Matty Bottles Posted March 14, 2008 Posted March 14, 2008 Did buttonholes of the GAoP have a standard "buttonhole leftside/button rightside" configuration like they do (in america) today? "The time was when ships passing one another at sea backed their topsails and had a 'gam,' and on parting fired guns; but those good old days have gone. People have hardly time nowadays to speak even on the broad ocean, where news is news, and as for a salute of guns, they cannot afford the powder. There are no poetry-enshrined freighters on the sea now; it is a prosy life when we have no time to bid one another good morning." - Capt. Joshua Slocum
michaelsbagley Posted March 14, 2008 Posted March 14, 2008 Assuming the below image (snagged from another forum I am on) has not been reversed or flipped in any way... My guess would be no. At least for the 1680s or 1690s that the below Justacorps is dated as... Off the top of my head I can't think of any other blazing examples of buttonholes seeming to be on the "wrong" side from what today's conventions are, but I haven't really looked into it much either...
Matty Bottles Posted March 14, 2008 Author Posted March 14, 2008 Mr. Bagley, I am once again indebted to you. AWESOME. I have seen some climbing gear from Europe (like Mamut), and many of those garments have buttons on the left side, so I figured it wasn't a hard-and-fast rule. "The time was when ships passing one another at sea backed their topsails and had a 'gam,' and on parting fired guns; but those good old days have gone. People have hardly time nowadays to speak even on the broad ocean, where news is news, and as for a salute of guns, they cannot afford the powder. There are no poetry-enshrined freighters on the sea now; it is a prosy life when we have no time to bid one another good morning." - Capt. Joshua Slocum
michaelsbagley Posted March 14, 2008 Posted March 14, 2008 Mind if I inquire as to the reason you asked the question? Was it because you thought you "oops"ed on a project you are working on? Or did you have another reason for asking? Either way, nothing could be easier... I had a similar moment of terror pretty recently regarding my placement of some button-holes on a jacket I am currently working on...
Matty Bottles Posted March 14, 2008 Author Posted March 14, 2008 Looks like we cross-posted. I asked for a friend of mine who oopsed a project - I oopsed a project, but then oopsed it some more trying to fix it. That which does not kill me makes me stronger. "The time was when ships passing one another at sea backed their topsails and had a 'gam,' and on parting fired guns; but those good old days have gone. People have hardly time nowadays to speak even on the broad ocean, where news is news, and as for a salute of guns, they cannot afford the powder. There are no poetry-enshrined freighters on the sea now; it is a prosy life when we have no time to bid one another good morning." - Capt. Joshua Slocum
Gentleman of Fortune Posted March 14, 2008 Posted March 14, 2008 Michael Which forum? Frontier Folk? Please share.... its a great picture!!!! gof Come aboard my pirate re-enacting site http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/ Where you will find lots of information on building your authentic Pirate Impression!
michaelsbagley Posted March 14, 2008 Posted March 14, 2008 Hey GoF, It was Frontier Folk message board I found this little gem on... As someone who is pretty interested in the French side of things, I tend to follow the Nouveau France forum on that board pretty closely... There are two threads about the Justacorps, both are great and have some other good images as well (mostly of re-enactors in their 1680s or 1690s gear).. But the threads are a bit older so they are not easy to find. I tried to look up the threads so I could post direct links to the threads, but the Frontier Folk board seems to be down at this particular moment... I will edit this post and add the links when the forum comes back online to share with those interested. Regards And as promised, here are the two threads about Justacorps from the Frontier Folk forum now that it is back online. Late 17th cenutry Justacorps Speaking of the Justacorps
Capt. Sterling Posted March 15, 2008 Posted March 15, 2008 Can't say that it was a set rule as of yet, but all these originals and the patterns in Waugh's Cut of Men's Clothes are all left over right.... Sorry I can't get the Gunnister coat any larger The very last black and white could very well be the same blue and red coat all the way to the right in the picture of four coats... "I being shot through the left cheek, the bullet striking away great part of my upper jaw, and several teeth which dropt down the deck where I fell... I was forced to write what I would say to prevent the loss of blood, and because of the pain I suffered by speaking."~ Woodes Rogers Crewe of the Archangel http://jcsterlingcptarchang.wix.com/creweofthearchangel# http://creweofthearchangel.wordpress.com/
Capt. Sterling Posted March 15, 2008 Posted March 15, 2008 Oh...the links Mike posted do have a larger image of the coat... thanks!! and fwiw...of all the pc fashion plates of the time that I have copies of... this is the only one showing buttons on the left instead of buttonholes.. "I being shot through the left cheek, the bullet striking away great part of my upper jaw, and several teeth which dropt down the deck where I fell... I was forced to write what I would say to prevent the loss of blood, and because of the pain I suffered by speaking."~ Woodes Rogers Crewe of the Archangel http://jcsterlingcptarchang.wix.com/creweofthearchangel# http://creweofthearchangel.wordpress.com/
Blackbead Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 The research that I've done indicates that the difference was based on who was going to be doing the buttoning - yourself or your dresser. If you are going to be doing the buttoning then the buttons were put on the right since most people are right-handed. If you had a dresser then the buttons were put on the left so it would be easier for your dresser to do their work. That's the reason why women's buttons are, still today, on the left hand side - they had dressers long after men began dressing themselves. Thank you, Beau Brummel. Hope this sheds a little light. "In the end, it's not the gold that sets our sails, 'Tis freedom and the promise of a better life That raises our black flags."
Mary Diamond Posted March 18, 2008 Posted March 18, 2008 Fascinating! Thank you for that bit of history, Blackbead ~ such an explanation makes it easier to understand and remember. Oooh, shiny!
Blackbead Posted March 19, 2008 Posted March 19, 2008 (left foot forward, bowing low at the waist, doffing his hat with his left and hand gesturing with his right - making it easier to look up your dress!! ) Your servant, m'Lady! "In the end, it's not the gold that sets our sails, 'Tis freedom and the promise of a better life That raises our black flags."
 {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '1074427760321280'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); </script> <noscript><img height=)
&ev=PageView&cd%5Bitem_id%5D=12518&cd%5Bitem_name%5D=Men%27s+buttonholes+-+left+or+right%3F&cd%5Bitem_type%5D=topic&cd%5Bcategory_name%5D=Captain Twill"/>
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now