Why don’t you button the bottom button of suit?

You might have noticed that many people do not button the bottom button of their suit; ever wondered why? Here are some rules for wearing a suit like professionals.

Three Button Suit

If you have a suit jacket that has three buttons,

• You can sometimes close the buttons on top.
• You should always close the middle button.
• Never button up the button button.
• This rule goes back to 1910, as we have explained below.
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Two Button Suit

If you have a suit jacket that has two buttons on it, then;

• You should always button up the top one.
• Never button up the button button.
• Even for waistcoats, always leave the bottom button open.

According to men’s suit designers and tailors, if the suit jackets and waistcoats are unbuttoned at the bottom, it looks more fashionable and suitable. But women can button up the bottom button.

Why and how did it become a rule?

The suit jackets are unbuttoned at the bottom because they replaced horse-riding jackets. A lounge suit was first invented in 1906, the single-breasted suit of today. 

It had three buttons made for more normal wear and had a loose cut so that it looked best when the wearer was holding the controlling ropes of a horse.

Therefore, the lounge suit started to replace traditional riding coats. The third buttons of riding coats had to be unbuttoned so the jacket fitted correctly while sitting on a horse.

Waistcoats are unbuttoned at the bottom because King Edward was fat: He had a luxurious diet. He took a complete diet at breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner (typically twelve courses), and evening meal. He drank reasonably but naturally smoked twelve giant cigars and twenty cigarettes daily.

King Edward VII always left his bottom waistcoat button open because he was fat, and he found it more comfortable, and it made a better fitting. Everyone copied it.

Firstly, this trend was followed only in Britain and the empire but not among the continent or in the USA. But nowadays, the fashion of unbuttoning the last button of a waistcoat and suit jacket is in style.