Story of the Cufflink

For nearly a thousand years, the cufflink has been a consistent part of men’s fashion.

Before their creation, most men’s clothes were held together with strings, straps, and pins. Men’s shirts in the early 1500s featured ruffled wristbands containing small openings that would be fastened together with “cuff strings.”

It was sometime shortly after the Renaissance that two ornamented buttons attached by a single link began to replace cuff strings and garner increased popularity among the upper classes of Europe. It wasn’t until the reign of Louis XIV, which started in 1654, that fastening shirt sleeves with “boutons de manchette” (roughly translated to ‘sleeve buttons’) became popular.

A few decades later, glass cuff links gave way to highly decorated jeweled studs held together by gold links. Hence the name, “cuff link.”

There are many varying designs for cufflinks. The basic versions simply had a small link connecting two oval-shaped ends, one being larger than the other. More intricate models feature different shapes, materials, and decorations, such as gems or diamonds. Additionally, some men engrave their cuff links with their family name or initials, so that they may be passed down from generation to generation.

Nowadays, it’s easy to find proper gold and silver cufflinks that are both fashionable and affordable. Another alternative remains; elastic “monkey’s fists,” which are buttons of twisted braids that can be used in the same way as cufflinks.

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