Start here
What’s This About:
The rule for a jacket is that the bottom button is never fastened and the jacket is unbuttoned when you sit down: on a two-button jacket fasten the top one, on a three-button the middle one always and the top one if you like (the “sometimes, always, never” rule), on a one-button jacket fasten it whenever you are standing, and on a double-breasted jacket keep it fastened, including when sitting, at the button the cut is made to close on, which on a six-on-two is the upper of the two working buttons and on a six-on-one is the single working one; the waistcoat follows the same logic with its bottom button left open, and the origin of the whole convention is usually traced to Edward VII, who left his own undone.
This guide answers the questions men ask in front of a mirror before leaving, such as:
– Which button do I fasten on a two-button and a three-button jacket?
– Do I unbutton when I sit down, and rebutton when I stand?
– What about a double-breasted jacket, a waistcoat and an overcoat?
– Is it acceptable to wear a suit jacket unbuttoned?
– Where do these rules come from, and do they still matter?
and many more!
Every jacket type is in one table, and the sitting rule and the origin follow.
Key Points:
01Never the bottom button of a jacket, on any single-breasted jacket with more than one button; it is cut to hang open, and fastening it pulls the skirt of the jacket out of shape.
02Sometimes, always, never: the three buttons of a three-button jacket, top to bottom; the middle one is the one that matters.
03Unbutton to sit, rebutton to stand: on every single-breasted jacket, every time; a fastened jacket on a seated man creases across the chest and strains the button.
04Double-breasted jackets are generally worn fastened, including when you sit. Do up the internal jigger and use the waist button the cut is designed to close on. The configuration tells you how many buttons can fasten, six-on-two meaning six buttons of which two work; it does not mean every working button must be closed. Follow the lapel roll and the maker’s guidance.
The answer
The short answer
There is one rule with one exception, and both are about how the jacket is cut rather than about etiquette for its own sake.
Real Men Real Style’s guide states it jacket by jacket. A one-button jacket: “These jackets should ALWAYS be buttoned when standing.” A two-button: “The top button on these jackets should ALWAYS be buttoned when standing” and “NEVER button the bottom button.” A three-button: “sometimes, always, never” for the three buttons in order, so “The middle button on these jackets should ALWAYS be buttoned when standing” while you should “NEVER fasten the bottom button.” A double-breasted: “Button all the buttons that have working buttonholes”, and these jackets “should almost always be buttoned”. That instruction needs the jacket read alongside it: on most double-breasted coats only one column fastens anything, and where two of its buttons work the cut is usually shaped to close on the upper one.
On sitting, the same guide is brief: “Unbutton the jacket when sitting down so that it doesn’t crease.” On the waistcoat: “Typically the bottom button of a waistcoat is left undone.”
On where the convention came from, it repeats the usual account: “Legend has it that King Edward VII, who reigned in England in the early 20th century, popularized this trend. He was overweight and started leaving the bottom button of his waistcoat and jackets undone for comfort.” The word to notice in that sentence is “legend”: the story is repeated everywhere and documented nowhere, and the tailoring reason below is the one that holds up.
Woolcott Street’s guide reaches the same rules from the cut rather than the anecdote: on a two-button jacket, “Close the first button when standing, and leave the bottom button undone. Always”, because a fastened bottom button makes the jacket “flare awkwardly”; on a three-button, “simply close the middle button, always”, and “The top button is optional and can be buttoned up or left undone”; a double-breasted jacket “should ideally always be done up, with very few exceptions”; and a buttoned jacket worn seated “could strain the fabric and distort the shape of your jacket”. Its summary of the whole convention is the useful one: “Suits are specifically tailored to be worn a certain way, and that includes button wear.”
The rest of this page is the table, the sitting rule, the waistcoat, the coat, and the cases where the rules genuinely bend.
Every jacket
Which button to fasten
Scroll horizontally to see all columns →
| Jacket | Standing | Sitting | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| One button | Fastened | Unbuttoned | The dinner jacket and many modern suits; there is no bottom button to leave |
| Two button | Top fastened, bottom never | Unbuttoned | The standard business suit; the commonest jacket and the commonest mistake |
| Three button | Middle always, top optional, bottom never | Unbuttoned | “Sometimes, always, never” from the top down |
| Three-roll-two | Middle fastened; the top button and its lapel roll are left alone | Unbuttoned | The lapel is pressed to roll over the top button; fastening it flattens the roll the jacket was made for |
| Double-breasted | Fastened at the waist button the cut closes on, with the inside jigger done up | Stays fastened | Being able to fasten and being meant to are different: a six-on-two has two working buttons but is usually worn on the upper one, and the second column is decorative |
| Waistcoat | All but the bottom button | Stays as it is | The bottom button sits below the waist, where fastening it pulls the front out of line |
| Blazer or sport coat | Same as the suit jacket it resembles | Unbuttoned | No difference in the rule, only in the formality of the cloth |
| Overcoat | All buttons, including the bottom one | Usually unbuttoned to sit | A coat is cut straight and is meant to close; the bottom-button rule does not apply |
The reason behind the never-the-bottom rule is the cut, not the king: a single-breasted jacket’s front is shaped with a curve, called the quarters, that is drafted to hang open below the fastening point. Fastening the bottom button pulls that curve closed, breaks the line at the hip, and strains the cloth across the seat.
The same logic explains the waistcoat: the bottom button sits below the natural waist, and closing it pulls the hem up and out over the trousers.
Sitting
Unbutton to sit, rebutton to stand
Unbutton as you sit down and refasten as you stand: it is the habit that separates a man who wears a suit from a man wearing a suit, and it takes no attention once it is learned.
The reason is mechanical. A fastened single-breasted jacket on a seated man pulls a horizontal crease across the chest, strains the button and the buttonhole, and over time distorts the front of the jacket permanently.
The double-breasted jacket is the exception again: it stays fastened when you sit, because it is cut with more overlap and it falls open into a shapeless front if undone. If it is genuinely uncomfortable seated, undo the outer button and leave the inside jigger fastened.
At a long dinner, most men unbutton and leave it, which is correct; the rebuttoning matters when you stand to greet someone, to speak or to be photographed.
The exceptions
When the rules bend
A jacket worn open: acceptable while walking, standing casually, or in an office where nobody else is buttoned; it is not correct when you are introduced to someone, giving a presentation, or in a photograph, where a buttoned jacket is what makes the outline read as a suit rather than a shirt with a jacket over it.
A jacket that will not close comfortably: leave it open rather than force it. A jacket pulled into an X-shaped crease at the button looks worse buttoned than unbuttoned, and straining a buttonhole on cloth that is already tight is how the front gets permanently distorted. Wear it open until it is altered, and our guide to what a tailor can and cannot change covers whether that jacket can be let out.
A double-breasted jacket’s lower working button. Two different questions get muddled here: which buttons are capable of fastening, and which ones the jacket is cut to be worn on. Wikipedia’s account answers the first: the two numbers in a name like six-on-two give the total buttons and the number of “functioning fastening buttons below the lapels”, and “On most modern double-breasted coats, one column of buttons is decorative, while the other is functional”, with an inner “jigger (or anchor button)” holding the underlap.
The second question is answered by the jacket. On a six-on-two the lapel is rolled and the waist shaped to one of the two working buttons, usually the upper one, and that is the button the cut wants closed; fastening the lower one as well pulls the front below the waist and is a matter of taste where a maker or a house style calls for it. Studio Suits treats the lower one as optional on some cuts for that reason. The practical instruction is to do up the jigger, fasten the button the roll of the lapel points at, and leave decorative buttons alone, rather than to fasten every buttonhole that happens to work.
A waistcoat with a square-cut bottom (some evening waistcoats): the bottom button may be fastened, because there is no curved hem for it to distort.
A modern two-button jacket with the buttons set very high or low is still governed by the same rule: top fastened, bottom never, whatever the placement.
Casual jackets in soft cloth: the same convention, and the softer the cloth the less the button does, which is why an unstructured linen jacket reads fine open and a structured worsted does not.
The origin
Where the rule came from
The story everyone tells is Edward VII: as Prince of Wales and then king he grew too large for his waistcoat, left the bottom button undone, and the court copied him. Real Men Real Style repeats it, as most guides do, prefaced with “legend has it”.
What is certain is that the tailoring supports the habit independently of the story: single-breasted jackets are drafted with open quarters below the fastening point, and the shape of the front assumes the bottom button is not used.
Treat the king as a good anecdote and the cut as the reason; the practical consequence is identical either way.
For the suits themselves, see our guides to the business professional dress code and to tuxedos and suits, and our fitting guide for the jacket that closes properly in the first place.
Questions readers ask
Common questions
Which suit button do I leave undone?
The bottom one, on every single-breasted jacket with more than one button, and the bottom button of a waistcoat. The exception is a double-breasted jacket, which is worn closed at the waist button its lapel roll points to: the single working button on a six-on-one, and usually the upper of the two on a six-on-two.
Which button do you button on a 2 button suit?
The top one, whenever you are standing, and neither when you are sitting.
Which button do you button on a 3 button suit?
The middle one always; the top one if you like the way it looks; the bottom one never. The phrase to remember is “sometimes, always, never” from the top down.
Is it okay to wear a suit unbuttoned?
While walking, sitting or standing informally, yes. When you are introduced to someone, presenting, or being photographed, fasten it: the buttoned front is what gives a suit its shape.
Why is there a button rule for suits?
Because a single-breasted jacket is cut with a curved open front below the fastening point; closing the bottom button fights the cut, breaks the line at the hip and strains the cloth. The Edward VII story is the traditional explanation, and the tailoring is the durable one.
Sources checked for this article (13 September 2026)
Mandy Meyer’s focus at The VOU is men’s body-shape styling, garment fit and outfit proportions. Her coverage addresses the practical questions behind a wardrobe choice: how a jacket sits across the shoulders, how trousers fall and how different cuts change the silhouette a wearer wants to create.
Her subject areas include the triangle, inverted triangle, rectangle, oval, trapezoid, hourglass and diamond labels used in body-shape styling. These provide starting references for comparing visible proportions; they do not capture every body or prescribe one correct way to dress. The focus connects those observations with garment shape, construction, length and the relationship between the upper and lower parts of an outfit.
Mandy’s editorial coverage combines visual comparisons with fit checks for comfort and movement. Readers can consider whether a cut gives them the room they need, where clothing pulls or gathers and which changes might support their preferred look. The aim is to make menswear choices more understandable while keeping personal preferences and the wearer’s own styling goals central.
#Button #Fasten #Jacket
