I didn’t believe it when my husband told me, years ago, that this was the way it is done. However, I’ve just read J. J. Lee’s memoir, and as a tailor’s apprentice and fashion journalist, I bow to his expertise. Lee says that on a two button suit the rule is,
- top button ALWAYS buttoned
- bottom button NEVER buttoned
On a three button suit, the top one is a wild card, dependant on the lie of the lapels and the fit of the man wearing it,
- top button SOMETIMES buttoned
- middle button ALWAYS buttoned
- bottom button NEVER buttoned
I mentioned this to a student wearing a beautiful pin striped double breasted suit on “Dress up like a gangster” day at school. He said, “I’m not traditional.” >>sigh<< There’s traditional, and then there is just ‘wrong.’ 2 plus 2 is traditionally 4, and if you claim it’s 5, you’re just wrong. I decided to look for some photographic evidence to support this button rule, and I looked back to the days of cool suit wearing, studying photos of the Rat Pack. They follow the rule. See?
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how to button your suit. October 15, 2012
Tags: 2, 3, button, double breasted, J. J. Lee, Measure of a Man, suit, three, two, wearing
I didn’t believe it when my husband told me, years ago, that this was the way it is done. However, I’ve just read J. J. Lee’s memoir, and as a tailor’s apprentice and fashion journalist, I bow to his expertise. Lee says that on a two button suit the rule is,
On a three button suit, the top one is a wild card, dependant on the lie of the lapels and the fit of the man wearing it,
I mentioned this to a student wearing a beautiful pin striped double breasted suit on “Dress up like a gangster” day at school. He said, “I’m not traditional.” >>sigh<< There’s traditional, and then there is just ‘wrong.’ 2 plus 2 is traditionally 4, and if you claim it’s 5, you’re just wrong. I decided to look for some photographic evidence to support this button rule, and I looked back to the days of cool suit wearing, studying photos of the Rat Pack. They follow the rule. See?
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