Does this Victorian Woman's Bodice Fastens like a Mans and if so why?

[furwise]

I noticed when studying this woman's bodice that it fastens left over right. Isn't a woman's top supposed to fasten right over left? Why does this woman's bodice fasten like a man's?
While I am asking what are all the straps for inside? I have seen the strap at the bottom but not by the armpits.
Lastly I dated this to the late 1880s. Am I correct?
Thank you

 

[pastperfect2]

Are those hanging loops at the armpits? They are often seen. The petersham at the waist is a waist stay that would have been fastened first before buttoning up. It snugged the back of the bodice to the small of the back for a slim look and emphasized a small waist with the bustle jutting out below. And later 1880s sounds on the money.

Pretty color, too!

Hollis

 

[furwise]

Hi Hollis, Yes. That's what they are, hanging loops. I did not know that about the petersham ribbon at all. That is really cool. Previously I thought that it connected to the bustle somehow. It makes so much more sense now. Thank you so much! That is way cool!
Is there is any rhyme or reason that the button holes are on the wrong side of the bodice for a woman?

 

[Jonathan]

The buttoning left/right is a custom because generally speaking a woman is dressed with help and a man dresses himself. Even in a poor family, there was a mother/sister/daughter to help a woman dress. Then it became a standardization of mass-manufacturing, however, as this would have been a dressmaker-made item, and thus custom the wearer could have requested the buttons to close that way for some reason.

 

[furwise]

Hi Jonathan, That is wonderful info on why the buttoning standard was left over right for women. Perfect explanation too that the wearer must have chose the opposite as a matter of preference.
Thank you