Why were double-breasted jackets invented? - Page 2
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It's easy to say why button L over R - its easier for a right handed person. Amies repeats the sword thing in his book though.
Why women button the other way is more of a mystery. You'll hear some people say that it's because women are dressed by another woman while a man dresses himself, but this makes little sense to me. How many women buying RTW clothing are really dressed by someone else? Maybe on the back of a dress or something I could see it, but for a shirt or jacket front seems weird.
lol...I'd never heard that logic before, but I doubt that people who use that explanation are basing it on the rtw-buying women of today. They're saying that it's a carry-over from the way that things used to be.
Where do you think the servant's rank 'Dresser' originated? The servants did not pose as furniture.
I have heard two stories.
Number one: Double breasted just works better in the army because there is not as much fabric flying around when you are standing in the middle of a field. All of it is secured by buttons.
Number two is an extension of number one I guess. In the navy you were quite exposed to wind. Also, you often stood in the same place for hours. If you were unlucky, the wind would then blow straight into your coat. Unless you buttoned it the other way, that is.
I have also read that this was one of the main perks of the trench coat in WWI. You could button it both ways so the wind wouldn't blow into your coat for hours, while you laid down in the same place.