A
cufflink (also
cuff link or
cuff-link) is a
decorativeFashion accessories are decorative items that supplement one's garment, such as jewelry, gloves, handbags, hats, belts, scarves, watches, sunglasses, pins, stockings, bow tie, leg warmer, leggings, necktie, suspenders, and tights....
fastener worn by men or women to fasten the two sides of the
cuffA cuff is an extra layer of fabric at the lower edge of the sleeve of a garment covering the arms. In US usage the word may also refer to the end of the leg of a pair of trousers...
on a
dress shirtA dress shirt , or simply shirt is a shirt with a collar, a full-length opening at the front from the collar to the hem, and sleeves with cuffs. Dress shirts are predominantly used by men, since women usually wear blouses...
or
blouseThe word blouse most commonly refers to a woman's shirt, although the term is also used for some men's military uniform jackets.-Description and History:Blouses were rarely part of the fashionable woman's wardrobe until the 1890s...
.
Cufflinks are designed only for use with shirts which have buttonholes on both sides but no buttons. These may be either single or double-length ("French") cuffs, and may be worn either "kissing," with the ends pinched together, or "barrel-style," with one end overlapping the other.
A
cufflink (also
cuff link or
cuff-link) is a
decorativeFashion accessories are decorative items that supplement one's garment, such as jewelry, gloves, handbags, hats, belts, scarves, watches, sunglasses, pins, stockings, bow tie, leg warmer, leggings, necktie, suspenders, and tights....
fastener worn by men or women to fasten the two sides of the
cuffA cuff is an extra layer of fabric at the lower edge of the sleeve of a garment covering the arms. In US usage the word may also refer to the end of the leg of a pair of trousers...
on a
dress shirtA dress shirt , or simply shirt is a shirt with a collar, a full-length opening at the front from the collar to the hem, and sleeves with cuffs. Dress shirts are predominantly used by men, since women usually wear blouses...
or
blouseThe word blouse most commonly refers to a woman's shirt, although the term is also used for some men's military uniform jackets.-Description and History:Blouses were rarely part of the fashionable woman's wardrobe until the 1890s...
.
Cufflinks are designed only for use with shirts which have buttonholes on both sides but no buttons. These may be either single or double-length ("French") cuffs, and may be worn either "kissing," with the ends pinched together, or "barrel-style," with one end overlapping the other. Kissing cuffs are usually preferred.
Cufflink designs vary widely. The simplest design consists of a short post or chain connecting two disc-shaped parts. The part positioned on the most visible side is usually larger; a variety of designs can connect the smaller piece: It may be small enough to fit through the button hole like a button would; it may be separated and attached from the other side; or it may have a portion that swivels on the central post, aligning with the post while the link is threaded through the button-hole and swiveling into a position at right angles to the post when worn.
The visible part of a cufflink is often
monogramA monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos...
med or decorated in some way. There are numerous styles including novelty cufflinks, traditional cufflinks, contemporary cufflinks, utility cufflinks, and humorous cufflinks.
Double-sided, Double-panel or Double-faced Cuff Links
Forerunner of today’s shirt first appeared in the early-1500s, its ruffled wristband finished with small openings on either side that tied together with "cuff strings." Although cuff strings would remain popular until the mid-1850s, it was during the rule of
Louis XIVLouis XIV , popularly known as the Sun King , was King of France and of Navarre His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days, and is the longest documented reign of any European monarch.Louis began personally governing France after the death...
that French aristocrats realized their wristbands offered yet another opportunity to boastfully flaunt their wealth and status.
By the late-1600s, royalty and monied patricians throughout Europe were fastening their shirt sleeves with boutons de manchette, or "sleeve buttons," typically identical pairs of colored glass buttons joined together by a short, linked chain.
By the end of Louis XIV's reign in 1715, simple, paste-glass buttons had given way to pairs of two, decoratively painted or jeweled studs, typically diamonds, connected by ornate gold links.
Hence was born the predecessor of today’s "double-faced," cuff links, also known as "double-panel" or "double-sided". And with it was born the cuff chained "link". Despite the reference to two panels, prized cufflinks have all four sides decorated.
Because of a far cheaper cost and an added convenience, many Americans prefer single-sided cuff links.
In the 1880s, George Kermentz, a Newark, New Jersey, jeweler and inventor began mass producing single-sided cuff links from a converted, Civil War-era cartridge shell machine. Hence was born the "single-faced" cuff link: A one-piece, "button-back" design with a decoratively embellished crown at one end and a smaller, unembellished metal head at the opposite end.
A centuries-old but now near-vanished artisan jewelry technique descended from the ancient Egyptians, Vitreous hand-enameling is created by over-layering, then hand-polishing, layer-after-layer of wafer thin, molten glass, one atop another. Many cuff link makers have abandoned the costly techniques of artisan hand-enameling, opting instead for cheaper, Chinese-made plastic epoxy designs.
Silk knot
An alternative fastener to a cufflink is the cheaper silk knot, which are also known as
monkey's fistA monkey's fist or monkey paw is a type of knot, so named because it looks somewhat like a small bunched fist/paw. It also looks somewhat like a volleyball or an older style football. It is tied at the end of a rope to serve as a weight, making it easier to throw, and also as an ornamental knot...
s. The
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
shirtmaker
CharvetCharvet is a French high-end bespoke and ready-to-wear clothing company whose flagship store is located at 28 Place Vendôme in Paris. It produces and sells shirts, ties, blouses, pajamas and suits....
is credited with their introduction in the beginning of the 20th century: "Charvet [link] buttons of twisted braid are quite the style" noted the New York Times in 1908. French cuff shirts are often accompanied with a set of color-coordinated silk knots instead of double-button cufflinks. They are now rarely made from silk; often they are made from elastic.
History of cufflinks
The History of cufflinks goes back to the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
where its precursor, the ‘cuff string’, adorned the wrists of fashionable gentlemen of the day. One of the earliest references to what we now recognize as cufflinks was made in the
London GazetteThe London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the UK, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
of 1684, which referred to a pair of cuff buttons set with diamonds; the same journal in 1686 also described a pair of
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
enameled cuff buttons. More evidence of the existence of cufflinks in the 17th century was found in
SuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where a decorated
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
single chain cufflink was discovered.
Despite its early appearance, the continual taste for adorning sleeve ends with elaborate wrist ruffles meant it was not until the mid-nineteenth century that the cufflink really came into its own as dandy-ish ruffles gave way to functionally minimal sleeves and in particular the arrival of the French Cuff (also called the Double Cuff), or as the French themselves called it
poignet mousquetaire – the musketeer's cuff, paving the way for the emergence proper of cufflinks.