If you make an effort to dress up, you want to look your best. Now, sometimes if you button your suit the wrong way, it sends the signal I don’t know anything about conventions and how it’s done and how it flatters me the most.
Unfortunately, most people never ask why the rule is a certain way and because of that, we decided to create the ultimate guide on how to properly button a suit jacket. Keep in mind that buttoning conventions have changed over time and what you wore in 1901 is different than what you wear today.
How To Button Suit Jackets
Single Button Jacket
Single-Button Jacket
It’s rare to see a single button jacket outside of evening wear, but it exists. Usually, it has a peak lapel, sometimes notched lapel, but when you have that and it’s a two-piece suit or a combination with a jacket and pants, you simply button the button and when you sit, you unbutton it.
Single button three piece suit
If you wear it with a vest, maybe in a three-piece suit, you simply leave it unbuttoned. It doesn’t matter if you stand or sit, it’s just unbuttoned all the time.
Two-Button Jacket
If you have a two button two-piece suit or jacket and pants, you simply button the top button when you stand, and you open it up when you sit.
Robert, Ted, and John Kennedy
Generally, it’s a faux pas to button both buttons because it simply looks odd. Yes, it was something you would see in the 1920s, but men’s fashion has gone away from that. If you go back to the 60s, you can see JFK wearing suits with both buttons buttoned however, they were way too low and just looks odd.
regular suit jacket vs a paddock suit
Paddock Coat & Suit
Those paddock coat and suits were made to be worn on a horse and so they had a central vent and much higher buttoning points and because of that, you could button both buttons. Basically, it was a three button jacket with the bottom row simply left off.
In this day and age, 99.99% of two button single-breasted jackets are tailored, so you only button the top button. That also means you should never just button the bottom button of the coat unless you have a paddock coat or suit with a lower button that is as high as your waist level.
Three-Piece Suit / Odd Vest
If you decide to wear an odd vest or a matching vest to make it a three-piece suit, you always leave the jacket unbuttoned.
Three-button jacket
Three-Button Jacket
If you have a three button single breasted jacket, things are even a little more complicated. On a simple jacket or a two-piece suit, you simply button the middle button or the top two buttons. Of course, it’s only true when you stand and when you sit, you unbutton your coat.
Never just button the lowest button or the two lowest buttons because that looks simply off. Likewise, don’t button all three buttons because that makes you looked closed off and it’s a style you would have seen sometimes in the 20s and in the 30s but then, suits are tailored differently.
Modern suits are oftentimes not tailored in a way that you can button everything so it looks neat. If you button all three buttons, sometimes you get wavy wrinkles and it looks just bad. You should also stay clear of buttoning just the top button because that gives you a Victorian look and just looks odd because it exposes your tie and the shirt underneath the buttoning point and it leaves very little on top of the v-shape.
Three Roll Two Jacket
Three Roll Two Jacket
It has three buttons but the top button is rolled into the lapel, that way you see more of the shirt front and the V over the buttoning point and basically, it behaves like a two button single breasted jacket. In that case, you simply button the middle one or it’s the top button that is visible.
If you wear a vest underneath, either an odd vest or a three-piece suit, again, leave it unbuttoned at all times. Yes, you can find vintage pictures where men would wear that, but in this day and age, it will just look odd.
Four/Five-Button Jacket
First of all, I don’t recommend you wear them because they very quickly go in and out of fashion and it’s just not a timeless classic style. If you still want to have a four or five button jacket, simply button the middle buttons, leaving the top and a bottom button undone. I strongly suggest you do not wear a vest or a waistcoat because those jackets are tailored so there’s not much visible space for it.
two button DB suit
Two-Button DB Jacket
If you look at double-breasted jackets, things are a little more tricky, double-breasted simply means that you have two rows of buttons that are usually parallel to each other. The most simple version of a double-breasted jacket is the two button jacket.
It simply means you have one faux button and one that buttons that’s visible in the front. Just like all the rest of the garments, chances are there’s a button on the inside that makes sure that your lapels always look symmetrical and elegant.
Just like a single breasted four or five button coat, the two-button double-breasted coat is a very dated look that places you in the 80s. Fortunately, it’s very uncomplicated to button it, you simply button it at all times and you leave it buttoned when you sit or when you stand.
Four-Button DB Jacket
Four-Button DB Jacket
The four-button double-breasted suit coat or jacket is a little more unusual but much more mainstream, timeless, and classic. Basically, you have three options. You can button just the top of the working buttons, you can button both, or just the bottom, or if you have a square or rectangular button shape.
Most suits today are only buttoned on the top one or on both. Traditionally, a double-breasted suit with peak lapels was more formal and all buttons were buttoned at all times. Only when you would sit would you unbutton the bottom one.
Today, people like the sprezzatura and more casual look and therefore, they oftentimes leave the bottom button unbuttoned. However, sometimes you can also find four-button double-breasted coats especially in evening wear where the top pair of buttons is spaced further apart and because of that, you can only button them on the bottom button.
6×3 Double Breasted Navy Blazer, Made in France by Cezar Ltd. for A. Sulka & Company, 1971
Six-Button DB Jacket
The six-button double-breasted jacket is probably the most popular and common style that you will find. Because there are six buttons, there are different ways to position those.
A not so popular way to position the buttons is to have two parallel rows from the top to the bottom. If you have that kind of a coat or suit, you button either all three of them or the top two. If you want to sit comfortably, you probably have to undo the bottom button, however, just like with any other double-breasted coat, you never unbutton it completely.
Sven Raphael Schneider wearing a DB flannel suit
The most common six-button double-breasted silhouette is basically two rows of buttons that are parallel with the top pair being spaced further apart. It creates a nice v-shape that accentuates the male attractive silhouette. Traditionally, you’d button both of the bottom buttons for a very classic look.
Lino of Al Bazar – notice how he buttoned his 6 button DB jacket
Now if you go to Italy, you’ll rarely see a man who wears a double-breasted coat that is buttoned on both. Usually, they button just the middle button; they like it because it’s a more nonchalant look and it’s something that was really popularized by Lino from Al Bazar.
If you have a very formal double-breasted suit, you can wear both but the traditional look is probably a tad better and more accurate.
Six Or More Button DB Jacket
It’s very important that you pay attention how you button it on the inside and on the outside. Because if I button the middle button on the outside and the lower button on the inside, I get the asymmetrical look of my lapels and most people can’t pinpoint what’s wrong with your outfit but it just looks off.
Because of that, most quality double-breasted suits will have two inside buttons. So if you decide to button just the lower button on the outside, you button just the lower one on the inside. If you decide to button just the middle one on the outside, you can button either the top one or the top one and the bottom one.
Prince Charles in the same navy 8×3 double breasted blazer
Eight-Button DB Jacket
This is very unusual, and it provides a very Maritime look which is usually something you see only in a blazer. Prince Charles has one for example, and he has been wearing it for years. In that case, the top row is spaced apart, and he buttons the three button buttons below. Because you have so many buttons on your front, chances are you’ll have to unbutton the bottom one or maybe the bottom two of you sit depending on what makes you comfortable.
How To Button Vests
Sven Raphael Schneider wearing olive green coat with a tan vest, diagonal stripe tie, white & blue check shirt, Blue Cornflower Boutonniere, & cream pants plus green gloves
Single-Breasted Vest
Single breasted vests are usually worn with the bottom button undone. There are different theories about why that’s the case. One references Bertie who later became Edward the 7th, and he was so big, they simply couldn’t button the bottom button and because of that, other people adapted his style.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what the different theories are because it’s just a custom that you can see all over the place. No matter if you wear a three-piece suit with a matching vest or an odd vest, on the single-breasted vest, the bottom button is usually undone.
White tie tailcoat ensemble
The only exception to the rule is for example, for evening wear such as white-tie, single-breasted vests, and black tie single breasted vests. In that case, you button them all the way because it’s a formal ensemble and an unbuttoned button would simply look off and too nonchalant and casual.
On the other hand, if you have a double-breasted vest, the rules are simple. You simply have all buttons buttoned at all times. Some Italians leave the bottom button undone because they want to be casual and show some sprezzatura but it just looks off because a double-breasted waistcoat is simply more formal than the single-breasted counterpart.
Sven Raphael Schneider in Black Tie Tuxedo
Black & White Tie Ensemble
What about other garments in a white tie ensemble? There’s nothing to button so you just leave it unbuttoned. On the other hand, with a black tie ensemble, it’s a little different. If you have the traditional one-button jacket; you leave it unbuttoned if you wear it with a waistcoat or a vest, and you button it if you wear it with a cummerbund.
Donegal tweed overcoat, fedora hat, Fort Belvedere yellow gloves, and blue scarf
How To Button Overcoats
When it comes to overcoats, buttoning is fairly simple. Usually, you have all the buttons buttoned simply because it’s supposed to keep you warm. Yes, you have the option to leave the bottom button undone because that creates a little more range of movement and it allows a little more air in when it’s not so cold outside.
If you have a double-breasted overcoat with different inside buttons, you have to pay attention to the same things as you do with a suit. Don’t button the button inside with the top outside or vice versa, it will just look off.