Undoing functional buttonholes for show - tacky?

[Soph]

Originally Posted by Teacher

Shoefan said it best: "I try to dress well because it pleases me, not because I want to impress someone else [. . .]".

Unless he's your boss.

Agree, I would care more if you are a geniune, happy, well adjusted, pleasant to talk with, friendly, well mannered, and a upstanding guy that button or not his functioning suit jacket for his own self, than seek the acceptance of tedious, pompous sartorial blowhards.

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by shoefan

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.
Sounds good, yes, but WHY does it actually please you? (I, personally, believe that many of us may actually be "tackier" than we want to think. Or maybe it's just me...)

 

[minimal]

I generally leave the last button open if I'm wearing a jacket with jeans, i.e. dressing "high / low". It's just a tiny detail that I prefer because it feels nonchalant to me, even though (obviously) it is not. Anything more dressy than that and I leave it closed.

If someone were to think it means my coat is "bespoke" and I'm showing off, I would think they have no idea what bespoke means.

 

[Get Smart]

for me it depends on the context of the wearer.....if it's a guy like, for example Soph or Holdfast, where his business style is otherwise impecible, then I look at it with some admiration wondering who the phenomenal tailor must be.

If it's some kid wearing faded jeans, sneakers, and an otherwise typical indie hipster look with his jacket sleeve unbuttoned (which i've seen more than once) then the inner snob in me comes out and I look at him like

 

[Jared]

Originally Posted by minimal

I generally leave the last button open if I'm wearing a jacket with jeans, i.e. dressing "high / low". It's just a tiny detail that I prefer because it feels nonchalant to me, even though (obviously) it is not. Anything more dressy than that and I leave it closed.
+1 It's just more fun to have the cuff a bit unbuttoned. I think this playfulness is especially present in RTW garments with functional buttons: leaving one unbuttoned is camp.

I also think there's some similarity to having functional bottom (and top on 2-roll-3s et al) buttons. Only those of you who wear exclusively one-button suits can declare it tacky without hypocrasy!

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Originally Posted by shoefan

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

couldn't it just as easily be extended to buttons on cuffs full-stop? If we're coming from a totally utilitarian angle ("serves little or no purpose"), aren't non-functioning buttons, by definition, even more of an affectation (albeit one which is conventional and accepted to the point of being de rigeur)?

 

[summej2]

Originally Posted by Vintage Gent

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

Also add to the list Jack Bouvier and David Niven.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

I think in an old world setting or in a business meeting it's a bad idea because the only people who will notice might be those who hanker after the status and cant achieve it. Heaven only knows what sort of jealousy that can invoke.

In a Hip setting it's more permissible because consumerism plays a more accepted role.

 

[Quirk]

Originally Posted by Get Smart

If it's some kid wearing faded jeans, sneakers, and an otherwise typical indie hipster look with his jacket sleeve unbuttoned (which i've seen more than once) then the inner snob in me comes out and I look at him like

I unbutton sleeve buttons on casual jackets when wearing jeans, etc. precisely because I think it looks better with a more casual look. When it's done on a clearly OTR casual jacket, it's hardly out of pretensiousness.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by epa

Sounds good, yes, but WHY does it actually please you? (I, personally, believe that many of us may actually be "tackier" than we want to think. Or maybe it's just me...)
Well, to a certain extent I think it may just be the satisfaction of actually using something that is designed to have functionality. It can be fun undoing the button yourself as you're getting dressed - I suspect that any satisfaction "payoff" occurs at this point rather than when you're loitering at the bus stop thinking "look at all these people check out my open cuff button". It's a way of reminding yourself of that pleasing little detail, or put differently of playing with your toys.
One may also enjoy the possibility that if someone does notice and comment on the open button, it has served as a conversation starter on a subject in which the wearer has a strong interest.
One may as well ask why get functional sleeve buttons at all (or for that matter any sleeve buttons, functional or not) if you're not going to use them.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by Film_Noir_Buff

I think in an old world setting or in a business meeting it's a bad idea because the only people who will notice might be those who hanker after the status and cant achieve it. Heaven only knows what sort of jealousy that can invoke.

In a Hip setting it's more permissible because consumerism plays a more accepted role.
That reasoning might also suggest that you shouldn't wear nice shoes, a nice watch, or even your best-fitting suit to a business meeting.

 

[itsstillmatt]

I basically never do it and absolutly never notice if anybody else does.

As far as working buttonholes, about a year ago I ended up at a messy barbecue restaurant in a sportcoat and just rolled up the sleeves and my shirtsleeves and started in on the ribs. It was the first time I have ever been truly happy to have working buttonholes.

 

[aportnoy]

Only for wannabes. Let the tailoring speak for itself.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by aportnoy

Only for wannabes. Let the tailoring speak for itself.
I wannabe.

 

[aportnoy]

Originally Posted by iammatt

I wannabe.

I wannabe too. Preferably by twins.