Why are men’s and women’s clothes buttons on opposite sides?

We usually wear suits, jackets and shirts. Have you ever wondered why men’s and women’s clothes button are on opposite sides? Well, it comes from the dominant hand and the old habits of European nobility.

In Europe around the 14th century, clothes with buttons, which required time and effort to sew, were extremely expensive and could only be worn by upper class people. In those days, it was common for wealthy women to have their maids and servants to dress them instead of dressing by themselves. Most of the population have been always right-handed, so it was easier for the maids and servants to put the buttons on the left side of clothes (=right hand side for them). Nowadays we can still see these habits in some occasions.

On the other hand, men often put on their clothes by themselves, so the buttons are placed on the right side of clothes (=right hand side for men).

Also it is said that the elements of men's fashion have been developed for military uniforms. There is a theory that men's clothes have buttons on the right side (to keep left side of clothes over right side) because the weapons and equipment could be easily taken out with the right hand.