Cufflinks

I've always wondered how it came to be that the English close their shirt cuffs with cufflinks while the Italians and most of the Americans use buttons.

Curiosity aside, I like the informality of buttons with odd jackets and weekend suits and the dressed-up look of cufflinks with a city suit. The only knock on links is that they cost more than shirt buttons, but that shouldn't be too much of an obstacle. One good pair is all that's required for every day wear. After all, no-one notices if we wear white plastic buttons on our shirt cuffs every day.

If a man has but one pair, I think it should be gold and double-sided, with the two sides joined by a small chain. I've seen antique 14kt machine-turned versions on eBay for about $100 a pair. Of course, when money is no object, a pair that's hand engraved with your initials and family crest, like the links from the English jeweler Armour Winston in the photo, can be had for a considerably larger sum.

Another reason some men have avoided double-sided links is because they are perceived as more dificult to don than either buttons or the modern type of single sided link with a swivel on the other side. That's not true, of course. Links go into the cuffs before a man dons his shirt. The opening of a linked cuff is just large enough for a hand. Nothing could be simpler.

Reader Questions

From JB
"Can you tell me the proper way to wear sock suspenders? Where should I position the grip?"
Sock suspenders, like the pictured pair from England's Albert Thurston, are usually worn above the calf, with the attachment forward, on the inside of the leg bone.

From James
"Is it ok to wear cuff links with a sport coat? My friend says no way! A steak dinner is riding on this."


If you don't want to pay off your bet, you may want to get a second opinion. I think links are questionable with a blazer and too much for other odd jackets.

Choosing the Day's Clothes

Hardy Amies, perhaps the first men's clothing designer and the man who had more influence on my dress than any other, wrote that a man should select his clothes with care so he can forget about them for the rest of the day.

Choosing the day's clothes starts with the suit rotation. Suits are not meant to be worn on consecutive days, and one way to ensure that is to rotate them in the closet. I hang recently worn clothing on the right of one closet bar, and take clothes that I'm going to wear from the left side. Moving them along the bar isn't much of a job - I have quite a few suits but there are no more than a dozen in my active city rotation at any particular time.

I start my selection by considering the formality of the day I expect to have. If it's got at least one serious event, I'll choose the first serious suit at the left hand side of the bar. Or, if it promises to be less formal, I'll pull a Friday suit that's less somber.

Next, I choose my shoes. I won't wear a pair that I've worn already that week, and I relate the formality of the shoe to the formality of the suit. That usually means oxfords with worsteds and bluchers or monks with flannels, linen and tweed.

The time-consuming part of the process is choosing a shirt, necktie and accessories. First comes the shirt. I usually choose light blue, yellow or light gray with a blue suit, or pink, cream or blue with a gray one. I don't have to worry too much about rotation as the laundry makes sure I can't wear any single shirt two weeks in a row.

The necktie comes next (I won't spend space on choosing a necktie since I covered that topic earlier this year). Then I choose a pocket square. That's usually white linen if I'm wearing a silk necktie. If I'm wearing a knit or a grenadine it's likely to be colored silk , in a secondary color that relates to my shirt or a color in my suit. Before going any further, I double-check the combination by putting the square in the jacket's breast pocket, holding the shirt and tie up to the jacket and making adjustments until I get a combination that I'm happy with. Sometimes that happens the first time, and once in a while it takes half a dozen tries.

With shirt, tie and square locked in, I go on to select socks that are compatible with my trousers but pick up the color of something I'm wearing above the waist. Finally, I'll choose braces and cufflinks that relate without matching in one way or another, and I'm done. Elapsed time, ten to twenty minutes to combine three (sometimes four) patterns, including socks, and at least that many colors.

Artistic Links Tie Tacks at CSE

Jerome Goldfischer of Artistic Links has brought the Collection of Sartorial Excellence a remarkable assortment of cuff links, dress sets and tie tacks made from antique Japanese porcelin buttons that have been mounted in gold settings. All the links are antiques collected over the course of the past twenty-five years (a number of the cufflinks are made from buttons from the estate of General Douglas MacArthur). The dress set on display, comprised of three studs and a pair of cufflinks, was fit for a duke and at $8,000 also requires a ducal income. To the left is a photo of a selection of tie tacks.

There is no web site but information is available by emailing Goldfischer.

Maintenance: Jewelry Care

Men don't keep much jewelry any more. Wedding rings are about it for most. The cell phone has superceded the metal wristwatch. Few men wear cufflinks, fewer wear tie bars or tacks, and fewer still need dress sets for black tie.

That said, I'm a cufflink man, and cufflinks like the pictured gold knots require care so as not to lose their lustre. Jewelry (or, as the English spell it, jewellery) should be stored in the original box or separated in the lined compartment of a jewelry box so it is less likely to get scratched.

To maintain the original condition of any precious metal, polish it with a high quality non-abrasive cloth. Cloths specific to gold and to silver can be purchased at most jewelers. Take care not to be too forceful and damage the surface.

Silver and gold can also be cleaned in water by ultrasound. Inexpensive household ultrasonic cleaners consist of a metal-lined tank containing a removable plastic basket. Put the jewelry in the basket, add water and turn on the unit for a few minutes. Dry it afterwards with a soft cloth, not tissue or paper towels.

For travel, I wear one watch and my pack cuff links in individual lined velvet pouches in my checked luggage. Checked luggage is exposed to theft, but I think it's safer than placing my links in a bin and sending them through the metal detector in full view of a hundred strangers.

Of course, so few men wear jewelry any more that none of them might care.

eBay and Cuff Links

eBay is a useful place.

I wear cuff links during the week, and my preference is for early twentieth century double sided links in gold or sterling with Guilloche enamel. I like knowing that I'm wearing something from the golden days of classic dressing.

Until several years ago, I shopped at James Robinson of Park Avenue at 58th Street in New York. Robinson always has a selection of superb vintage sterling and gold links as well as watch chains and other items. But then I found eBay.

As I roamed eBay to see what all the buzz was about I was surprised to find that it is far from a completely efficient market. In some categories, like consumer electronics, the prices can be higher than they are at a neighborhood superstore. And in other categories there are some real bargains.

I put cuff links in the bargain category, at least compared to Park Avenue prices.

I've noticed that when I find a pair that I like they tend to be offered by TDMCO, The Dianne Myers Company. Located "in horse country" in the United States, TDMCO tempts me almost monthly. And I don't need to leave my desk to pick up a pair. The blue ones arrived in yesterday's mail.