How to put on cufflinks
15 August, 2017
Wear the correct shirt.
Cufflinks are most commonly worn with French cuff (also known as double cuff) dress shirts. This sort of shirt has extra long cuffs that fold back on the cuff material, creating layers. French cuffs don’t have buttons on the sides to connect the cuff. Instead, there are small holes on each side of the cuff, where cufflinks are added. Wearing cufflinks with this shirt means that the cufflink will be securing four layers of shirt fabric. This is a dressier look, and the most classic style of shirt to wear with cufflinks.
- Cufflinks can also be worn with single cuff shirts, the variety typically found at department stores. Wearing cufflinks with this style of shirt is a more casual look.
Fold back the cuff. With your arm extended, use your
opposite hand to fold your French cuffs back. Make sure that the end
edge of the cuff (closest to your fingers) folds back to form a neat and
even lining.
- If you are wearing a single cuff shirt, there is no need to fold back your cuffs.
Hold the cuffs together. Pinch the two open edges of
the shirt cuff together so the two edges lay flat, away from the wrist.
The inside fabric of the cuff edges should be pressed against each
other. This will create the classic “kiss cuff” most commonly worn with
cufflinks. The two open edges of the cuff will be pinched together as if they are kissing.
- A single cuff shirt will not use the “kiss cuffing.” Instead, the two cuff edges overlap one another, making a barrel shape.
- Again, you can wear cufflinks with single cuff shirts, but it is considered to be a far more casual look. Traditionally, cufflinks are paired with French cuff shirts for formal occasions.
Align the cufflink holes. Make sure the cufflink
holes are even and aligned. This will make inserting the cufflinks a lot
easier, and can reveal if your fold is even and aligned where it should
be.
- For a single cuff shirt, align the cufflink holes by making the overlapping of the cuffs looser or tighter, until the holes match up.