Clayton,
From what I have researched about buttons, it is exactly the opposite of what you said. It goes back to Victorian times. Men's buttons were always in the front, and men buttoned their own clothes, so their buttons were placed on the right side of their clothing.

Women's buttons were on the back of their clothing, so they were dressed by handmaidens or relatives, and the bottons were placed so they were on the right of the person dressing them. When they started putting women's buttons on the front of their clothing, they continued to place the buttons toward the right side of the person facing them (the left side of the blouse) -- and it continues that way even today, despite the fact that women are now presumably capable of buttoning themselves.