Which Way Do Cufflinks Go?

Cufflinks add a finishing accent to your suit that reveals a substantial amount about your style. Whether it's a black tie event that you're suiting up for, or you're sprucing up your corporate routine, cufflinks are a superb option for demonstrating your good taste and style. Essentially, they're are an ace up the sleeve for achieving unabashed sophistication. But one of the most important things to consider is which way cufflinks go. 

When it comes to wearing cufflinks, it takes a bit of insight in knowing how to pull them off properly. Cufflinks, by their nature, are superbly elegant and demand a bit of special attention to ensure they're done justice. This in-depth article will guide you through how to put on cufflinks the right way. 

How to Put Cufflinks On

When securing your dashing pair of cufflinks in place, the most vital thing to remember is to ensure the emblem faces the outside. This is so your peers can gratefully admire the view. 

Whether you're wearing a standard cuff, French cuff, barrel cuff or mitered cuff, the opening of the fabric will be at the back of your wrist. This means you have to bend your elbow up to your chest so you can easily access your cuff. 

1. Bend your arm up to your chest so you can reach your cuff with your other hand.

2. Pinch the two sides of your cuff together so that the buttonholes of the fabric line up. 

3. Starting from the outside of your cuff, begin sliding the back of your cufflinks through the buttonholes. If you are wearing bullet back or whale back cufflinks, you will need to adjust the back to a vertical position.

4. Once the back of the cufflink has been passed through both layers of fabric, adjust it so that it will secure the fabric in place. For bullet back and whale back cufflinks, this will mean adjusting the back to a horizontal position. 

If you bend your elbow up and extend your wrist in front of your shoulder, the cuff of your shirt should be facing away from you. To secure your cufflinks properly, all you have to do is slide the back of them through the slits of your cuffs. Start from the outside moving inwards so that the emblem ends up facing the outside. 

Types of Cufflinks

When it comes to securing your cufflinks properly, there are many different styles you need to be informed about. It's likely you will possess either bullet back, whale back, fixed back or chain style cufflinks. 

They all generally have the same concept, they include a discernible front and back and their job is to secure your cuffs in place so they don't come apart. However, the method of securing them can be slightly different.

Whale back and bullet back style cufflinks involve a rotating bar that attaches to a metal bride. This bar rotates 90 degrees so that you can slide your cufflinks on with ease and then rotate the bar so that it sits horizontally. This horizontal position will prevent your cuffs from sliding away from each other. 

Fixed back cufflinks involve a metal bridge that connects two decorative fixtures. These two fixtures will have one side that's smaller than the other and the smaller side will constitute the back of the cufflink. 

The chain style cufflink adopts a similar concept to the fixed back cufflink. It involves two decorative fixtures that are held together by a flexible chain. This chain will bridge together the two sides of the cuff whilst the fixtures will be large enough to keep them in place throughout the day. 

Whichever style of cufflink you have in your assemblage, it's universal that you must slide the back of your cufflink through your sleeve first.