The A-to-Z of Accessories: Cufflinks

Shirts that don’t have cuff buttons need some cufflinks but, as they’re often only an accessory that is hunted down to go with a formal shirt for a special occasion, bland and boring cufflinks are extremely easy to come by. As they’re often given as a gift on Father’s Day, you can also find endless sport and car themed cufflink designs too. Trying to find something quirky, stylish or unusual often takes a bit more research. Not on the High Street have some fantastic sellers – I found some interesting silver autumn leaf, wild wolf, roses, watch movement, binary and Mondrian designs. If you have lots of piercings, why not go for some classic ball cufflinks reminiscent of your body jewellery? For the superstitious, a handy piece of wood to touch. If you really do like cars but want a design that’s different to the usual motoring kind, how about some tax disc cufflinks? They have a massive selection of designs that can be personalised, but I think my favourite so far are stylish classic Joanna Parkin’s leather ones. There were still many more pages of search results after that discovery though! There are, of course, even more options from independent designers on Etsy and Folksy too.

If you want stylish cufflinks that are a bit different, it’s best not to search for ‘fun’ as most of the designs that come up are garish novelty ones. It may be possible to carry off these Debenhams iPhone cufflinks with panache, but… I’m not convinced! Instead, look to some other well known names for inspiration. Ted Baker have some lovely designs at a reasonable price, as do Thomas Pink (their cuff knots are especially vibrant), whereas Selfridges stock interesting designs for those with bigger budgets. Personally, I’d suggest taking a look at the offerings from my favourite jewellery designers, Tatty Devine. Who could resist the Gilbert & George designed gin bottles, ghosts, leopard heads or their wonderful price tickets (pictured above)? A fantastic finishing touch and a great talking point too.