I was reminded of the late Duke of Windsor once again the other day. You see, at one point some years ago the online menswear fora were enamored of a trousermaker whose standard make included buttoning flys. Naturally, I acquired several pair, which I regularly regret every time I wear them (I leave the circumstances to your imaginations) .
It was the Duke of course who as one of his many clothing innovations popularized the zipper fly, a productivity enhancement that by now has saved billions of man-hours (I did not try to calculate it precisely but think about all those trouser wearing men saving a couple of minutes each day for the past fifty years). Like any apprenticeship business, tailoring tends to be a slow moving institution and without the Duke there is an excellent chance we might all still be fumbling with our trousers.
Unfortunately, the presence of buttonholes makes replacing the buttons with zippers one of those tasks (another is removing belt loops from trousers). It can be done but not well, and so I will be remembering the Duke for years to come.
Because he was right.
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8 comments:
I initially thought the billions of saved man hours were hours saved fumbling at the toilet.
But buttons look and feel so much better than the zip..
Buttons are to be preferred for washable trousers as both sides of the fly will shrink and stretch, a situation that results in puckering on a zippered solution.
Could not agree with you more. I allowed my tailor to talk me into buttons on my most recent suit (even though he could provide no compelling reason) and I regret the decision every time I go to the . . . well, you get the picture.
Case 1 - You pay three thousand quid for a two-piece suit and then the zip fly fails. What do you do?
Case 2 - You pay three thousand quid for a two-piece suit and a button fails on the button fly. So what? You sew another button on. Job done and the suit is saved.
Buttons are maintenance friendly.
I much prefer buttons. I can work them just as quickly and easily, and they are much less likely to come undone of their own accord.
I much prefer buttons. I can work them just as quickly and easily, and they are much less likely to come undone of their own accord.
I haven't had any daily wear button flies since I stopped wearing Levi's. I never had a problem with them; they were just what we wore. However, I do recall that "unbuttoning" was accomplished by a pull, not by any button-by-button process, so there was no particular rush in, uh, shall we say, situations.
I'm certain that fine trousers are not amenable to such rough treatment.
My only button fly now is on my vintage tuxedo, and that, I can deal with.
I was skeptical initially until my tailor told me that buttoned fronts are cooler than zipped fronts in hot weather as some air can flow through the gaps between the buttons. After wearing buttoned front trousers for about a year in the hot (38+ degree C) Middle East, I agree that the trousers are noticeably cooler.
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