How to wear cufflinks: the kissing cuff

The correct way to wear cufflinks with a tuxedo is the kissing cuff: the folded edges of the shirt sleeve meet face to face, one link passes through all four layers of cloth, and the decorative face turns outward. Done properly, the wrist looks neat, the link shows just enough beyond the jacket sleeve, and the cuff neither flares nor overlaps.

The two edges meet

A French cuff is cut twice as long as an ordinary cuff. To wear it you fold the cloth back on itself in a loop and bring the two edges together so they touch, rather than overlap as they do on a barrel cuff with a button. That is the kissing cuff: the two edges kiss.

With the edges aligned, the four buttonholes sit directly on top of each other, and the link goes through all four at once. If the edges overlap, the holes miss each other, the link will not pass cleanly and the wrist can twist.

Why prefer the kissing cuff? It gives a flat, symmetrical edge at the wrist. The two edges form one straight line with the link in the centre. An overlapped cuff looks like an ordinary one and loses the point of a double cuff. For the shirt itself, see the French cuff and why a tuxedo wants one.

The face turns outward

A cufflink has a decorative face and a fastening part. The face is the part you want seen, so once fitted it should point to the outside of the wrist, the side the other person sees when your arm hangs naturally.

That sounds obvious, yet it is often done the wrong way round. With a toggle link, if the patterned end ends up inside, people only see the plain bar. With a chain link both ends are finished, so there is less to worry about; the types are compared in cufflink types.

Wear the pair facing the same way: both patterned faces outward, on the outer side of the left and right wrists.

Before or after dressing

The easiest way is to fit the links after putting on the shirt and before the jacket.

1. Put on the shirt and button the body and collar as normal.
2. Fold the cuff into a loop, bring the edges to touch and line up the four holes.
3. Pass the link through the four holes, then lock it (turn the bar, or fix the back).
4. Do the other wrist. The second one is harder because only one hand is free, so start with the weaker hand.
5. Then put on the jacket and draw the sleeve so the shirt cuff shows by about a finger joint.

The alternative is to fasten the links into the cuff before dressing and slide the hand through the closed loop. It saves effort, but the cuff can catch at the wrist if the link is thick, and it tends to crease the cloth edge. With a toggle link you can turn the bar flat before sliding the hand in.

A small tip: if the face is heavy, raise and lower your arm to see whether the link spins round.

Common mistakes

• Links turned the wrong way, patterned face toward you.
• Cuff edges overlapping instead of touching.
• The link passes through fewer than four layers, so the cuff comes loose as you move.
• A cuff too tight or too loose for the wrist. A tight cuff squeezes, a loose one dangles and lets the link spin.
• A jacket sleeve so long it hides the cuff, or so short it shows too much. About 1 cm to 1.5 cm of shirt cuff should show.
• Links too large or too busy for the wrist, so the wrist becomes the centre instead of a quiet detail.
• Silk knots at a serious black-tie dinner, since they belong to a more casual register.

From the Mon Amie workroom

Cufflinks only look right when shirt cuff, jacket sleeve and wrist agree, so an advisor adjusts these together at the fitting. You can book a fitting at a showroom to be shown how to fit them in person, with advice on links that suit the shirt and jacket you have chosen.