I was told the "women buttoned by someone else" thing too because women couldn't lift their arms high enough in old-fashioned sleeves.
Zoe: She shot you. Mal: Well, yeah, she did a bit... still --
'Serenity'
Spike's Bitches 28: For the Safety of Puppies...and Christmas!
[NAFDA] Spike-centric discussion. Lusty, lewd (only occasionally crude), risque (and frisque), bawdy (Oh, lawdy!), flirty ('cuz we're purty), raunchy talk inside. Caveat lector.
Trudy Booth - Jan 02, 2006 2:22:39 pm PST #2830 of 10001
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart
§ ita § - Jan 02, 2006 2:24:29 pm PST #2831 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I've not found that buttoning my own women's shirts is that difficult, which makes me wonder why someone else buttoning men's shirt had enough hassle that they switched it for the ladies.
Strix - Jan 02, 2006 2:26:08 pm PST #2832 of 10001
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
I agree. I'm not very dextrous, but I don't think it'd ruin my day or anything.
People. People are weird.
Connie Neil - Jan 02, 2006 2:28:21 pm PST #2833 of 10001
brillig
I always heard that the button thing was so a gentleman could unbutton his coat/whatever for ease of movement while drawing his sword.
OK, so there's apparently been a high incidence of sword references in my life.
Sparky1 - Jan 02, 2006 2:28:47 pm PST #2834 of 10001
Librarian Warlord
makes me wonder why someone else buttoning men's shirt had enough hassle that they switched it for the ladies.
I think the argument would be that it wasn't the buttons in the front, but the dresses/shirts for women often buttoned down the back.
Of course, there's at least one person on the Internet who says the "maid" theory is hooey. And only experts post on the Internet.
Strix - Jan 02, 2006 2:30:08 pm PST #2835 of 10001
A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman but loose enough to flee from zombies. — Ginger
Hmm. It appears that the theories are indeed servants, side-saddle riding, mass production and some sketchy "historical custom."
§ ita § - Jan 02, 2006 2:31:14 pm PST #2836 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
but the dresses/shirts for women often buttoned down the back
If I'm the maid, the buttons aren't down my back, so whether my left hand is on the button side or the right--still makes little difference.
Trudy Booth - Jan 02, 2006 2:41:38 pm PST #2837 of 10001
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart
I was just coming here with Erin's link.
At the end it says Orthodox Jews have the opposite convention. Where's Nilly? And do they just mean Ashkenazic Jews (which happens a lot when something is declared "Orthodox" or "Jewish").
vw bug - Jan 02, 2006 2:44:08 pm PST #2838 of 10001
Mostly lurking...
My step-grandma is in the hospital. They don't know what's wrong, but it doesn't look good.
2006. You suck.
Strega - Jan 02, 2006 2:45:36 pm PST #2839 of 10001
The history of buttons is more interesting than I'd have expected. This article also mentions the sword-drawing issue, and there's a lot of interesting stuff about women adopting male clothing.