Photo via Fast Company
Next time you're shopping at a major retailer in the Atlanta area, pay attention to a small but telling detail: women's shirts typically button from the left side, while men's shirts button from the right. This design convention, which extends to zippers in jackets and pants, traces back centuries to European aristocratic fashion practices and reflects deeper historical shifts in how we manufacture and market clothing.
According to fashion historians, the button placement tradition originated when wealthy European women required assistance dressing in elaborate garments. Servants stood facing the wearer to fasten closures, making left-side buttons optimal for right-handed maids performing the task. Meanwhile, men's clothing was designed for self-dressing, with right-side buttons accommodating the wearer's dominant hand. Military dress codes may have further reinforced these patterns, as warriors drew swords from the left hip using their right hand.
When clothing manufacturing shifted to factories in the 1800s, standardization became essential for production efficiency. These historical button conventions persisted into the zipper era of the early 1900s, as manufacturers simply replicated existing patterns rather than reimagining garment construction. What began as practical solutions for aristocratic dressing became ingrained industry standards, passed down through generations of designers and manufacturers across the fashion supply chain.
Today's Atlanta-based retailers and apparel companies increasingly challenge these outdated conventions as consumer demand for inclusive, gender-neutral fashion grows. Many contemporary brands now offer unisex collections that abandon the traditional left-right button split entirely. Fashion experts note that there's no functional reason to maintain these distinctions—the persistence of the tradition reflects institutional inertia rather than necessity, creating both an opportunity and a responsibility for modern retailers to reimagine design conventions.
