How to wear a waistcoat like Gareth Southgate and why you should leave the bottom button undone

ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate has been stealing the show recently with his dapper waistcoats.

But where did the style trend begin, what's the history behind waistcoats and why on earth are the bottom buttons always left undone? We reveal all...

Where do waistcoats come from?

The fashionable menswear items date back as far as the late 1600s, but it was only in the 19th century that they became a staple of every gentleman's wardrobe.

Elite gentlemen were the ones who began wearing the waistcoats, and they became fashionable when the style was to have a cinched waist.

However, although they began as slightly more tailed and tight items of clothing, they evolved over the 20th century to be the style staple we all know and love.

Now, men everywhere wear waistcoats and it hasn't been an item linked to class or status for many years.

How to wear them properly

Although traditionally worn as part of a suit, a waistcoat can be worn by itself and look great if done right.

In order to nail this a-la-Southgate, you need to make sure the waistcoat matches the rest of your outfit.

This mean the cut, colour and material needs to be on point.

Shiny waistcoat materials tend to look incredibly tacky so sticking to natural materials is key, as is making sure the suit isn't too loose or too tight.

Why is the bottom button left undone?

There are two reasons behind why men always leave the bottom button of a waistcoat undone:

Because the King did so

Back in the early 1900s, Edward VII was our King, and he was a rather full-figured chap.

He was the trendsetter behind unbuttoning the bottom button, but it wasn't out of choice!

According to various tales, he was too rotund to close the waistcoat properly, and to save him from embarrassment those associated with him also undid their bottom buttons.

Nowadays, it has become the norm!

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Comfort

The most practical reasoning behind the unbuttoning is that it is less restrictive.

Waistcoats are meant to be relatively tight items of clothing and they pull in men at the waist, making their outfits look pulled together and in turn squeezing their middle a little

If the bottom button is undone this allows the wearer to be able to move a little more freely and is a lot more comfortable, especially when sitting down.

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