The Dress Set

As conservative as the Englishman may be in his city day wear, at least that diminishing number of Englishmen who keep to the traditional ways, post six PM evening clothing is the one time when he can tastefully indulge his taste for precious gems. Plain though his gold cufflinks and signet ring may be during the day, the late designer Hardy Amies observed that diamonds, rubies and emeralds are all fair game when it comes to dress sets, to which we should add sapphires. (I will qualify my statement by adding that while I agree with Amies' position it is not held by everyone - author Nicholas Storey for example recommends against diamonds).

Now I am not going to insist that any man who is serious about this stuff must have at least one one great set of cufflinks and shirt studs, but they are probably the best answer to the question of how to individualize black or white tie without breaking any rules. Breaking the bank of course is another thing entirely though the budget conscious will from time to time find value on eBay.

In the photo, made in England yellow gold, onyx, mother of pearl and diamond studs from New York's Scully & Scully. $5,775 plus tax purchases four studs but, sadly, cufflinks cost extra.

Photo: Scully & Scully