Women’s Blazers & Suit Jackets: To Button or Not To Button?
The rule is so simple for men: When they stand up, the top button of their suit jacket should be buttoned; when they sit down, they can unbutton.
For women: Meh. Not so simple (Surprise!). Here are the rules (or lack thereof) for buttoning blazers & suit jackets:
- Two-button suit jacket: You can either button the top button (like men) or button both buttons. You can unbutton when you sit, just like guys.
- Three-button suit jacket: Button the middle button, the top two buttons or all three buttons. Now, if you are long-waisted, buttoning all of the buttons will show off your long torso. If you’re short waisted, you might want to not button that bottom button so that the jacket fits correctly.
- Buttoned-jacket style tip: If you’re going to keep all your buttons buttoned all day, wear a thin belt for a little excitement.
- Of course, all kinds of fashion choices are made by designers. Some jackets have no buttons. That’s fine. That type of jacket is going to be more trendy and less classic.
I’d have to say my number one rule for women is that if your jacket is supposed to button but you’ve gained two handfuls of pounds and you can’t button it, it’s time to go shopping for a new jacket. (Same goes for men, of course!)
And then, of course, you can choose to do whatever the heck you want.
