The Quick Introduction to the World of Cufflinks

Cufflinks are what keep your french cuffs on dress shirts closed. They are usually an ornamental device that have two matching ends and a link between them. The cufflink faces can be made from anything; pearls, silver, metal, nickel, gold, wood, enamel, cloth, etc. Often these cufflinks were found on fancy custom dress shirts and look particularly nice on slim fit dress shirts.

Today’s sheer variety of cufflinks makes buying them a whole other experience than earlier. A lot of those cufflinks are available on the internet which makes it even easier.

History

Cufflinks were first seen in the 1600s. This was the time they started replacing ribbons which originally was used to connect French cuffs. By the 1800s the cuff link started to be made by machine. Cuff buttons were actually only used after the invention of cufflinks.

Despite a decline in popularity during the 1970’s, today cuff links are a relatively popular fashion accessory.

Lately stud sets to accommodate cuff links have become more popular.  Stud sets are matching ‘buttons’ or ‘jewelry’ for your buttonholes. They usually come in a pair of four together with a matching set of cufflinks.

Cufflink Types

There are six ways cuff links are usually constructed.

Double faced cuff links

The double faced cuff links are considered the most formal of cuff links and have two similar faces with a bar connecting them.

Chain Cuff Links

These are very similar to double faced cuff links, but instead of a bar connecting the two faces a chain does the job.

Snap-on cuff links

The snap-on cuff links have their two similar faces connected by snapping them on through the dress shirt cuff. Be careful not to wear this cuff link with a dress shirt that has thick cuffs.

Push Through Cuff Links

For these cuff links the round end of the face is pushed through the buttonhole. They are pretty easy to put on, but on the other hand they may fall off easily in some cases.

Hinged back cuff links

This type of cuff link has one face with a bar that has another moveable bar attached to it. This is the least likely cuff link to fall off and are the most common on the market.

Silk Knots

This cufflink has two knots on each end and is put into action by pushing it through the buttonholes. These are exceptionally convenient if you are looking to use a pair of subtle cufflinks.

Stirrup

This type of cufflinks is attached in a completely different way, it is wrapped around the dress shirt cuff.  This is the least common type of cufflink of the ones mentioned above

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