Vintage Cufflinks And Monograms
Today, I want to talk about Vintage Cufflinks & Monograms.
There has long been a passion for wearing identity jewellery – the ID Bracelet was hugely popular in the 1980s. But long before that, items of jewellery were being engraved with the owner’s intitals.
These days, we see an increasing trend towards wearing cufflinks or jewellery that had belonged to our ancestors. As an example, you could find yourself wearing jewellery that has been engraved with someone’s initials that clearly are not own. A pair of cufflinks could have the initials of your Grandfather, and his surmane may not even be the same as yours.
So we find ourselves in the situation where Initials & Monograms do not necessarily have to bear a resemblence to your own initials.
This has opened up an incredible market for vintage cufflinks and jewellery. No longer do you have to shy away from buying something you love because it has the wrong initials.
Among your circle of friends, you might be the only one who knows where you purchased a second-hand item. With a little imagination, you can come up with any story to fit your newly purchased monogramed cufflinks. Who’s going to know?
One of the great things about vintage cufflinks is that they’ve been around a bit. They have their own story, they have nicks and scratches (like the wrinkles in an old man’s face). They are not shiny, new, sterile pieces of jewellery.
There’s a lot of character to Vintage Cufflinks, and monograms add even more character. They are a great conversation starter.
Wear Cufflinks: Without A Suit?
It’s a common problem these days – when to wear cufflinks.
As fashion changes over the years, the old rules seem to apply less and less. A recent survey of readers on the “askandyaboutclothes.com” forum revealed that men are more confused than ever about when it is appropriate to wear cufflinks.
The question asked was “Are cufflinks only acceptable with suits?”
Here’s my summary of the different responses:
- “Keep them pertinent to the event - I only wear cufflinks at black tie events.”
- “While most appropriate worn with a suit, I have at times worn cufflinks with no suit or tie but chinos and loafers and no socks.”
- “I wear them a few times a year just for the heck of it. I don’t own any suits.”
- “I wear cuff links several times a week in my business casual work environment (sports coat, sans tie).”
- “I’ve got some Polo daily casual shirts with French cuffs, and I’ll use a pair of links without thinking about it.”
- “I will wear double cuffs with sports coats, without ties. I don’t think suits and ties are necessary.”
- “Only with suit. Not for junior personnel. Almost never for interview. Silk knots always appropriate.”
- “It never occured to me that an individual in a junior position shoudn’t wear cuff links; perhaps that is more of USA sentiment.”
- “Any notion that “junior personnel” should not wear cufflinks is, in my opinion, pure hogwash.”
- “Screw it. Wear the cufflinks when you feel like it.”
- “I think it’s totally mad that anybody would mind that much about this.”
- “I love cufflinks! Aside from watches and a class ring, they are the only form of mainstream “man jewelry” I get to wear and display.”
- “I don’t think it’s a good idea to wear “gag” cufflinks–hot & cold taps, martini glasses, miniature cigars, etc–to work.”
The forum thread often went off on a tangent about whether ties were compulsory with suits, but I’ve only highlighted the responses about cufflinks here. If you want to read the full thread, visit Ask Andy About Clothes. It’s an interesting read.
As you can see, the responses were many and varied.
For the people who say “only with a suit”, do you wear the suit jacket ALL the time and never take it off?
Me? I think if you match your cufflinks to your attire, you should be okay. For example, formal cufflinks with formal attire, and less-formal cufflinks with less-formal attire.
What do you think? When do you wear cufflinks? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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