diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 27384c3..990874b 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -93,9 +93,10 @@ rendered class stop agreeing.
 hence the `hm-button-icon__label` guard near the top of `render()`.
 
 **Single-mechanism choices a cleanup would undo:** icon side is the order
-`render()` writes the two children in, not a flex direction. The layout rule in
-`src/style.scss` is wrapped in `:where()` so it carries no specificity and any theme
-rule wins.
+`render()` writes the two children in, not a flex direction. The gap and alignment in
+`src/style.scss` are wrapped in `:where()` so any theme rule wins. The `display` rule
+beside them is not, on purpose: core's button stylesheet sets `display: inline-block`
+on the link, and a zero-specificity rule loses to it on every site.
 
 **Uploaded SVGs are inlined unsanitised, on purpose.** `uploaded_icon_markup()`
 checks the mime type and writes the file into the page, which makes an
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4ab91d8..adbc840 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -66,9 +66,10 @@ would read as a glitch.
 ### Styling
 
 The plugin's stylesheet is deliberately thin: it stops the icon squashing and
-recolours a registered one to `currentcolor`. The layout rule that puts the icon
-and label in a row is written in `:where()`, so it holds no specificity and a
-theme's own button rules always win.
+recolours a registered one to `currentcolor`. The rule that puts the icon and
+label in a row carries just enough specificity to beat core's own
+`display: inline-block` on the button link. The gap and alignment are written
+in `:where()`, so they hold no specificity and a theme's own button rules win.
 
 A **Color** override does not add a class or a rule; it is a `style="color: …"`
 on the `<svg>` itself, which is what `currentcolor` then resolves to instead of
diff --git a/src/style.scss b/src/style.scss
index 64a739f..44f0c22 100644
--- a/src/style.scss
+++ b/src/style.scss
@@ -6,13 +6,21 @@
  * colour, and that a hidden label stays available to a screen reader. How the
  * button itself looks is the theme's business.
  *
- * The layout rule is written in `:where()` so it holds no specificity at all.
- * A theme that already lays its buttons out as a flex row overrides it with
- * any selector it likes; one that does not gets a sensible arrangement free.
+ * The row itself needs enough specificity to beat core's button stylesheet,
+ * which sets `display: inline-block` on every `.wp-block-button__link`. Without
+ * the row the icon and label sit side by side as inline boxes, top aligned, so
+ * the icon rides above the text and the button grows taller.
  */
-:where(.hm-has-button-icon) > :where(.wp-block-button__link) {
+.hm-has-button-icon > .wp-block-button__link {
 	display: inline-flex;
 	align-items: center;
+}
+
+/**
+ * The spacing is written in `:where()` so it holds no specificity at all, and a
+ * theme can change it with any selector it likes.
+ */
+:where(.hm-has-button-icon) > :where(.wp-block-button__link) {
 	justify-content: center;
 	gap: 0.5em;
 }