Buttons On Both Sides of a Jacket Closure?

[Bugbear]

I have seen mess jackets, Colonel, though I don't have one to studdy closely. The jacket I am experimenting with is more like an Argyle and a bit longer.

In fact, what I have is a two button suit jacket. I have cut it down to be hemmed at a length around the bottom of the fell on a kilt. Where the experiment comes in is in the tailoring on the back of the jacket.

I have made a pleat on either side of the back of the jacket to make the flap that an Argyle style jacket would have. I then sewed down these pleats at the waistline, or around the same place a kilt belt would be. The top few inches of the pleats have become darts that follow the shoulder blades up toward the arm. The bottom of the pleats form the back flap of the jacket and the vents. With this tailoring, there is no need to open a side seam and put a fabric panel behind it, as in the normal jacket conversions. It also makes the waist much more fitted.

However, because of this tailoring in the back, the jacket is no longer closable... It's changed the hang of the front of the jacket just a bit.

I think it might look better with a three button closure, but I don't think I can reproduce the buttonhole between the two that are already there that would be needed.

So, I thought, what if I put buttons on both sides of the closure and covered the button holes... Thinking about the buttons on both sides, I kind of liked the symmetry of the front of the jacket. And... that's where we are now.