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JEWELRY
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12
Whether your customers prefer
traditional silk knots, swivel bar
styles that toggle into place or
double paneled models with
twice the artistic impact, one
thing is for sure - cuff links
continue
to remain a sartorial medium
of art that allow the wearer to
express their individuality in a
variety of ways.
Cuff links are thought to have
debuted in the 1600’s, a useful
adornment that developed with
the evolution of the men’s shirt,
or more importantly, their cuffs.
According to The New York
Times, the first appearance of cuffs was
in the early 1500’s when small ruffles
were stitched onto the wristbands of
men’s shirts. Those wristbands featured
small holes and the wearer
would threat thin ribbons through the
shirts as a method of keeping their
sleeves closed.
Over time, men began joining buttons
together with a small chain and using
them to keep their sleeves fastened
and by the 1700’s there were some who
painted miniature portraits onto those
buttons, turning their sleeve fasteners
into something that was both artistic
and functional. As the 1800’s rolled
around, shirts continued to evolve and
cuffs as we know them know began
making their appearances. With the
emphasis on formality in that era, cuffs
were starched, making them stiff,
rendering buttons impractical. While
early cuff links were simple and
practical, the Prince of Wales, who later
became known as Edward VII, wore
bold Faberge cuff links, transforminh
the humble fastener into a fashion
accessory, setting into motion a sartorial
trend that continues
until this very day.
In the ensuing years,
most shirts were made
buttonless, with many,
including women,
jumping
on the cuff link
bandwagon.
Ironically, it was the
Duke of Windsor, who
himself was a cuff link
wearer, who caused
cuff link to fall out of favor. The Duke,
considered to be a male fashion icon,
favored casual wear and as sport shirts
were invented in the early 20th century,
un-starched cuffs became the norm,
eliminating the need for cuff links in
typical day to day
wear.
Thankfully, fashion is a cyclical business
and by the 1950’s men once again
developed an interest in fashion
accessories. As tie pins, money clips
and cigarette lighters came in vogue,
cuff links were once again back in
style, falling in and out of favor as the
decades rolled by throughout the end of
the 20th century.
Typically associated with both luxury
and formality, cuff links give the wearer
an opportunity to put his own sartorial
stamp on his ensemble and make it
totally unique and an expressional
of his own personal style. Despite their
diminutive size, cuff links have become
a medium of expression that come in all
shapes and sizes and may be adorned
with precious and
semiprecious stones and made out of
gold, silver, enamel, silk, horsehair or any
material
imaginable. While some favor cuff links
with functionality (wrist watch cuff links,
lighter cuff
links or level cuff links) others like to take
their cuff links
high tech with
USB flash drive
cuff links and
QR code cuff
links. From the
more formal
monogrammed,
initialed or jewel
emblazoned
cuff links to
trendy styles
incorporating
mustaches, drums, skulls, Harry Potter
Lego figurines and Rubik’s cubes, cuff
links make a fashion statement for all
the world to see. Even quirky cuff links
have made it to the big leagues, with
continued on page 48