Which buttons are to be buttoned

[gregory]

Hi all, I've always thought that one should button the top and middle buttons on a 3-button suit but Ben Silver says that the top and bottom buttons should not be buttoned. Then, I came across this picture on BrooksBrothers.com showing the last two buttons buttoned?.

 

[VMan]

Wow, that's puzzling.

However, last time I was at Marshall Field's, they had a 3-button Hugo Boss suit on a mannequin that had all three buttons buttoned. My sartorial side made me walk over and unbutton the bottom, and the salesman flashed me a look to kill.

But from everything I've heard, you can button the top, the middle, or both. Never the last.

 

[F4iryder14]

However, last time I was at Marshall Field's, they had a 3-button Hugo Boss suit on a mannequin that had all three buttons buttoned. Â My sartorial side made me walk over and unbutton the bottom, and the salesman flashed me a look to kill. But from everything I've heard, you can button the top, the middle, or both. Â Never the last.

I agree. Â I want to do the same thing when I am invited to special alumni events at my fraternity and I see the younger members doing this with 2 button suits Â

. Maybe someday they will learn because I get tired of arguing with them. Â When I bought my first suit Dad made sure to tell me, "Never button the bottom button." Â Stuck with me ever since. And I feel that goes for all suits with 2 buttons on up. Â Kevin

 

[sleeper]

I feel very strongly about this.


In my opinion, the recent fashion of buttoning the top button of a three-button suit is an abomination. Whenever I see Tony Blair doing this, I feel an urge to burn my British passport. Maybe I am an old stick-in-the-mud, but it just ruins the symmetry for me. There is nothing more pleasing than the line of a lapel rolling over the top button toward the centre button, and then cutting away past the bottom button.

As for doing up the bottom button, well, if that ever becomes the norm, you will see me roving the streets with an AK-47 and a wild look in my eye.

 

[j]

The AK-47 is totally inappropriate for wear with a 3-button suit. I suggest something more sleek, like the SIG 550. With the AK, this season guerrillas in the know will be sporting an epauletted shirt and a bandanna.

Most suits are designed so that they look best without the bottom button done. The guy in that picture looks confused. When I get around to making a line of RTW perhaps I will have the bottom buttonholes left sealed as a not so subtle hint.

 

[A Harris]

Big oversight by Brooks. NEVER THE BOTTOM BUTTON. Make sure that is burned into your brain.

And it almost always looks better to leave the top undone. Although in some instances the suit is cut in such a way that it does not look right unless the top two buttons are done up.

 

[HRHAndrew]

Although in some instances the suit is cut in such a way that it does not look right unless the top two buttons are done up.

I agree with this. I find that there are some three buttons suits that do look better with the top button used. There are some however, where the lapel rolld down to a point where the use of the top button kills the look. Sadly we see that way too much out there.

 

[Classic]

I agree with Harris and HRH. My 3 button RTW suits look much better with only the middle button done. However the MTM ones look better with the top two done.
I asked about this during one purchase, and the saleswoman explained it by using a couple of suit jackets for viusal effect.
It is amazing what one can learn from show and tell.

Classic

 

[Zubberah]

I used to care about this deeply years ago but now simply think to myself: "get a life son.". I mean who gives a rat's? I utilise either the top and midddle or middle only but couldn't really care either way. Nobody else does either I can tell you. It depends how I feel. And I am not a slave to fashion rules. I mean think about it. Is it REALLY that important?

 

[LA Guy]

I've seen this in the trendier areas of NYC. Maybe it goes well with the half-tuck, only button the bottom four shirt buttons look? I'm skeptical now; but it is quite possible that living behind the curve as I do now in Boston, I'll be doing this next fall

I hardly ever saw jackets in L.A., and even more rarely buttoned at all, so that is a different matter all together. And when did Brooks Brothers become trendy? Surely the End Times.

 

[Thracozaag]

I used to care about this deeply years ago but now simply think to myself: "get a life son.". I mean who gives a rat's? I utilise either the top and midddle or middle only but couldn't really care either way. Nobody else does either I can tell you. It depends how I feel. And I am not a slave to fashion rules. I mean think about it. Is it REALLY that important?

With the neapolitan suits in the 'tre bottone girata a due' model it is quite important. The suits are specifically made NOT to have the top (or bottom) button buttoned. It pains me (and especially naturlaut, who actually emails the sellers) when on Ebay I see auctions with pictures of Isaia, Kiton, etc. 3 button suits with the top two buttons buttoned. They're simply not made for this configuration, plain and simple.

 

[The Dandy]

Baby Chickpea, I have to say that, while the top two buttons vs. solely the middle button argument is a fairly relativist one, this abomination presented by Brooks Brothers is not a permissable style. Buttoning the bottom button is, in my opinion, a faux pax along the lines of a short sleeve shirt with a tie or white athletic socks with a suit. Some things simply should not be.

The picture also clearly indicates just how far Brooks Brothers has fallen. However, that is another topic for another time and one that greatly saddens me.

 

[VMan]

Funny related story:

Today I was browsing through a magazine, and they had an article titled "10 Steps to Interviewing Success". They had a picture of a prospective employee handing over his resume, and wearing a three-button suit. You guessed it - he had all three buttons buttoned. What a first impression to make.