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There are a couple of threads debating top buttons as if it was some kind of halachic or kabbalistic inyan. The fact is, some people do the top button up and some don’t. Some people think done up is smarter, some think undone is. What’s the big issue? We may as well discuss wearing different cuts of suits as if it contained some kind of soid…
Currently “double breasted” is moderately out of style in western countries, meaning only a handful of “well dressed” men wear double breasted suits (e.g. the Prince of Wales, the Emperor of Japan – but not the Presidents of the United States or the Russian Federation). This changes frequently. As late as the 1980s they were definitely “in” on Wall Street and the “brown shoe law firms.”
Double-breasted blazers are still worn, and they are often part of full dress military uniforms (particularly of the navy). Heavy winter coats are more likely than not to be double-breasted. Note that this paragraph refers exclusivly to goyim. While we don’t copy them, we are influenced by them, albeit very slowly. By the time “double breasted” goes out of style among Yidden, it will probably be coming back into style among goyim.
In general, double-breasted is fancier and more formal, and Yidden tend to be very conservative. Among those of us wearing various versions of “frock” coats (Kapotes, Beckeshes, Rekels, etc.), the norm is double-breasted (intersting, in the situation where goyim still wear long coats, single breasted with a vest is the norm).
Agreed…
To cover their stomachs. There’s more wiggle room in double breasted suits!
Perhaps they simply like the style?
The Wolf
Why wear a suit at all?
just my hapence
Chassidim (as a whole) don’t do things out of a fashion sense. There is always a reason be it Halacha, Kabbalah or Hashkafa.
just my hapence: Frum Jews take fashion very seriously. We have to follow multiple dress codes (our own community, and the goyish world), while trying to dress comfortably and affordably, and have to be careful what message to send to the very diverse communities we deal with (both Jewish and goyish, and often multiple flavors of both).
Why not?
The bottom line is, that each & every time I arise for the Amidah, I always close the button on my jacket, because there is considered Kovodik, so what better time to dress at the absolute most Kovodik, than when addressing the Ribbono Shel Olom. The Amidah is surely more important than for attending an interview.
Needless to say, I also close the button on my jacket for other very formal occasions, like lighting Chanukiyah, holding Arba Minim, arsing for the 10 commandments & the Shirah.
By Kiddush it doesn’t work out, as I have to sit down to drink the wine, and for Tekias Shofor this is a mute point, as I am wearing my Kittel.
The significance of wearing a single or double breasted suit pales in comparison to whether one turns his hat brim up or down. There is a lot to be learned by observing how one wears his hat. But these things are trifles compared to whether one wears button down shirts or not. As to short sleeve shirts, well that’s another story altogether.
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