Left or Right

[CWSeamstress]

Thank you all for your wonderful comments on my last post on Authenticity! I now have a new question for you.

Should a fitted bodice close right over left like we wear our dresses today, or left over right like men's shirts today?

I would like to hear some of your thoughts before I share mine!

[canben]

Mine both close left over right.... Not sure why I did it that way though....

[blue_zouave]

A quick stroll through my 1863 Godey's shows most of the basques closing right over left, but that's just an informal look. I don't know if the "Right-Left Rule" was in place yet then.

Zou

[blue_zouave]

A Google search turns up this very interesting article on the subject...

http://www.marquise.de/en/themes/linksrechts.shtml

Zou

[CWSeamstress]

Zou, thanks for the article. It's a great read!

O.k. This is what I have found out so far. Last week I was putting the finishing touches on a dress when I realized that I sewed the button holes "Left- Over Right". All my dresses I make are "Right - Over left". So I was very disappointed about my mistake, and thought I had to start all over! Then I remembered a friend asking sometime before if the buttons where suppose to be opposite to the way we wear them now. At the time I did not know, and then I forgot about it, until I made my mistake.

So right away I got out my original dress and my CDV's. To my relief the buttons closed "Left-over Right" on my original dress. As far as my CDVs go, half were "Left-over Right" and half wear "Right-over Left". As far as I can tell from the pictures, age does not make the difference. Most of my CDVs are middle class with a few lower class. I have only two that might be higher class. So I really don't have enough to see if maybe class had something to do with the buttons. From what I can tell there seems to be no set rule. All my CDV are from the 1860s.

If anyone else has any ideas, I would love to hear them.! Thanks