2 button v. 3 button

[Cheech]

Wanted to see if anyone had an opinion about 2 button suits v. 3 button suits.

I'm looking for something conservative and professional. I've always had 2 button suits, but maybe its time for a change.

Thoughts?

 

[johnmrson]

I think both are fine. I've got a mixture of both.

 

[SRA7594]

I personally prefer the 3 button. It makes me look a bit more fit and taller. I have both, but like the way the 3 button makes me appear slender. Its also a bit more modern/younger

 

[ProphetNoir]

I like a mixture in my closet.
Sportcoats are three button.
3-piece suits have two button jackets.
2-piece suits have three button jackets.

 

[richmondesi]

Personally, I believe both to be timeless looks. I wear both

 

[kubalai]

I have a mixture of 2 and 3 in my wardrobe, but my prefernece is for the 2 button, IMO a more classic style.

 

[leighton]

Don't fret over it, get the three roll 2!

 

[Dennis]

It depends on the person and body type I thought. My suits are 3 button. I need a pictorial style guide to define this stuff (like a sack suit). No idea what that looks like.

 

[Stormin]

I have a mix of two and three button suits, but if I had to pick a "favorite" or even my top three or four out of the closet, they're all three button. I am tall, and so I think that the three button suit just fit's my frame better.

 

[cvac]

Either is fine. Wear what ever you like.

A lot of modern three button suits are meant to be worn with the top two buttons buttoned. If you like, you can leave the top button undone and just button the middle. Some of these suits I do not like the look of at all because the "gorge" of the collar is way too high. That's just as bad as the horrid 80s low gorge look.

The classic American Ivy League look is an undarted front, three button suit where the top button is left unbuttoned and "rolls" to the second button. Like any other suit, the bottom button is ALWAYS left unbuttoned.

See pic and also see here:

http://shop.oconnellsclothing.com/suits.php

 

[WhosYerBob]

Two button here in the States; I'd go with three in Europe.

 

[DSB]

Either 2 or 3 button is very classic and conservative. I wear suits every day for work, and have both 2 and 3 button suits. My only advice is to stay away from the new "mad men" style suits that fit tighter than classic suits. I think that this is a fad that will soon fade.

 

[Doc4]

I remember in the mid-90s the 3-button made a big splash (comeback). It had been 2-button throughout the 70s and 80s and even the early 90s. Then all of a sudden designers rediscovered the third button and went wild, and even went to a fourth and fifth button at the height of the craze. Now that craze seems to have ended, and the trend is toward 2-button again.

IMHO, if you get a 3-button you risk looking like you are wearing a suit from 1998. But it's still a good look, so you could go for the "I get what I like when I can and wear it because it looks good, even if it's 10 years behind the times" vibe ... nothing wrong with that if you pick the right stuff. A 2 button tends to be a more consistently conservatively 'safe' option, and currently stylish to boot. The "three roll two" (see CVAC's post above) is also a good option.

 

[Fraser]

I only buy two buttons. I find all of the 3 buttons I've seen don't show enough tie. I'm sure there are some nice ones out there though

 

[gaseousclay]

I prefer 3-button suits. 2 button is more traditional, whereas, 3 button seems more en vogue with European styles. I have both 2 button and 3 button, so it's good to have both in your suit collection imo