unbuttoning bottom button

[OC Richard]

I was looking over a thread on this topic in General Kilt Talk and thought it deserved a thread here, in Traditional Highland Dress, a thread with the topic clearly stated in the name of the thread.

I looked over a large number of old images of people in Highland dress (18th and 19th century) and can find no pattern, no tradition, of leaving the bottom waistcoat/vest button unbuttoned.

For example, in The Highlanders of Scotland, that amazing collection of extremely detailed portraits of men wearing the current Highland dress of the 1860's, the bottom waistcoat button can be clearly seen on 23 men, and every one is buttoned.
Interestingly, one man has the top button of his waistcoat unbuttoned, and two men have several of the upper buttons unbuttoned.
There is one portrait which was left out of the original book, but which has been included in the introduction to the reprint I have, a portrait of John Campbell, which shows the bottom waistcoat button left unbuttoned.

One problem with that button is that in the 19th century it was quite common to wear a waistbelt over the waistcoat and the belt often covered the bottom waistcoat button.

Here's one plate from that book showing the usual buttoned bottom button on one figure, and the common wearing of a waistbelt on another:



In 1800:



and 1860:



and a Highland dress catalogue from 1940:



In going over all my images I did find one showing the bottom button unbuttoned, and here it is:



Is his watch chain passing through that hole? At first I thought so, but on closer examination the chain seems to be simply hanging near that hole.