46 pages 1 hour read

Richard Matheson

Button, Button: Uncanny Stories

Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 1970

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Stories 10-12

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Story 10 Summary: “Clothes Make the Man”

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism.

A man sits down in a dark corner of a terrace, bored and disillusioned. Another man, heavily inebriated, comes out and sits down beside him. The second man starts telling the story of how his brother always insisted on wearing his suit, hat, gloves, and shoes, no matter where he was or what he was doing. The brother was so dependent on his clothes that he couldn’t think without his hat, nor could he walk without his legs. His wife Miranda lost interest in him because she felt that she had married a wardrobe rather than a person. Over time, the brother became more and more useless, and one day, his suit went to work without him. He was left unable to move or think, and his wife left him to be with the suit.

After the man finishes telling the story of his brother, the first man stands up and reveals himself to be the suit. He walks away, leaving the other man in shock, and goes to find Miranda.

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