If it’s a two-button: always, never. The bottom button should never be done but the middle (for a three button) and the top (for a 2 button) should always be done unless you are sitting down. When sitting, all should be undone. Originally Answered: I don’t button the bottom button on my shirts.
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As suits became the fashion norm for European gentleman in the late 1800s, the English gentry noticed their king, Edward the VII, wasn’t buttoning his bottom jacket button. Why not? Because he was too portly to wear suit jackets buttoned at the bottom.
Whether you wear a tie or not, you should always button the collar of a button-down shirt. This is the one and only “rule” for wearing button-down shirts.
At its core, the answer’s simple. “Undoing your top button makes you look (and feel) more relaxed. It works perfectly for outfits with casual shirts. But in a formal outfit, like a suit and tie, you’d of course always do the top button up,” says Thread senior stylist Alice Watt.
Buttoning rules for two-button suit jackets
The traditional way to button a two-button jacket is to fasten the top button and leave the lower undone. The top button on these jackets should ALWAYS be buttoned when standing.
In most situations, this makes a suit look better on a man. A buttoned suit when standing cuts a cleaner silhouette. Prevent the buttons from popping. When seated, unbuttoning allows you to sit more comfortable, prevents wrinkles and keeps the buttons from popping.
The two-button jacket should never have both buttons fastened. The three-button suit comes with a simple rule: “sometimes, always, never.” It means you should sometimes fasten the top button (if you feel like it), always fasten the middle button, and never button the third.
Legend goes that Britain’s Edward VII ― a king with several famous appetites ― grew too large for his suit and had to stop using the second button as a result. Not wanting to embarrass him, others followed. The tradition stuck.
The two-button jacket should never be buttoned completely. The three-button suit, like others, comes with a simple rule: “sometimes, always, never.” This means you should sometimes fasten the top button (if you want to), always fasten the middle button, and never fasten the bottom.
Your next button, sitting in the middle, is your ‘always’ button. This is the button you should always wear done up when standing or walking. The last button at the bottom of your jacket is your ‘never’ button. The one button you never need to do up, regardless of if you’re sitting or standing.
Polo Shirt Collars and Buttons
And yes, you can actually button the top button if you want to create a clean, polish outfit. It’s not something you want to do in all situations, but if you’re wearing a polo shirt with a blazer, for example, then it’s perfectly acceptable to button all the way up.
According to British GQ, the buttoning the top button debate has been running rampant in the fashion world for the last few years. It used to be a definite no-no, especially in the days of suit-and-tie rigidity, but it has emerged as a serious trend.
Traditionally, when shirts were still made by humans, this meant reinforcing the button and the buttonhole with a thicker thread, which was either done on a second sewing machine, or as a last step when finishing a job. Hence, the different thread and different color.
Don’t Mix Black and Navy
The aesthetic myth is that because they are so similar, if you were to wear black and navy at the same time, it would come off as a poor attempt to match.
Tuxedo Tips
When buttoned, your top button should always be buttoned and your bottom button should remain unbuttoned. If you’re not wearing cufflinks, you will clasp the buttons on your cuff.
A 3 button suit looks the best on tall men as their body type is ideal for this type of suit. The buttons of this suit type come up to your chest, which may not look good on short height men. Besides, the 3 button suits are also popular for the comfort it offers.
How to wear a 3 piece suit? Jacket can be worn buttoned or unbuttoned. The waistcoat must always be worn buttoned all the way up, leaving the bottom button open. In the past the open bottom button prevented the waistcoat from riding-up when on horseback.
Conventional wisdom states that you always button your suit jacket. This is good advice: a buttoned suit jacket is more slimming than an unbuttoned one. What’s more, it shows off the cut of the suit itself to the best possible effect. When in doubt, you should always fasten your suit jacket.
If you have the traditional one-button jacket; you leave it unbuttoned if you wear it with a waistcoat or a vest, and you button it if you wear it with a cummerbund.
But in the interests of giving a definitive answer to a direct question, the answer is: two. Undoing just the top button on a dress shirt when going tieless often looks uptight, not terribly relaxed. This is particularly the case if you can see any strain on the fabric around the second button. It wants to be undone.
No, it’s not an accident on the manufacturing tip, but actually a practical feature. The holes are sewn horizontally so that the buttons can endure more stress from pulling/movement than the others without stretching out the shirt or the hole itself.