Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we discuss how to put on cufflinks and I discuss the different techniques
that work for different mechanisms.
First of all, let's talk about the t-bar clip which is the most popular mechanism out there
today.
Probably 95% of all cufflinks use it, but it's not because it's the most elegant, it's
simply because it's the cheapest and least expensive to produce.
Now, the only reason we wear cufflinks is because we want to look good and the cufflinks
represent the elegance and the style of our outfit and our personality.
Therefore, I'm not a big fan of those, and although they are easy to put on, they're
not something that you should really invest in if you have other choices.
How do you put them on?
Very simple.
First of all, most of them are angled, so you want to angle them down because otherwise,
on your cuff it will look weird.
So first, you actually put your cufflink through the hole, and I achieve that by holding it
between my thumb and index finger, pushing it through and pushing against from the bottom
of the cuff.
Then I turn around and do the same thing with the other two holes.
You can actually do them both together, and since it's a hole and a straight bar, you
can just use a little pressure to find the buttonholes very easily.
Voila!
That's it.
Now, the disadvantage is that you can actually see the t-bar at the back and it's not as
decorative as the front.
A variation of this style is another t-bar that doesn't quite work like it but it is
also angled, and it's basically used in the exact same way.
Flip it open, locate the buttonhole, push it through, rotate the cuff, do the same thing,
feel, when you find it and then simply flip the clip open.
Voila!
This is how you do it.
Now, my personal favorite style is the fixed bar with nice decorative elements on both
sides.
I prefer this cufflink because it's easy to put on, it' very decorative, it's elegant,
and there are no moving parts, so the cufflinks don't break.
Let's use this nice lapis pair of cufflinks from Fort Belvedere.
So, you always want to hold the big end because you're going to push through the small one.I
hold it between my index finger and my thumb and I have my two middle fingers underneath
the cuff, then I just push it through.
It's very easy.Now, I have my thumb that can push from the top and I use these fingers
(middle finger, index finger, thumb) to push through.
So it's very simple.
I just push it like this and have the cuff from the bottom.Ideally, with this technique,
it's better to do one buttonhole at a time otherwise, it can be confusing and difficult.
Once I've done the first two, I move on to the back side and do the same thing.
Voila!
As you can see, it takes marginally longer than a t-bar cufflink but it looks a lot nicer
and it will last for years to come because there are no moving parts.
It works the same way with our Fort Belvedere knot cufflinks which you can find here.
If you like these eagle claw ones, we have them in black onyx, blue lapis, green malachite,
red carnelian and a wonderful brown tiger's eye.
The third style is a so-called chain cufflink style.
It has a chain and was very popular in the 1930's.
Always has two decorative elements.
Now, they're kittle more tricky to put on and you need a little more skill.
So for these, unlike with the other cufflinks, you want to hold the small end.
You take the small end, put it on your buttonhole, hold it tight with your thumb and push through.
Then, you pull through the entire chain and start with the next buttonhole.
Do one buttonhole at a time, it's easier that way.
Once you've done the first two, rotate your cuff, look at it and do the same thing again.
Hold it in between your middle finger and your index finger, push it through and hold
it with your thumb; the same process again.
Voila!
This is how you put on the chain cufflink.
The fourth variation of cufflinks is enamel cufflinks.
They're usually double sided, they're identical, there's not one size that's larger than the
other, and beautifully enameled on silver or gold.
They can be very tricky to put on because of the size; sometimes they're round, sometimes
they're octagonal, or hexagonal, or sometimes oval shaped which is probably the most tricky
way to do it.
To show you how to put them on, I'd take the most difficult shape which is the oval.
First of all, you have to hold them in between and just hold one side very firmly.
Then, put that through the buttonhole.
Usually you can do it through two buttonholes at once.
Now, when you get through, you have to hold it from the other side and pull it through,
if it's too tricky, do one buttonhole at a time.
Once you're through one buttonhole, pull it through.
You want to do the same thing again, locate the buttonhole and push it through, this can
be tricky at times because of the roundness of the cufflink, you may slip out and get
frustrated but if you experience that, simply try again and do just one buttonhole at a
time.
It may seem difficult at first, but with a little practice, you can really do this quite
quickly.
Voila!
This is how you have the double sided enamel cufflink in a difficult oval shape.
Now, for most cufflinks, it's very easy to take them off.
You simply put them in the reverse way you put them on.
For these cufflinks(enamel) it's a little more tricky.
Basically, you have to hold the cufflink and push it back through the hole.
One by one, one buttonhole at a time.
Once you've actually loosened one side, you can take off your shirt and then remove it
with both hands which is much easier.If you have enamel cufflinks, you can actually put
it on one side of your cuff so you already have two buttonholes done, put on the shirt,
button up the front and then button your cuffs.
That way, it's super easy.
Last but not the least, the fifth style or the so-called snap cufflinks.
They were popular during a period in the 30's and 40's, sometimes in the 50's but they quickly
fell out of favor.
The big advantage of snap cufflinks is that you can put them on before you put on the
shirt.
Here's how you do it.
First, you open the snap cufflinks, just do one part at a time.
Hold it over at a slight angle and push it through with your thumb.
I suggest you do it one buttonhole at a time.
Simply push it through, and you wiggle a little bit so you get it over.
Once you've done that, it's time to grab the next part.
Again, angle it a little bit so you find the buttonhole and then push it through.
Once you've done that, you can simply snap them together.
I put them on the way I put on other cufflinks.
You can do that before you put on a shirt so if you have difficulties, that may be a
good way.
The problem with snap cufflinks is when you work hard or do something, they come easily
undone and then it just looks very bad.
It's probably one of the reasons why they fell out of favor and one of the reasons I
personally don't like it very much.
Nevertheless, now you know how to put them on, if you enjoyed this video, please sign
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