I like to wear polo shirts. They look nice, yet are fairly comfortable. And I have gone all through my life buttoning the polo shirts all the way up to the top button. I just did this, and never really thought about it.

Then, the other day, an acquaintance of mine said to me: “Why do you button your shirts all the way up? Nobody does that.” I asked if it was wrong. My acquaintance responded that it just “looked silly”.   I researched it, and sure enough, most people only button the first one or two buttons, and leave the top unbuttoned. Quickly, for fear of being ostracized from the herd, I rectified my mistake.

But, to my mind, this concept seemed very strange. What is the purpose, I asked myself, of including a button that is not to be used? If your not supposed to use it, you don’t need it. The only reason to have a top button is to button the top of your shirt.

Maybe the problem is that I’m too narrow in my thinking, but it doesn’t make sense to me.