Be it formal attire, a designer suit or semi-formal attire, the secret weapon to polish or charm your outfit is a tie, contrasting belt and shoes, a luxury watch and at last, cufflinks.
Resting all other accessories aside, today we'll discuss cufflinks. Choosing the right pair of cufflinks is not an easy task. Getting your fashion game right takes years of experience and good taste in styling.
What Are Cufflinks?
You must have seen this pair of accessories in several fashion magazines, commercial websites, and gift idea articles. But do you know how and when this accessory came into existence? What was the reason behind the invention of such an accessory?Cufflinks were created in the 17th century. Back then, people would hold their shirt cuffs together using ribbons, strings, and ties. The french tailors introduced buttonholes and sleeve buttons ornamented with chains to fasten the sleeves. Later, the jewellers started designing gold and silver sleeve buttons with gemstones. Thus, cufflinks came into existence.
King Charles II is renowned for making cufflinks popular among the public. He wore cufflinks to his public appearances as one of his style statements. Since then, the cufflinks evolved into popular among royals and aristocrats. Gentlemen were casually gifted cufflinks during the 18th century, creating a collection of cufflinks.
With the evolution of the fashion industry, cufflinks saw a tremendous modification in designs. The vintage and antique cufflinks are vastly different to the ones we see today.
How to Wear Cufflinks?
If you are still learning to up your styling, these fashion tips will help you look more crisp and sophisticated.- Black Tie Outfit: Let’s decode this term first. Black tie outfits are the dress code usually assigned to semi-formal events such as business events, galas, and award ceremonies. For black tie occasions, you are asked to wear a formal black tie or bow and a tuxedo. Thus, for these events, cufflinks are a suitable accessory for men. To highlight your style, you must opt for classic yet simple cufflinks of gold or silver. These timeless pieces must have minimal designs which give a polished look to the rest of your outfit.
- White Tie Events: Alike black tie events, white tie events also have a specific dress code. White tie events are slightly more formal than black tie events. These events include formal weddings, stately dinners, operas and theatres, royal ceremonies, balls and other high-class gatherings. Choose pearl cufflinks for your outfit to ensure your style is on point. These will look luxurious and elegant.
- Cufflinks With A White Shirt: Nothing can beat the charm of a freshly ironed crisp white shirt. Cufflinks can serve to upgrade your looks in your office; be it your presentation for your dream project or your semi-formal event. White shirts give you a variety of style options, but the key is to not to overdo it. Keep it classic and conservative. Your personality is directly implied by your choice.
- Cufflinks With A Blue Shirt: Blue shirts are one of the best staple pieces in a corporate wardrobe. Blue is one of the most popular colour choices, but pairing a cufflink with a blue shirt may be a tricky task. Flashy colours may ruin your appearance. It is advised to opt for subtle coloured cufflinks to compliment your blue shirts. Silver cufflinks can do the work for you; they look dapper and subtle at the same time. If you want to wear something colourful, always stick with hues of blue. If you're wearing a dark shirt, go for a light shade cufflink or vice versa. This way, your outfit will look perfectly balanced.
- Cufflinks With Pinks Shirt: There are not many colour options when you look for formal shirts. Light pink (although not considered by many men) is a second close to blue. Similar to blue shirts, you can opt for silver-toned cufflinks to pair with your pink coloured shirt. The other options for coloured cufflinks are pink shades. Always wear your coloured cufflinks in contrast with your shirt to avoid a clash of colours. Pink-coloured shirts always give you room to play with multi-colours and multipattern cufflinks. But save these for semi-formal events.
- With A Patterned Shirt: Patterned shirts are the next big fashion option for your formal events. Patterned shirts will always have a primary and a secondary colour. When choosing a cufflink, choose the secondary colour as your dominant colour for a cufflink. You can also take references from your ties to choose a cufflink. You can choose different metals with multiple shades of colours in a cufflink. But always keep the colour choice related to your entire ensemble.
- Cufflinks with French Cuffs: French cuffs can be considered the prime reason that brought the cufflinks to light. The most important feature of a french cuff shirt is that it's buttonless. French cuff shirts require cufflinks to hold the cuffs together. These shirts are preferably worn at formal events. The cufflinks add sophistication and class to your personality.
