How to Wear Cufflinks: The Shirt, the Fastening and the Occasions

Cufflinks are the smallest statement in menswear: two clicks of metal at the wrist that turn a shirt into an occasion. If a pair has come to you as a gift or an inheritance and you have never quite known what to do with them, here is everything: the shirt you need, how to fasten them, and when to wear them.

First, you need the right shirt

Cufflinks are small decorative fasteners that hold together the cuffs of a specific kind of dress shirt. French cuff shirts, also called double cuff, come without buttons: the cuff has an extra length of fabric that folds back on itself and is linked together. That is the deal. If your shirt has a button on the cuff, there is nothing to link. So the first step in wearing cufflinks is owning, or buying, a French cuff shirt. Everything else is style.

A very short history

French cuffs were standard in the wardrobes of wealthy 17th-century Europeans, who grew tired of cinching their cuffs with ribbon or string. Enter the "sleeve button", made of glass, gold or silk knots: functional, then quickly a flex, monogrammed and bejewelled. Mass production in the Industrial Revolution spread them everywhere, and the 20th century was their peak: Connery's Bond, JFK's gold ovals, Sinatra's onyx pairs. Today they are rarer, which is exactly their power. Wearing cufflinks now is a choice, a quiet ritual that sets you apart.

The main styles

Most cufflinks you will meet are swivel backs, also called whale tails or bullet backs: a straight post with a tail that flips into place to lock the fabric. They are the easiest to fasten and the most common. Chain link cufflinks join the two faces with a short chain, a looser, more traditional look. Fixed-back cufflinks have no moving parts and a solid, crafted feel. Silk knot cufflinks are the casual, colourful option, and the traditional way to try the habit inexpensively. Stud sets, essentially smaller cufflinks for a tuxedo shirt's front placket, belong to black tie.

Editorial Concept / DiagramAI Illustration (Non-Catalogue)

How to put them on

Wear the shirt first. Fold each cuff back so the two buttonholes on each side meet, forming a neat barrel with the holes aligned. Push the cufflink's post through all four layers, decorative face outward, then swivel the tail flat to lock. The link's face should sit on the outside of the wrist where a watch would catch the light. If it takes more than a few seconds per cuff the first time, that is normal; it soon becomes part of the ritual.

When to wear them

Black tie is the one true requirement: a tuxedo shirt expects links and studs. Beyond that, cufflinks are fair game whenever you want quiet distinction: weddings, dinners, the office if your culture allows a little flair, and any day you feel like dressing with intent. Match metals to your watch and ring, keep novelty pairs for relaxed settings, and let the click of the fastening be the smallest, most satisfying part of getting dressed.

Caring for the pair

Cufflinks live a harder life than most jewellery: they knock against desks, doorframes and dance floors. Keep pairs in a small box where they cannot scratch each other, give gold a wipe with a soft cloth after wear, and check the swivel mechanism now and then so the tail still snaps home crisply. Inherited pairs deserve a jeweller's once-over before their first outing in decades; a tired hinge is an easy fix, and a lost cufflink is a lonely one.

Finish the cuff with Shewah

Shewah crafts cufflinks in solid gold with certified lab-grown diamonds, made to order in Surat and shipped to the US, UK and Australia. Explore Shewah's jewellery or message us on WhatsApp at +91 96622 66360 to design a pair, monogram included.

Editorial Concept / DiagramAI Illustration (Non-Catalogue)

Sources

• How to Wear Cufflinks - GQ
• Cufflinks: The Definitive Guide - Gentleman's Gazette