal suits
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And Apparel Arts mixing it up. The first three photos show a two-button cuff. The fourth photo shows a sportier one-button cuff.
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