Suit Button Rules: Which Buttons to Fasten on a Jacket, Waistcoat and Cuff

A suit tells on you before you speak, and the buttons are where it tells first. The rules are few, and they exist because a jacket is cut to hang from one point. Fastening it anywhere else fights the cut.

The two button jacket

Fasten the top button. Leave the bottom alone. Undo the top button when you sit, and do it up again as you stand. That is the complete instruction for the most common jacket in the world.

The reason is in the cloth. The waist is cut to close at the top button, and everything below is shaped to fall open over the hips so the skirt can hang. Fasten the lower button and you pull that shaping closed, which drags the hem forward and pushes out a fold of cloth. Undoing to sit is not etiquette for its own sake either: a seated body puts the strain of the seat and hips onto one buttonhole, and within a year that shows as a tired hole and a crease that will not press out.

The three button jacket, and the three roll two

A true three takes the middle button always, the top if you like, the bottom never. Most men wear the middle alone, which is correct. Fastening the top as well closes the chest and suits a taller frame with a long lapel.

The three roll two is the quiet cousin of the two. Three buttons are sewn on, but the lapel is rolled so it falls past the top one, which hides under the fold. You fasten the middle, which behaves exactly like the top button of a two. Done well, the hidden hole shows only a glimpse of itself in the roll.

Sometimes, always, never

The phrase people remember is "sometimes, always, never", read from the top down: sometimes the top, always the middle, never the bottom. Useful shorthand, with one trap: it applies only to a three. On a two the sequence is always, never, and on a double breasted jacket it does not apply.

Why the bottom button is never fastened

The usual story is that Edward VII left his waistcoat open because he had grown too stout to close it, and the court followed. Whether or not that is the origin, the habit outlived the man, because tailors began cutting with the bottom button open as the assumption. A century of that has made a mannerism structural.

The double breasted jacket and its jigger

A double breasted jacket is a different animal. It stays fastened, standing and sitting, because the overlap holds the shape.

On a six by two you fasten the lower of the two working buttons on the right hand row; the pair above are show buttons with nothing behind them. Inside, on the left, sits a small extra button with its own hole on the under panel. That is the jigger, and it anchors that panel so the front lies flat rather than riding up. Use it. Most men never find it and then wonder why the overlap looks restless. On a six by one, fasten the single working button; on a four by two, the lower pair.

The waistcoat

Every button except the last, and it stays fastened when you sit. The hem is cut to sit over the trouser waistband with a little ease, and closing the bottom button pulls the point tight across the stomach. Two exceptions: a double breasted waistcoat fastens all the way down, having no cutaway point to spoil, and so does a backless evening waistcoat for black tie.

Cuff buttons and working cuffs

Four buttons is the usual count on a suit cuff, three on a softer jacket, two on an odd jacket in a casual cloth, and none of it is a rule. Working cuffs, sometimes called surgeon's cuffs, have real holes so the sleeve can be turned back. They are a mark of hand work rather than a thing you will use, and they commit you, because a sleeve with working holes can be shortened only from the shoulder. On a jacket cut to your own arm that is no concern. The buttons themselves matter too: horn and corozo take dye unevenly, which is the point of them.

What a bespoke maker can change

All of the above describes ready made assumptions. On a garment cut for you, they are yours to set. The button stance, meaning the height of the fastening point, is the most powerful line on a jacket: raise it and the leg looks longer, drop it and the chest opens out. We set it against your proportions rather than a size chart, which is most of the reason a jacket cut for you looks unlike one bought in your size. Spacing, the length of the lapel roll and the drop of a waistcoat point are settled the same way, at a fitting, on you.

Every garment we make is full canvas and fully bespoke, cut from your own pattern, and we do not offer made to measure, which matters here because stance is a pattern decision, not an alteration. There is more on custom suits Los Angeles, on the buttoning of a dinner jacket for black tie, on women's bespoke suits, on shirts cut to your own measurements, and on a bespoke overcoat, which usually fastens all the way down. You can also book a fitting or find the house in Playa del Rey.

Questions we are often asked

Which button do you fasten on a two button suit jacket?

The top one, and only standing. Undo it when you sit and fasten it again as you rise. The bottom button is never fastened.

Why is the bottom button of a jacket never fastened?

Because the jacket is cut on the assumption that it is open. The fronts are shaped to fall away over the hips, so closing it drags the hem forward and pushes out a fold of cloth.

What is the sometimes, always, never rule?

It describes a three button jacket from the top down: sometimes the top, always the middle, never the bottom. It applies only to a three. A two is always, never.

Do you fasten the bottom button of a waistcoat?

Not on a single breasted one. Fasten every button but the last, so the point sits properly over the waistband. A double breasted waistcoat and a backless evening waistcoat both close fully.

Should a double breasted jacket stay fastened when you sit?

As a rule, yes, because the overlap holds the shape. For a long dinner, undo the front and leave the inner jigger button fastened, then fasten the front before you stand.

How many buttons should a suit cuff have?

Four is usual on a suit, three on a softer jacket, two on an odd jacket in a casual cloth. Working buttonholes commit you, since the sleeve can then be shortened only from the shoulder.

Can a bespoke tailor change where the buttons sit?

Yes, and it is among the most useful things we change. Stance, spacing, the roll of the lapel and the drop of a waistcoat point are all set to your proportions at a fitting.

Fittings are unlimited and included, with a year of complimentary alterations on anything we make, and a first consultation runs about an hour and costs nothing. Garments are priced at consultation, and you should allow 4 to 12 weeks for a suit, 2 to 4 weeks for shirts. We are at 221 Culver Blvd in Playa del Rey, by appointment, seven days, roughly nine until six, with free parking. Call 310-503-3592 or take a time at our fitting calendar, and you will meet either Robb or Ben.