We have long ditched the tie as part of our arsenal, and Custom Cufflinks moved to the classic navy suit with a tailored shirt as the new normal in business or cocktail wear. We have gone to great lengths to get the suit to fit just right, with the right fabric, operable buttons and a peek of a white linen pocket square to complete the style. But when it comes to matters of sartorial flair, it’s the well-known details that make a big difference. As far as the suit is concerned, few are smaller and far more impactful than the cufflink. A bold understatement, a symbol of elegance and style, cufflinks can be your best friends if you know how to rock a pair.
Cufflinks are one of the few versatile men’s jewelry accessories that can add a touch of flair,Collectibles through the years, and customizable — these accessories can incorporate precious and semiprecious stones and are often inspired by themes such as animals, flowers, and hunting. With styles ranging from classic monograms and family crests to playful bordering on comedic, cufflinks can be found to fit any occasion.The origins of the cufflink can be traced back to the beginning of the 16th century. At the time, the only thing keeping cuffs from flapping about were small lengths of string that were used to tie the sleeve ends in place. By the time French King Louis XIV took to the throne in 1643, these crude cuff fasteners were on the way out, and in came decorative glass versions joined together by a small chain very popular in Venice today.
In the years that followed, production techniques evolved and men took to wearing more extravagant jeweled styles as a way to show their status.It begins with your choice of shirt. You’ve graduated from the barrel cuff to the French cuff, so with that, you need to get ready to dress. The cufflink helps fasten the shirt, without strings mind you, and gives you a sense of putting yourself together. These small, but telling, men’s accessories are actually a surprisingly effective way to express yourself. From afar, cufflinks can make you appear confident, self-aware, and composed. Up close, these twin examples of men’s jewelry can be a window into the interests, affiliations, preferences, and values that make you unique.
So, if you’d like a little help making yourself heard and understood in a noisy, chaotic world, consider investing in a few, or better yet several, pairs of premium quality cufflinks. Wearing a linen barong daily, as I do, the cufflink is my personal style signifier. It amps up the look of classic armor. On a French cuffed shirt with a suit, a classic can become spirited and, at the same time, mischievous. I have a nephew who had a pair made in the shape of little mice—as a kid, his parents said he would raid the biscuits and leave little crumbs just like mice!
