One popular theory links this tradition to how middle- and upper-class European women dressed. During the Renaissance and Victorian eras, women’s clothing was often more intricate than men’s—think corsets, petticoats, and bustles—making it harder to fasten alone.
As Caitlin Schneider of Mental Floss noted in 2015, wealthy women often had servants dress them. To make it easier for right-handed maids to fasten buttons, clothiers may have started sewing them on the opposite side. Meanwhile, men’s shirts were designed for self-dressing. As mass production grew, this design became the standard.
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