As I understand it, the left or right buttoning situation has its roots in the days when the upper classes were dressed by servants - something about it being easier to button up someone in front of you one way as opposed to doing it yourself.
The other question is easier. A "shirt" is a "shirt" because, obviously, it's a shirt. Likewise with "blouse" only more so.
> Kallah asks, "I wonder how pink came to be used for girls and blue for boys?"
Here's an exhaustive discussion of three pages, on a single clothing site, relating to gender differences, to gender-differences in use of color, and specifically to the color pink.
The long and short of it is that this is a fairly recent convention, probably not fully established until the 1940. Indeed, the earlier rule was the opposite: pink for boys and blue for girls. Quotes taken from that site:
quote:1914: "If you like the color note on the little one's garments, use pink for the boy and blue for the girl, if you are a follower of convention." (The Sunday Sentinal, March 29, 1914)
1918: "There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is pertier for the girl." (Ladies Home Journal, June, 1918)
The long and short of it is that this is a fairly recent convention Isn't that interesting? And now pink seems so very feminine, to me!
Not of general interest, but some colleagues and I were talking today about how no woman ever wears slips anymore. Ever. Most don't even own one. That is strange because not that long ago women used to wear slips with every skirt or dress.
I was told that Jacquard was the correct term for my embroidered shirt - pink threads picking out a pattern on a pink background. I've probably spelt it wrong.
I'm wearing pink today, and I'm not sure how to describe the design: a beatle shape has been cut out, and a different colour patch has been sewn on underneath. Not applique, but something else.
I thought that the left / right button-up convention had its origins in the Middle Ages.
A man would have the left side of his cloak on top so he could lift the cloak with his left hand and draw his sword from his left hip with his right hand. Left on top of right.
A women would carry a child in her left arm so her right hand was free to do other things. If the baby was cold, the woman could use her right hand to pull the right side of her cloak over the baby to keep him or her warm. Right on top of left.
Of course, all the left-handers were probably burnt at the stake for being witches or something, so their cloak-wearing tendencies might have been more of a rarity.
I had never heard of this theory, although it seems logical. Having said which, there are so many differences between male and female apparel that I think it would be difficult to explain all but a few of them.
Indeed, if you check, you'll see that the conventions vary from country to country as well as from age to age. Although the preference for skirts/frocks/dresses for women and trousers/pants for men is common now in the West it has certainly never been universal - nor is it now.
Richard English
Posts: 8038 | Location: Partridge Green, West Sussex, UK
Although the preference for skirts/frocks/dresses for women and trousers/pants for men is common now in the West it has certainly never been universal - nor is it now.
Thank goodness for that! I love seeing men's legs! Kilts, in my opinion, are the best garment for men to wear! Yummy!
******* "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~Dalai Lama
