From time to time people contact me to complain about one or other aspect of a look that I've posted on Instagram. The last I received ticked me off for wearing a cardigan with the bottom button done up; and I suspect they were serious. This got me thinking about the 'rules' of style.
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| Image Whitfield & Ward Tailors - who overlook the bottom button 'rule' for good reasons (see below) |
There is a convention that the bottom button of a waistcoat (or vest to use its original name - still used in the US) is left undone. Several explanations can be found for this tradition. The most common is that King Edward VII's courtiers undid theirs to emulate their sovereign whose ample girth prevented him doing up every button of his waistcoat. It was perhaps a matter of etiquette: respect or politeness. As that particular King is long dead the convention could be said to have long lapsed.
Whatever its origins, there is no 'rule' that demands that you leave said button undone. Look at the image below of a slim Edward VII (taken in 1882), what do you notice about the buttoning of his waistcoat / vest?
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| Edward VII Image National Portrait Gallery London |
Waistcoats are often cut so that the bottom button can't be done up without affecting the line of the garment. That's a result of the convention. This is good enough reason to leave it undone; the cut makes it hard to do otherwise. My advice would be that, if the waistcoat is cut so that the bottom button can be done up, do just that. It will help cover your waistband and also look tidier (see the image by Whitfield & Ward, Tailors, above - doesn't that look neat?)
But however you want to play that one, there is no law, rule, etiquette, convention or tradition (going back to the recent complaint that I received) that demands that the bottom button of a cardigan be left unsecured. We often see buttons on cardigans (sleeved or sleeveless) left undone. This may be because the buttonholes have stretched and the buttons pop open, or it's an attempt at sprezzatura or in confusion over the waistcoat 'rules'. Or it may be that the cardigan is worn by a genuine sartorialist who has found the best way to wear the garment to make it look as good as possible - read on....
"If there are rules of style they are simply that you should wear clothes in a way that makes both the garment and you, the wearer, look as good as possible"
If there are any rules of style they are simply that you should wear clothes in a way that makes both the garment and you, the wearer, look good and feel comfortable. There are some ways of wearing clothes that are just look so bad that it's best to pretend there is a rule preventing them. Ties worn undone and at half mast look sloppy and it would look better to go tieless with collar undone. Wearing brogues without socks is a look has been overdone and is best avoided as it looks too studied. Wearing watches over shirt cuffs is just aping the style of Gianni Agnelli. Doing up the bottom button of a blazer or sports coat is inadvisable simply because doing so will usually spoil the line of the jacket because of its cut. But these are guidelines, not rules.
"The overarching question is not 'What is the rule?' but 'What looks best on you?'"
Good style arises from self confidence, wearing good quality clothes that fit well and, most importantly, not looking as if you've tried too hard. The best way to sprezzatura, the art of looking good without trying, is to find your own style rather than copying slavishly what you see at Pitti Uomo or on Instagram or following irrational rules.
The overarching question is not 'What is the rule?' but 'What looks best on you?'
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