As you very well know, we must always leave the bottom button undone when wearing a suit jacket. It’s a fashion gospel for men. But have you ever wondered about the rationality behind this peculiar formal buttoning rule?

As a matter of fact, there is a bit of history rather than rationality.

King Edward VII, the then Prince of Wales, was too plump. As a result, he stopped fastening the bottom button of his waistcoat. In afterwards, the entire British court stopped buttoning their bottom buttons out of respect for the King. Eventually, this was followed by every other individual in England and the British colonies.

Even Sir Hardy Amies, an eminent English fashion designer, and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography had a thing or two to say regarding this strange fashion etiquette.

The dictionary depicts — “Edward VII had a “legendary appetite”. It further reads, “He ate a full meal at breakfast, luncheon, tea, dinner (normally twelve courses), and supper”. In a 1992 lecture, Amies gave to The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, he was asked about the reasoning behind the strange fashion etiquette. To this inquiry, Amies stated that the tradition is accredited to Edward VII.

“Edward VII always left his bottom waistcoat button open because he was fat”, Amies answered. “He found it more comfortable and everybody copied it. Waistcoats are now cut for the last button not to be done up”.

Therefore, there’s no rationality to this at all. A simple gesture by an obese King soon became a norm.