MALE CALL

Fashionable Hollywood men know rules on jacket buttons

Always keep the bottom button of a jacket unbuttoned.
Always keep the bottom button of a jacket unbuttoned.

Q. Watching the Golden Globes, I saw the men buttoning and unbuttoning their jackets. They seemed uncomfortable and clearly had stylists telling them something, but didn't realize that jackets should always be buttoned. Have these rules changed?

A. No, they have not changed. If the men seemed uncomfortable, it probably had to do with hoping they would remember to thank all the right people. In truth, they were correct in their buttoning and unbuttoning procedures. As I watched, I was impressed that so many of the men knew the "when-to-button" rule. They were actually following a long-established custom about that very process. The custom has to do with both setting (well, actually "sitting" or not) and type of suit/jacket.

Most of the presenters and winners were elegantly dressed in black-tie attire, and almost all of their tuxedos were single breasted. The when-to-button rule is: When wearing a single-breasted jacket from a suit, a blazer, sport coat or black-tie evening suit (tuxedo), the jacket is always buttoned when a man is standing and always unbuttoned when he is seated. As he stands up, he correctly reaches to fasten that open button, and, in turn, unbuttons it when he sits back down.

You may ask, "Does it matter?" Yes, it matters and there are at least three reasons.

• First, it signals to the world that the man knows the rules. As with most things in this world, there is a right way to do things and a wrong way. People send nonverbal signals that say they are in the know. And the knowledgeable others who receive the signals recognize and respect those who also know. (True, it may sound elitist and snobbish, but it is reality ... even though some dress rules historically stem from very old -- and often rather quaint -- origins.)

• Second, the suit looks better and drapes better if it is buttoned when he is standing. It has a cleaner silhouette. This requires buttoning the correct button. On jackets with two buttons: Fasten the top one, and leave the second button undone. With three buttons (which are currently out of style): Button the center one and leave both the top and the third buttons undone.

• Third, it's more comfortable to wear the jacket open when seated, so the buttons don't pull and the jacket does not wrinkle.

Now that I've provided all that and the reasons, you need to know that it completely changes for double-breasted suits.

Keep in mind that the double-breasted suit jacket is much less popular today than it has been in the past. Traditionally, the style is a rather formal (stuffy?) look. Fashionable dressers these days occasionally wear a double-breasted cut; but, when they do, today's version is often cut trimmer and slimmer. All double-breasted cuts have an element of "Look at me" to them. The wearer usually wants to be noticed. Whether your jacket is the quiet, serious type or the more modern style, keep it fastened when you are standing and also when you are sitting. Double-breasted cuts look better buttoned. Important note: There's a button on the inside, called the anchor button, that should also be fastened at all times.

Double breasteds come with either four or six buttons. Again, due to fashion's cyclical nature, the ones you see today have six buttons. The clothing industry calls this style 6x2, referred to as "six on two." The reason is that it has six buttons and only two of them should be fastened. Fasten only the middle button (and that inside button), while leaving the top and the bottom buttons undone.

The rule: Always keep the bottom button of both single-breasted and double-breasted jackets unbuttoned.

By the way, as I mentioned above, three-button jackets are currently out of style. Single-breasted jackets have long been manufactured with two different closure styles: two-button and three-button. Since fashion is cyclical, I would not recommend you discard any three-button suits or jackets you may own; one of these days, they will return. But for now, the only cut to consider is the two-button closure ... and unclosure when sitting!

Send men's fashion queries to Male Call:

lois.fenton@prodigy.net

High Profile on 01/15/2017

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