Cufflinks let you accessorise your outfits, whether for work, a wedding, or everyday wear. They're jewellery that lets you stand out and complete your look, just like a tie or a bow tie.
New to all this and wondering how to put cufflinks on your shirts? While most cufflinks are easy to fasten, you might find yourself struggling with a particular design.
If your shirt isn't suitable, you won't be able to fasten your cufflinks at all.
To help you get started and dare to wear cufflinks, here's everything you need to know to fasten your cufflinks successfully and perfect your outfits.
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Choosing suitable shirts
First of all, it's important to know that you can't wear cufflinks with just any type of shirt. There are indeed so-called simple shirts with square, triangular, rounded or Italian cuffs. Simple shirts don't allow for cufflinks unless you fold the cuffs back on themselves.
French cuffs
To wear cufflinks, you'll want a French-cuff shirt. French-cuff shirts have one distinctive feature compared to other shirts: the cuffs are twice as long as classic ones. They must therefore be folded back on themselves.
French-cuff shirts are specifically designed for cufflinks, since they never have buttons at the cuff. The cuffs can therefore only be closed using cufflinks.
Did you know? French cuffs were once worn by kings and clergymen. They were originally laced around the wrist.
Convertible square cuffs
Shirts with convertible square cuffs can be worn with cufflinks, but they can also be worn without.
So, when you want to wear cufflinks, for a wedding or a business event, you'll need to pay attention to the type of shirts you have available.
The 5 steps to putting on a cufflink
Once you've chosen the right shirt, it's time to put it on and fasten your cufflinks. Even though the technique can vary depending on the design, the five steps below will work for the majority of cufflinks:
- Step 1: fully unfold the cuff of your shirt.
- Step 2: fold the cuff back on itself so the end sits at your wrist.
- Step 3: hold the cufflink vertically and slide it through one of the cuff openings. At this stage, the cufflink passes through two layers of fabric.
- Step 4: then slide the cufflink through the other cuff opening, through the other two layers of fabric.
- Step 5: straighten the cufflink and adjust it to fit your wrist.
Knowing how to fasten your cufflinks depending on their design
While the 5 steps above can help you fasten most cufflinks, you might own certain designs with a specific closure mechanism.
In that case, it's important to know the different ways of fastening a cufflink depending on its design.
How to put on fish-tail cufflinks?
Fish-tail cufflinks get their name because their shape resembles a fish's tail. This type of cufflink has a closure that turns to fasten it to the shirt cuff.
So, to fasten a fish-tail cufflink:
- Turn the cufflink upwards so it's parallel with the post.
- Pass the cufflink through the openings in your shirt cuffs.
- Close the cufflink by turning it back to its original position, perpendicular to the post.
This type of closure gives you the reassurance that your cufflinks won't move throughout the day.
How to put on bullet-back cufflinks?
The closure mechanism of the bullet-back cufflink is shaped like a bullet, which is where the design gets its name. Just like the fish-tail cufflink, the bullet-back has a swivel closure.
To fasten a bullet-back cufflink:
- Make sure the cufflink is parallel with the post.
- Pass the cufflink through the shirt's openings.
- Turn the cufflink to lock it in place.
How to put on chain-link cufflinks?
Do you have chain-link cufflinks? Here, there's no closure system for fastening the cufflink. Only a small chain links the two faces together.
Putting on a chain-link cufflink is therefore fairly simple, as you just need to place one of the two faces through the cuff hole. Then straighten everything up.
That said, this type of cufflink doesn't really let you adjust the cuff to your wrist. So your cuff will sit a little more loosely.
How to put on ball-back cufflinks?
The ball-back cufflink is yet another different design, as it has neither a closure system nor a chain. Indeed, the ball-back cufflink is simply a cufflink with a curved post.
So, to successfully fasten a ball-back cufflink, you'll need to:
- Tilt the cufflink.
- Push the cufflink to insert it through the cuff openings.
- Straighten the cufflink.
How to put on stud cufflinks?
The stud cufflink is somewhat similar to the previous design, as it too has no real closure system. It's inserted a little like a classic shirt button.
To successfully fasten a stud cufflink, you'll need to:
- Tilt the lower part of the cufflink to the side, placing it at a 90-degree angle to the cuff openings.
- Insert the cufflink through the cuff openings.
- Straighten the cufflink.
How to put on double-action fastening cufflinks?
If you want to be sure not to lose your cufflinks during the day, you've probably gone for a double-action fastening design.
These are the most sophisticated cufflinks, but also the most modern. Their closure system is inspired by watch clasps. While highly effective, this system can be a little tricky to get the hang of at first.
To successfully fasten a double-action cufflink:
- Make sure the cufflinks are lying flat.
- Place the cufflinks through the cuff openings.
- Swing the cufflinks up to fasten them.
How to put on silk-knot cufflinks?
The silk cufflink, and fabric cufflinks more generally, stand out visually. They're also slightly more delicate. That's why it's important to be gentle when fastening them to your shirts.
To make silk-knot cufflinks easier to fasten, both faces of this design are generally identical.
To put on silk-knot cufflinks, simply pass one of the two faces through the opening of your shirt cuff.
We also recommend these other pages:
- The cufflinks guide
- How to match your cufflinks
- When to wear cufflinks?
- How to care for your cufflinks
- Buying your cufflinks
Cufflinks hold no more secrets for you? All that's left is to find the perfect pair: browse all our men's cufflinks, from elegant designs for the office to quirky cufflinks, not forgetting personalised cufflinks to engrave as a gift.
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