Double-breasted
Double-breasted is a style of closing a jacket, in which one part of the front overlaps the other, with two rows of buttons and one row of buttonholes. Its origin is not certain, but likely connected to the military and possibly the uniforms of Hussars in the 17th century. Later, the double-breasted coat became part of the full-dress uniform during the Napoleonic era. In today’s fashion, the double-breasted jacket represents a singular example of the rhetorical figure of speech called metonymy, in which one part stands for the whole. To wear something double-breasted is synonymous — strictly speaking — with a men’s suit that has a double-breasted jacket. But on a symbolic level, it immediately brings to mind the business suit. The proportion of the number of buttons is algebraic: 6 to 2 (six buttons, of which two can be buttoned); or 6 to 1; and 4 to 1. The exceptions are models that have either 6 or 8 buttons in which all the buttons can be buttoned, such as navy uniforms and Edwardian-style suits. In modern times, its history is remarkable. In America, after the Depression of 1929, the double-breasted suit became very popular. There was a need for strong masculine images of virile men with broad shoulders and a thin waist. Then, it was adopted as a uniform by the strongest and most powerful men of the 1930s, the gangsters, who preferred chalkstripes and dark fabrics. They were also businessmen, of course, although in a dirty business. Their wealth was secure when economic times were bad. Since then, the double-breasted suit has been surrounded by an aura of formality mixed with an arrogant elegance that is at the same time reassuring. Much loved by politicians of all parties, even as a blue blazer with grey flannel trousers, it caused real debate over the proper way to button models that have two buttons which can be buttoned. Prince Charles diligently buttons both of them. The tailors of Savile Row recommend buttoning only the top one. The Earl of Kent, in the 1930s, opted for an eccentric buttoning of just the bottom one. But there was no debate about the fact that a double-breasted suit cannot be worn unbuttoned.