Sewing Buttons on Sleeves Were Napoleon’s Idea

Iris | 06 - 18 - 2021
Buttons on Sleeves

According to this history, coats with buttons on sleeves were invented in the past when clothing was constantly worn with its sleeves open. Napoleon Bonaparte invented the metallic buttons on sleeves in order to make their soldiers use a handkerchief to wipe their faces and nose. To avoid using their sleeves as commoners for wiping their faces, Napoleon came up with an idea of a button on the sleeves. Whenever the soldiers wipe their faces they would get a scratch on their faces. 

Tailoring has bought so many fashion changes in our everyday life. Because of the buttons, now any guy could simply roll up the sleeves without removing the jacket. Nowadays most of the coats were no longer designed with functional buttons. Because they want to accommodate as many body shapes as possible, and if holes were constructed, adjusting the sleeve length would be incredibly difficult. By sewing, the buttons on the exterior make them nonfunctional hence it has been used as a design element. 

There was a time when all men wore coats all the time regardless of what they were doing. For more than two centuries, the jacket has been a truly necessary garment in every men’s wardrobe, whether they are reading a book, hiking a mountain, or simply working on their own property, they all have coats wherever they go.

Who Invented Buttons on Sleeves?
  • A. Napoleon Bonaparte
  • B. Empress Joséphine
  • C. Louis Bonaparte
  • D. Joseph Bonaparte
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