French cuffs on a tuxedo shirt: why they belong

The French cuff is a sleeve end folded back on itself and closed with cufflinks instead of a button. On a tuxedo shirt it is close to indispensable: it is one of the few places where evening dress allows a flash of metal or stone, and it gives the wrist a neat finish that fits the ritual of the evening.

A folded cuff closed with cufflinks

The construction is simple. The sleeve is cut longer than an ordinary cuffed sleeve, the extra length is folded back to make a double layer, and buttonholes on both edges sit opposite each other. Cufflinks pass through all four layers of cloth and hold them together. There is no sewn button and no open cuff gap.

Why does this suit a tuxedo? Three reasons.

• Formality. The double cuff belongs to dress shirts and fine shirting, and is read as more correct than a single cuff.
• A little jewellery in the right place. Black tie keeps accessories to a minimum, yet cufflinks are welcome. Silver, gold, onyx or small mother-of-pearl all work. For choosing them, see choosing cufflinks and studs.
• Tidiness. Two layers of cloth hold the cuff upright, with less flare and less creasing at the wrist than a soft single cuff.

Cuff length and width

This is where off-the-rack shirts often go wrong.

Length. The shirt sleeve should reach the wrist bone or a touch beyond, so that the cuff shows below the jacket sleeve by about a centimetre or two. The aim is that, whether your arms hang or lift, a band of white and a glint of the links always appears beneath the jacket sleeve. If the shirt sleeve is too short, the cuff is hidden; too long, and the cloth wrinkles and drapes over the back of the hand. The jacket's own sleeve length matters just as much; see how long a tuxedo jacket sleeve should be.

Width. The cuff opening must be wide enough for your hand to pass through once it is fastened, yet not so loose that it slides up and down the forearm. Test by closing the links, making a fist, turning the wrist and putting your hand into the jacket sleeve. Too tight and it is hard to put on; too loose and the cuff hangs slack so the links turn over.

Before fastening, line up the two buttonholes with the decorative face of the link outward. The folded cuff should lie flat against the wrist, not twisted.

A watch with French cuffs

A familiar puzzle: how to wear a watch with a French cuff. The folded cuff has thickness, so the watch usually sits under it. A few points:

1. Choose a slim watch. A thick case makes the sleeve bulge and is hard to slip under the cuff.
2. Ask for a slightly wider cuff. When you are being measured, say that you will wear a watch so the tailor can allow extra room.
3. A plain watch on a black leather strap. Black tie favours clean lines; rubber straps and large sporty faces do not belong.
4. Some men go without a watch. By a classic notion, a black-tie evening is no time to watch the hour, so some men leave the watch off for a traditional effect.

What matters is that the watch does not cover the cufflink, nor drag the jacket sleeve out of line.

Why not a single button cuff

A single cuff is the ordinary sleeve end of the business shirt, a wide band closed with a sewn button. On a tuxedo it does not work, for three reasons:

• It lacks a formal detail, so the wrist looks like the office.
• It leaves no place for cufflinks, so the quiet ornament is lost.
• Plastic or mother-of-pearl buttons stitched in place show beneath the jacket sleeve and make the outfit less coherent.

There is a middle option, the convertible cuff, which can be folded or buttoned. For a tuxedo it only reaches the right standard when it is closed with cufflinks. If all you have is a single-cuff shirt, look again at the collar and chest as well, since these usually bring other mismatches, as discussed in how tuxedo shirts differ from business shirts.

Fastening cufflinks correctly

Cufflinks come in many forms: swivel bar, chain, folding end. Whatever the type, the rule is that the decorative face turns outward when your arm hangs, and the two links match. The details are in their own article, how to wear cufflinks.

Advice from the Mon Amie workroom

When Mon Amie makes a tuxedo shirt, the specialist measures the wrist, asks whether you wear a watch and sets the sleeve length against the jacket sleeve so the cuff shows exactly where it should. See our made-to-measure tuxedo page or book a showroom fitting to try the whole outfit.