Fake button holes on suit jacket sleeve. What do you prefer?

Fake is as fake does!

Perhaps it is time to question the need for some of the fake or function-free features on suits and other items of clothing. It is all very well to "know" that you have working buttonholes where none are needed so that you can "appreciate the fine workmanship" I suppose, but absent a foppish leaving of one or two unbuttoned (guilty as charged, Your Honor:icon_smile_big, what's the point, really?

Adjusting the sleeve length is a very practical reason for not having either real, but functionless, buttonholes or just the stitching, since they begin to look awkwardly placed if too much shortening is necessary. You can't take them out once they are in place. That is why, for instance, JAB includes a package of buttons for your tailor to attach after adjusting the sleeve length. Obviously, that adds an obligatory tailoring tag to your costs, whether you need a sleeve adjustment or not, but at least the buttons are in the right place if you do.

Why doesn't a clean, no-extraneous-buttons look become the standard of excellence and elegance instead of all that archaic, lovingly preserved detail? I should think that should be relegated to the die-hard trads, while the fashion squad should be looking to push style into the 21st Century. The fine fabrics and excellent fit should rule, not the cookie-cutter thrall to anachronistics, in my humble opinion.

jefferyd said:

Hear, hear! And let's chop off the lapels while we're at it since they don't serve much purpose either!:icon_smile_big:

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We've tried that with the Nehrus!

Actually, the lapels do have a practical function to "lap" against the elements. That is why I would not necessarily advocate doing away with the lapel buttonhole, nor the lapels for that matter.

What I'm addressing is the endless torture of agonizing over "working" v. "fake" v. "none" that seems to be going on constantly in the Fashion Forum. Why not rethink some of this? The current suit, after all, is a distillation of historic modifications, with residual elements preserved without much practical rationality and a whole lot of inconvenience and expense.

There is, whether we like it or not, an assault on "classic" mens attire going on. A large part of that is motivated by the "fussiness" of full-on, all-bells-and-whistles looks that are burdened by extranea. Maybe, just maybe, the kind of thoughtful folks who I believe represent most of the fora participants could very well push to make the suit and its offshoots more relevant to the people who will be wearing them, or choosing not to as they are now, after we're gone. I believe that a simplified, but clearly fine-fabric and beautifully fitted suit that has shed some of the unnecessaries could capture the attention of upcoming generations.