Are they called button ups or button downs?
They’re both valid terms, but here is the difference: A button up is a shirt that buttons up the front of the body all the way. A button down is a shirt that has buttons on the collar points that you can, well, button down.
What is button down vs Buttonup?
A button up shirt refers to any shirt that buttons all the way up the front. A button down shirt means any button up shirt with a collar that can be buttoned down.
Are button-down collars less formal?
Due to their origin in sports, button-down collars are less formal than point collars. They tend to be softer and have more of a roll than point collars, which are straight and often stiffened via the insertion of collar stays.
When should I wear a button-down?
Button-down collars work well on short sleeve shirts. Button-down collar shirts truly shine when they’re dressed down relative to a suit. You can certainly throw one on with a pair of jeans and call it a day, but a button-down collar shirt works quite well with a sport coat and odd trouser combo too.
When should you button-down a collar?
Whether you wear a tie or not, you should always button the collar of a button-down shirt. This is the one and only “rule” for wearing button-down shirts. Leaving the collar unbuttoned will not turn it into a makeshift point collar for more formal occasions. Instead, it will look messy and uninformed.
Are button downs in style?
The button-down collar is hotly debated as either too traditional or too casual, but we think it is a classic all-American collar that will never go out of style.
Why is the bottom button of a vest left unbuttoned?
When wearing a suit, always leave the bottom button open for the waistcoat and jacket. The tradition dates back to King Edward VII from the early 1900s. He unbuttoned the bottom of his waistcoat because he was too fat. He unbuttoned the bottom of his jacket to pay homage to the riding jacket that suits replaced.
Why are you not supposed to button the bottom button?
The answer goes back to a very fat king: King Edward VII. As fashion blogs and magazines will tell you, there’s a story that King Edward VII, back when he was the Prince of Wales and suits were becoming in vogue, got too fat for his waistcoat so he stopped buttoning the bottom button to make it fit better.
