Blazing Questions: Should Women Unbutton Their Suits to Sit?

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attractive woman is seated at a desk or table; she is wearing a beige suit with a single button and it is BUTTONED

Should women unbutton their suits' blazer buttons to sit? Given all the discussion whirling about interviews, we though we'd take another poll, because we're really not sure of this answer, either.

Should women button their jackets when standing, and unbutton them when sitting? We're aware it's proper form for men to do this, but have always been unclear for women. Our thoughts: some women's suits aren't meant to be unbuttoned, and some are — because of that it's probably more preference than etiquette. We would suggest that if you go with suits in the latter group, though, that you follow the rules men follow, and a) don't button the bottom button, and b) be aware of how it drapes when you sit — if it looks dumb, unbutton it.

(Psst: we've also discussed when to button your blazer in general, as well as whether a blazer must button in order to “fit”.)

The Plain Text of the Poll:

Should women button their suits while standing, and unbutton to sit?

Absolutely! – 7%
Whaa? Nope, never heard that. 32%
I've heard that but it's dumb. So: no. 14%
Sometimes — some suits are meant to be worn buttoned. 44%

Closed
Total Votes: 182

We've done extensive research on this (fine, we checked Wikipedia and a few books lying around the office) and didn't find an answer.

Hunting for more great blazers? These are some of our latest favorites…

Some of the best blazers for women — great for wearing as separates! — include options from Cinq à Sept, J.Crew, Ann Taylor, and Boden. Hunting for a deal? Check out J.Crew Factory and Amazon (Cicy Bell, The Drop).