How to Wear Cufflinks

To wear cufflinks, you need a shirt with double (French) cuffs or convertible cuffs. Fold the cuff back, line up the buttonholes, push the cufflink through from the outside with the decorative face showing, then flip the toggle flat to lock it in place. It takes about thirty seconds once you have done it twice.

That is the short answer. The rest of this guide covers the details people actually get stuck on: which shirts work, which way the face should point, how to dress them up or down, and how to choose a pair that means something.

Which shirts can you wear cufflinks with?

Cufflinks need a cuff with a buttonhole on both sides and no button in the way. Three styles qualify.

• Double cuffs (French cuffs). The classic. The cuff is twice the usual length and folds back on itself, giving four layers of fabric and four buttonholes. Most formal and wedding shirts use this style.
• Convertible cuffs. A single cuff with a button on one side and an extra buttonhole beside it. You can button it as normal or slip a cufflink through instead. Plenty of off-the-peg office shirts have these without advertising it, so check the cuff before you buy a new shirt.
• Single link cuffs. A single-thickness cuff with two buttonholes and no buttons. Common on formal evening shirts.

A standard button cuff will not work. You can sometimes force a cufflink through a button cuff, but it sits awkwardly and the button gets in the way. If you are not sure what you have, look for buttonholes on both edges of the cuff.

How to put cufflinks on, step by step

It is easiest to do this before your jacket goes on, and much easier with the shirt already on than off.

1. Fold the cuff. For a double cuff, fold it back halfway so the fold sits neatly at the wrist and all four buttonholes line up.
2. Pinch the edges together. Bring the two sides of the cuff together so the inner surfaces touch and the edges point away from your wrist. This is called a "kissing" cuff, and it is the traditional way to wear them.
3. Turn the toggle. Swivel the toggle on the back of the cufflink so it lines up with the post, ready to slide through.
4. Push it through. Feed the cufflink through all the buttonholes from the outer side of the cuff, so the decorative face ends up on the side facing away from your body.
5. Lock it. Swivel the toggle back so it sits flat against the inner side. Give it a gentle tug to check it is secure.

Do your weaker hand first, while you still have patience. If you are getting ready for a wedding, it is perfectly normal to ask someone to help with the second one.

Which way should the face point?

With your arms resting at your sides, the face should be on the outside of each wrist, where people will see it. A design that reads in a particular direction, such as a photo or a date, should sit the right way up when your arm hangs naturally. Turn the cufflink in the buttonhole until it does.

Kissing cuff or barrel style?

The kissing style, with both edges pinched together, is the most common and the one you will see at weddings and formal events. Some people prefer to overlap the cuff like a barrel, with one edge over the other, which looks a little flatter under a jacket. Both are fine. Kissing is the safer default.

When to wear cufflinks

Cufflinks used to be strictly formal. These days they turn up anywhere a man wants to look put-together, and they are one of the few accessories that can carry a personal story.

• Weddings. The most common occasion by far. Grooms, best men, ushers and fathers of the bride often wear matching or personalised pairs, and many keep them for years afterwards.
• Black tie. Dress shirts for black tie usually need cufflinks. Keep them understated and let the outfit do the work.
• Work and interviews. A simple pair with a plain shirt reads as smart and considered without being showy.
• Christenings, milestone birthdays and anniversaries. Days where a meaningful detail matters more than a fashion statement.
• Funerals and memorials. A pair carrying a photograph of someone loved can be a quiet, personal tribute.

How to style cufflinks

A few simple rules keep things looking deliberate rather than accidental.

• Match the tone of your other accessories. A silver-coloured finish sits best alongside a silver-toned watch, belt buckle or tie clip. You do not need a perfect match, just the same family.
• Show a little cuff. About a centimetre of shirt cuff should show beyond the jacket sleeve. If your sleeves swallow the cuff completely, nobody will see the cufflinks.
• Keep everything else quiet when the cufflinks are personal. A pair with a photograph or a meaningful design is the talking point. A plain white or pale blue shirt and a simple tie let it stand out.
• Coordinate the wedding party, not necessarily the design. Matching pairs look smart in photos, but each person can carry a different image if you prefer. The finish ties them together.

What photographs print well on a cufflink?

Personalised cufflinks are printed on a small square face, so the picture needs to read clearly at a glance. Both cufflinks in a pair carry the same image. A few minutes choosing the right photo makes all the difference.

• Strong contrast. Clear light and dark areas survive the small size far better than soft, misty or low-light shots.
• Simple shapes. One face, one pet, one landmark or one bold symbol. Busy scenes turn into a blur at this scale.
• Tight crops. Crop in close to the subject before you upload. Remove background, sky and anything that is not the point of the picture.
• Faces close up. For people, head and shoulders works best. A full-length shot of a group of six will be too small to recognise.
• No fine text. Small writing, signatures and detailed captions will not be legible. If you want words, keep them short and bold.
• Think square. A portrait or landscape photo will be cropped to a square, so check the important part sits in the middle.

Good examples: a child's face, a much-loved dog, a wedding date in large numbers, a club crest, a simple drawing with thick lines. Harder examples: a group photo from across a room, a scanned letter, a wide landscape. Our photo cufflinks page has more guidance on preparing an image.

Cufflinks for the whole wedding party

Cufflinks are a popular thank-you gift for the people standing beside you on the day, and they are practical too, since most formal wedding shirts need them anyway. A few ideas that work well:

• A photo of the couple for the groom, given by the bride on the morning of the wedding.
• A shared memory for the best man, such as a photo from a trip you took together.
• A photograph of the bride as a child for the father of the bride.
• The wedding date or the couple's initials for the groomsmen and ushers, so everyone has a keepsake from the day.

On pricing: one to four pairs are £40 each with UK delivery included. Five or more pairs are £15 each plus £5 UK delivery, and you can mix designs within the order, which suits a wedding party where each person gets their own photo.

Find the right pair

If you are buying for a wedding, start with our wedding cufflinks, or browse the full wedding collection by role. For a gift that is not tied to a wedding, our personalised cufflinks for men cover birthdays, anniversaries and everything in between. Every pair is made by KF Online Ltd in Cornwall.