Button up vs. Button down shirts. What’s the difference and which one should you wear?

The collar is the biggest difference between button up vs. button down shirts. You’ve probably heard of people talking about button up and button down shirts before. But this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve ever known the difference. For most men, a shirt is simply a shirt, and as long as it has buttons that’s all that matters. So, what is the difference between a button up and a button-down shirt?

Well basically: all button-down shirts are button up shirts, but not all button up shirts are button down shirts. Get it now? Probably not…

The basic answer is a button up shirt is any shirt that has buttons running up the front; a button down shirt is the same but has additional buttons on the collar. Simple! Now let’s get into more detail…

What Is A Button Up Shirt?

Button up shirts are effectively all shirts that have buttons all the way up the shirt, including a top button. These are the most common type of shirt and what you will most regularly find in your wardrobe – pretty simple.

What Is A Button Down Shirt?

Button down shirts aren’t really that much more complicated. They have buttons all the way up the shirt like a button up shirt, but also have two buttons on the collar, to fasten it down to the shirt. So the phrase ‘button down’ actually refers to fastening the collar down.

The history of button down shirts dates back to 1869, in England. Polo players often found that when they were charging around the field on horses, the collars of their shirts would flap up in the wind, and impair their vision. So they attached buttons to their collars, in order to hold them down for matches.

It was John E. Brooks who first made the button down shirt a fashion item. After watching a polo match in England, he went back to his American company and immediately started manufacturing them – first known as polo collar shirts.

Originally they were only popular with sports players. Athletes being attracted to the shirts for the same reason as polo players; so the collars remained in place whilst they were in action. However, pretty soon the button down shirt caught on in the world of fashion, and now is a very popular item we see today.

So as we said earlier: all button down shirts are button up shirts, but not all button up shirts are button down shirts. This hopefully makes a lot more sense now.

How To Wear Button Up & Button Down Shirts

To be honest, there isn’t really that much difference between when and where you can wear the two shirts. Button down shirts are slightly smarter, and with a skinny tie and fitted blazer, they can make you look very fashionable. If you are choosing a button down shirt, they don’t tend to work as well without a tie. So keep this in mind when planning your outfit.

Button up shirts can be worn for all occasions. You can still, of course, wear them with a tie and a suit, but they can also be worn in more causal situations. Pair an open collar button up shirt with chinos for a smart casual look which you can wear to dinner or if it’s casual Friday at the office.

The most important thing when picking out shirts, is to consider all aspects of your outfit. Keep in mind which colours work with what, and what kind of jacket you can wear to certain situations. To be safe, you should have at least one button up and one button down shirt in your wardrobe. Then you can be prepared for any occasion and you’ll finally know why your shirt collar has buttons on it.

Still not sure what shirt to wear? Let us help, click here to learn how to match ties to your button-down shirts, and here to learn how your shirts should fit.