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From: tiedeman@ihu1g.UUCP (N. R Tiedemann)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Shirt buttons
Message-ID: <588@ihu1g.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Apr-85 08:30:54 EST
Article-I.D.: ihu1g.588
Posted: Thu Apr 18 08:30:54 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 19-Apr-85 00:19:14 EST
References: <1649@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 15

> This has been bugging me lately...
> 
> Does anyone know why (historically and currently) women's shirts button
> right over left and men's button left over right (or is it vice versa)?
> Why make the thing differently depending on who is supposed to wear it?
> 
I don't believe that historically the difference was who was wearing it, but
who was putting it on. The fashionable men of yesterday dressed themselves.
Thus, left over right. The fashionable women of those days had a dresser to
help them get dressed. Therefore the buttons were still left over right
for the dresser.
	Of course, I didn't live then so I may have it all backwards.

		Norm Tiedemann (AT&T Bell Labs)
		ihu1g!tiedeman