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Jacket Zipper on Left or Right: Tips and Tricks for Zipping Up Your Jacket Easily



Gideon Sundback, the inventor of the modern metal zipper, started a zipper company in Ontario, Canada called Lighting Fastener in 1937. He was still working with Universal Fastener/Talon at the time, so as to not compete, he reversed his designs for the separating zipper. So the USA market was left hand and Canadian market (and the rest of the world) was right handed.


The placement of the zipper or buttons is a choice that is ultimately left up to the designer with the only widely accepted, unspoken rule being that if there are both zippers and buttons on a garment they should be on the same side, the rest is simply left up to the preference of the garment maker.6* When garment making, it is important to consider whether you intend to have separating on non-separating zippers; in addition to being mindful of which side the insertion pin are on based on the inclinations of which market you intend to sell your product to. YKK offers open end zippers for both left inserts and right inserts, so you may choose whichever side you feel fits your preferences best.




jacket zipper on left or right



The first zippers to reach the average American consumer were mostly limited to shoes, boots, pouches, purses, and pockets. Outerwear that used zippers for the main front opening of a jacket or coat did not become truly popular and ubiquitous until after World War II.


This happened to me. A few years ago I bought a German Flecktarn parka with GoreTex and the zipper was on the left. I never could get good at using it and broke the zipper after a few wears. Good times.


I got a Carhart knock-off jacket at a truck stop in Arizona 12 years ago with a lefty zipper. I just assumed it was lefty due to the knock-off origin (somewhere in Asia). Maybe the Euros are infected with the same virus that caused British cars to be built with the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car, leading to them needing to drive on the wrong side of the road.


If memory serves me correctly, the garment industry determined the left/right closure of mens/womens clothing as a way to identify clothing parts before they were sewn together. All mens clothes buttoned on the right side while womens clothes buttoned up on the left side. same with pants buttons & later zippers. It was a way to easily identify clothing measured & designed for the sexes.


I think it has something to do with like the royalty in england having zippers on their clothing first, in which a handmaid would obviously zip and un-zip the clothing, then the rest of the nobility got them the same way and by the time it had spread to the masses, they still had zippers on the left.


Now I'm guessing in America they were like screw the royalty, its all about the common man with no nobility, and when they made zippers they were like yea we should put it on the right because honestly I don't have a handmaid.


To insure that an enemy's lance point would not slip between the plates, they overlapped from left to right, since it was standard fighting practice that the left side, protected by the shield, was turned toward the enemy. Thus, men's jackets button left to right even to the present day.


I have never once in my life had clothing that contradicted this rule. If I were to put on a jacket that had the zipper on the left side I would immediately notice and would think that it was made for women.


Actually, I had a jacket from Nike that had the zipper on the other side (not sure what the 'right' side is) and I definitely confirm you do come across some clothing that goes against this rule (it wasn't a female jacket either).


Pants and shirts worn by men must all be made with the buttons and zippers on the right side with a belt feeding into the left side.Mens clothing is never made in contradiction to this rule.I have never once in my life had clothing that contradicted this rule. If I were to put on a jacket that had the zipper on the left side I would immediately notice and would think that it was made for women.


You are correct that for mens shirts the buttons are on the right and the fabric from the left side is draped over the top of the right side. The same applies to men's pants zippers which have the zipper accessible from the right side with the fabric from the left side draped over the top. You're also correct about it following a straight line down the shirt and pants.


With jackets the position of the zipper pull does not matter. What matters is if it is a concealed zipper with fabric covering the zipper; In that case the standards dictate the fabric covering the zipper comes from the left side, which follows the line of shirts and pants. Even then you can have the zipper on either side, the only thing that is important is the bit covering the zipper has to be from the left side. If it's an exposed zipper then it does not matter what side the pull tab is on at all and the zip is centred so it's not following the same line as the pants and shirt anyway.


As someone who "goes against the norm" I don't think it really matters. I never notice, or care, if someone is wearing a shirt or jacket with buttons or zipper on the "wrong side". I'm ambidextrous, so I don't tend to notice things like this either. I wear whatever, and I don't care what side the zipper is on. I don't think something like that dictates gender, or gender specific clothing.


The majority of people, but certainly not everyone, are right handed therefore our standard bag is made for them and is called LH zipper. Confusing we know, but this is industry standard and LH zipper means the zip is on the left hand side when the bag is laid on the floor and is easiest to operate for a right handed person laid on their back.


There are other theories, most notably regarding babies and horses. Again, as most women are right-handed, they tend to carry their wee ones with their left arms on their left hips. This frees up their right hand for answering the phone, putting the kettle on, and unbuttoning their shirt if still breastfeeding. With regard to horses, well, women started off riding sidesaddle, usually turned to the left side. Although this is almost certainly terrible news for your back and hips, shirts and jackets that buttoned with the right flap over the left would let in less wind as you galloped along.


In the right hand version, the cross zipper comes from the left hip to the right shoulder. This allows for more movement of the left arm for archers. The left arm is also missing some fleece on the inside of the arm to give more string clearance. Add to this reduced insulation on the right arm to allow for more freedom of movement when drawing the bow.


Sometimes, there is no saving a zipper.This zipper was slammed in a car door lock.The jacket, however, is in great shape and worth saving.With a little elbow grease (and some helpful zipper tips), it will be as good as new!Supplies-Sharp Seam Ripper-Zipper - the same type and length as the damaged zipper-Narrow Zipper Foot-Sewing Machine Brother INNOVIS VQ-3000-Thread to match the zipper and jacket.-Bobbin to match jacket lining.-Topstitch needle-Adhesive tape or lint roller-Pins


There will probably be stitching on the outside as well as the lining of the jacket. Be sure to remove all the stitching. In the case of this black jacket, it was difficult to see the black thread on the black jacket.A lighted magnifying lamp was helpful. Completely remove the old zipper.After removing the old zipper, also remove what is left of the old stitches.You can speed this along by using an adhesive tape or lint roller to get all the little threads out. The great thing about replacing a zipper like this, is that the fabric will already have creases where the old zipper was.Start at the bottom on the left side of the jacket. Place the left half of the new zipper, right side facing up, into the opening with the bottom zipper stopper as far down as it will go.Pin in place.Make sure you catch the lining inside as well as the outer jacket fabric.Pin along the left edge opening. Be sure to catch the outer fabric, the zipper, and the lining.When you get to the top, you will need to fold the excess zipper tape over to make it fit into the seam.The top of the zipper with the folded zipper tape will fit snugly into the seam where the old zipper was.Check that all of the pins have gone all the way through and caught the lining fabric.Attach the narrow zipper foot. It allows you to stitch remarkably close to the zipper teeth.Choose a straight stitch and adjust the needle position to the right so the needle aligns with the cut out on the right side of the foot.Repeat process for the other side of the zipper.If necessary, adjust the foot and the needle position to allow the needle to stitch close to the teeth.Now that broken zipper is asood as new, and your DIY tricks saved some money too!


Chloe Chapin, a fashion historian pursuing a doctorate in the subject at Harvard University, told Today that the style can be traced back to the military. If you have a gun hidden in your shirt, it's easier to reach with the dominant hand. So if the buttons are on the right, you could theoretically slip your right hand into your shirt or jacket more easily.


"A gentleman's sword was always worn on the left side, so that it could be drawn with the right hand," Paul Keers, author of "A Gentleman's Wardrobe," told The Guardian. "If a jacket buttoned right over left, the handle of the sword would be likely to catch in the jacket opening when drawn, so any serious swordsman would demand a tunic which buttoned left over right. As an indication of a masculine lifestyle, this tradition was then extended to other items of menswear. " 2ff7e9595c


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