Cufflinks Have A Very Long History

Legend has it that the modern-day cufflink achieved popularity after the publication of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas in 1844. One of the characters in the book had huge diamonds on his cuffs which caught the eye of everybody. Not long after that came the industrial revolution, and this meant that cufflinks became affordable for the man in the street, whereas before they had only been for the wealthy.

Indeed, cufflinks have a long history, going back to the early 1500’s in France when in those days cuffs were tied together with pieces of string. By the time Louis XIV came to the throne, which was in 1643, strings were gone, and they were replaced by pretty glass baubles joined by a small chain. Gradually, men began to wear more and more extravagant decorations including gemstones that showed off their status in life. And it stayed that way pretty much until the industrial revolution when it meant that cufflinks could be produced easily and cheaply so that they were affordable for all.

Since that time, cufflinks have waxed and waned in popularity. There have been good times for cufflinks, and not so good times. In the early 1920’s they became very fashionable again when designer Coco Chanelle included cufflinks in her collection. Lavish men’s shirts were popularised by Mick Jagger and of course cufflinks came with them. Then in the 1970’s we had Woodstock and fashions changed again to trendy colourful shirts that had buttons, and so cufflinks were not needed.

However, in the 1980’s they found their way back again, some think because of the TV series of Brideshead Revisited based on the novel by Evelyn Waugh which was set in the 1940’s when they were all the rage. And since the 80’s they have remained a bastion of sartorial elegance. Even today, when many men have ditched the tie, they still feel the need to display a certain je ne sais quoi when wearing a suit, and cufflinks do the job perfectly.

Of course, you can choose cufflinks that suit your mood on any given day, and you can also wear the cufflinks that you feel fit the occasion. One thing to note is that if you wear a suit and cufflinks to the office, the cufflinks should not outdo those of the boss. That could be a big mistake.

You also need to wear cufflinks that are not too flashy when attending certain occasions such as a funeral for example. But that aside, you can choose whatever type and design of cufflinks that you feel is right for you.

And there are thousands upon thousands of designs from which to choose. For instance, here at Wimbledon Cufflink Company we produce a range of cufflinks that reflect our respect for our mother country. So, we have The English Oak, The Three Lions, and The Crown in our Heritage range to celebrate England. For the Welsh, we have The Welsh Dragon cufflinks and The Celtic Shield. If you are Scottish, we have The Scottish Lion, and of course for the Irish it’s The Shamrock. We also produce French Heritage cufflinks, American Heritage cufflinks, and Roman and Moorish ones as well.

Of course, many men of style wear a fashionable watch, and you can offset a Rolex or Philippe Patek with a splendid pair of cufflinks that make a statement about who you are. Not so many men wear ties these days, and even those who do don’t always wear a tie clip, so a classy watch and a pair of cufflinks are one of the few ways in which you can express your own personality.

You can even wear cufflinks with a shirt and a pair of jeans if you like. It might sound tricky, but you can get away with it if the jeans are of the smart variety, and definitely not the type with rips and holes that make them look as though they should have been put on the bonfire.

So, yes, you can wear cufflinks on almost every type of occasion. You just need to choose the right cufflinks that are appropriate for the day.