Undoing functional buttonholes for show - tacky?

[epa]

Quoted from the "clothing pet peeves..." thread:

Originally Posted by Phil

For some reason I keep seeing men with their functional buttonholes on their suit jackets unbuttoned. Sometimes its just one, as an obvious nod to the fact that they have functional buttonholes. Other times its all four, which I still cant figure out. Id be interested to know if I am in the minority in thinking this is tacky, like "hey, look at me, I have functional buttonholes, arent I better than you" .

Years ago, my boss at that time used to undo one button on each suit jacket sleeve. Some of my colleagues thought that was tacky... I thought it was a funny thing to do. Years later, when I got my first bespoke/MTM suits, I actually asked for functional buttonholes, and I normally have one unbuttoned. Why?
First of all, because it provokes some people, who argue that it is tacky. This gives me nice occasions for discussions with friends and colleagues regarding my alleged snobbery and "tackiness"...
Secondly, because I find it funny when people who do not know what a functional buttonhole is tell me that I have lost a button...
Thirdly, because I actually think that it looks nice: I like the termination of the sleeve better, when one button is unbuttoned; there is something "easygoing" about it. If all the sleeve buttons are buttoned, it looks more "rigid" to me.

By the way, in another thread (the one on initials on shirts) I wrote:

Originally Posted by epa

I guess there are at least three categories of people:
A- snobs who have their MTM dress shirts personalised with their initials on a visible place, so as to make sure that everybody notices that they are MTM (and not knowing that some people, like those of category B, will look down on them)
B- snobs who wear MTM shirts but do not have them personalised with their initials (at least not in a visible place such as breast or cuff) as they consider it bad taste (and who in any case know that their clothing looks so great that no one will doubt it is excellent and expensive, anyway)
C- snobs who have their MTM dress shirts personalised with their initials on a visible place, and who think that "yeah, it may be flashy and bad taste and some category B people may frown upon it, but who gives a f**k?"

I guess that this also applies to unbuttoned functional buttonholes, mutatis mutandis.

Now, sometimes, when I do not want to risk being thought of as tacky, I actually make sure to have all my functional buttonholes buttoned.

What about the rest of you?

 

[grimslade]

Larry Kudlow leaves his bottom cuff button undone.

 

[Manton]

Another religious dispute. There is no answer to this, or if there is, it is not able to be divined solely through reasoned debate. In the meantime, the room will divide, accusations will be hurled, friendships sunderded, brother set against brother, fields burned, houses destroyed, and a plague of acrimony will race through the forum. Just wait.

 

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by epa

there is something "easygoing" about it.

I think that explains the reason I do it.

 

[Vintage Gent]

As Ezra Pound once said, "Let there be commerce between us." The divide between the two sartorial camps can seem at times a mighty canyon, but it needs not be so. These days, I'm far more likely to leave the buttons buttoned, after a brief flirtation with the other. Still, neither seems incorrect, and should be no call for the villagers to gather their torches alight.

 

[shoefan]

I find it tacky, a way of showing off that one has a bespoke garment (although nowadays that is hardly guaranteed, as there are RTW jackets that incorporate them). I try to dress well because it pleases me, not because I want to impress someone else, so 'showing off' working buttons is not something I believe in.

That being said, of course, the whole notion of working buttonholes is a bit of an affectation that serves little or no purpose unlike, say, a well fitted garment or a hand-stitched canvas; thus, one could legitimately argue that my comments about unbuttoned sleeves could be extended to working buttonholes -- after all, why do they please the owner? Perhaps because it helps him feel different, special, or superior? [Note I am not exempting myself from this question.]

 

[Tomasso]

I'm well into my third decade wearing bespoke clothing. Initially, I ordered some garments, especially shirts, that screamed Bespoke. And, on advise of a tailor, I did go unbuttoned for a time but the novelty wore off and I decided that I didn't want my clothes to look bespoke; I just wanted them to fit well. Additionally, today many bespoke details are available on RTW, so whatever cachet they once carried, is now gone. So, when I see someone unbuttoned, I think Neophyte, because I've been there and done that.

 

[Vintage Gent]

Originally Posted by Tomasso

So, when I see someone unbuttoned, I think Neophyte, because I've been there and done that.

It's an understandable reaction. Still, some of the world's most stylish men have sported this affectation. To wit:

 

[Nantucket Red]

The way my clothes fit now, I would be glad to undo one jacket sleeve button to let my cuffs slide more easily back in after reaching for something and having them slide fully out. Of course, if I were wearing bespoke instead of just MTM, this sort of thing would scarcely be a problem.

In any case, while I agree with Tomasso, I also think that the number of people who would actually notice whether or not you left a jacket sleeve unbuttoned is so small that if anyone called you out on it, you might make fast friends. The thing is, most often judgments like that are usually made silently. Nevertheless, I think this could come off as a discreet dandy touch or a wannabe look depending on how you wear it.

 

[Tibo]

Originally Posted by Vintage Gent

It's an understandable reaction. Still, some of the world's most stylish men have sported this affectation. To wit:

Nice example, that would almost make me reconsider my position.

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by Tomasso

I'm well into my third decade wearing bespoke clothing. Initially, I ordered some garments, especially shirts, that screamed Bespoke. And, on advise of a tailor, I did go unbuttoned for a time but the novelty wore off and I decided that I didn't want my clothes to look bespoke; I just wanted them to fit well. Additionally, today many bespoke details are available on RTW, so whatever cachet they once carried, is now gone. So, when I see someone unbuttoned, I think Neophyte, because I've been there and done that.

Well, it may be a Neophyte, but there is also the possibility that it is someone who has been there, done that, left, and for some reason decided to go back and do it again...

 

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by Tomasso

Additionally, today many bespoke details are available on RTW, so whatever cachet they once carried, is now gone.

That`s why I don`t view the unbuttoned look as showing off bespoke.

 

[Teacher]

Tacky. And if you're doing it just to provoke those who you know think it's tacky into discussing the very fact that your suit is bespoke, then double-tacky. Shoefan said it best: "I try to dress well because it pleases me, not because I want to impress someone else [. . .]".

 

[Soph]

Either way. If you like it so be it, I dress more for the situation/ocassion moreso. For business, no way. For casual, more likely.

99% of the US populace doesn't even know what bespoke/custom truly means, let alone MTM or RTW. I have a friend who raves about his 'custom' $1,000 dress shirts/suits but they are made of such poor material they don't look good, nor will they last. You can't build a perfect looking house of matchsticks and expect it to look divine.

Those who do, have known that ticket / cash pockets (once upon ages ago was a sign of bespoke), functioning buttons, tailored made labels, alot of poor MTM and 'wannabe' bespoke out there doesn't amount to well thought out menswear.

Situational/ocassion analysis would lead me more than a display of 'in' factor/or heretic and acceptance/disdain from a <.005 demographic with delusions of sartorial divintiy.

Experiment, try new things, try old, improve and find what you feel is ideal for you.

For as Albert Einstein once said, "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."

 

[Concordia]

Originally Posted by Teacher

Tacky. And if you're doing it just to provoke those who you know think it's tacky into discussing the very fact that your suit is bespoke, then double-tacky. Shoefan said it best: "I try to dress well because it pleases me, not because I want to impress someone else [. . .]".

Yup.