In terms of button shirts are usually divided in two types, the ‘Button Up’ and ‘Button Down’. You may think what’s the difference between these two different types of shirt. To be honest there isn’t any major difference except the number of buttons.
Button up shirts are all those shirts in which there are buttons all the way up to the top button. While Button down shirts are those which have buttons all the way up and even have two buttons on the collar, to fasten it to the shirt. You may ask why two buttons were added on collar?
During Polo matches shirts collars flapped up creating problems for the player which forced them to add two buttons to fasten their collar to shirt. An American John E.Brookes liked the idea and when he got back to USA he started to manufacture such shirts and called it polo collar shirts.
At first only athletes were attracted to these shirts but soon they become fashion and continues to be.