I'm finding a long sleeve jacket is daily attire for early summer in Kirkland. The other day I was zipping a new jacket. For some reason the zipper seemed awkward. I checked a few other jackets and discovered the zipper tab on this new jacket was on a different side from my other jackets.
I wondered if this was a man-woman kind of thing. I knew buttons are on different sides of men's and women's clothes. Is it the same for jackets? Isn't it wonderful to be able to search these sorts of questions on the Internet?
My search turned up no definitive answer. Seems that the side for the zipper tab is not related to gender, style, or country of origin. See here.
While researching zippers I found interesting information about buttons on shirts and blouses. It is a male-female thing.
BUTTONS
Buttons were used as fasteners beginning in the 16th century. Another source said this started in the 1200s. Several places indicated women's clothing had buttons in the back and not on the front. Originally front buttons were all sewn on the left side of garments.
Men
One theory is expressed at this source - Buttons were changed from the left to the right side because men had to unbutton their coats to draw their swords which hung on their left side. This was awkward for right handed soldiers. With the buttons switched to the right side, a swordsman then used his left hand to unbutton and his right hand to draw the sword.
Another theory - Most men were right handed and usually dressed themselves. It was easier for them to fasten buttons from right to left.
Women
Since wealthy women were dressed by servants, the buttons were put on the wearer's left side which made it easier for the person dressing her.
Another theory - "Women nursed on the left side, near their hearts, and reversing the button opening made this easier for them."
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