Why Do Coats Have Buttons on the Sleeves?
The practice of putting buttons on coat sleeves, which serve no useful purpose at all and do not add to the beauty of the coat, is a relic of very old days.
There was a time when people did not use handkerchiefs, and it was common practice for men to wipe their noses on their sleeves. They had coats also in those days, but they did not have buttons on the sleeves. One of the old kings finally developed the idea of dressing his soldiers in fancy uniforms and, as he sat in his palace and reviewed his troops, he noticed many of them using the sleeves of their coats as handkerchiefs. He immediately issued a decree that all sleeves should have a row of buttons sewed on them, but at a point directly opposite to where they are now on the sleeves. This was done to remind the soldiers that the sleeves of their beautiful uniforms were not to be used as handkerchiefs, and those who attempted to draw their sleeves in front of the nose were quickly reminded of the decree by the buttons which scratched them. And so the buttons really had a quite useful purpose at one time, and so also all sleeves had buttons sewed on to them at this place. Later on, however, when the unsightly practice had been cured and people had learned to use handkerchiefs, the buttons remained as a decoration, but their former purpose was lost sight of. Then some tailor or leader of fashion had the buttons set on the under side of the sleeves for a change, and it became the fashion to have them there, and the tailors have been sewing them there ever since.