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What is the history of cufflinks ?
A sober costume, a white shirt and a necktie in a conservative color, is often the standard of a majority of men. But why not inject some life into your business look? Cufflinks are a simple and a tasteful addition to add a unique personal touch to your wardrobe. As a jewel for a women, cuff links add a touch of class and elegance to a traditional business dress.
The first cufflinks appeared in the early 17th century. They were an original alternative to ribbons and lace to retain handles. Considering at the begining as a personal adornment, it was reserved to the high social class population.
In the 19th century, during the Industrial Revolution, the development of precious metal electroplating afforded the masses to get cuffinks in their wardrobe. A wide variety of mechanisms for open and closing cufflinks appeared: the classic chain is replaced by the flip-hinge. Jewellers like Cartier and Tiffany crafted work of art cufflinks in mother of pearl, crystal, precious stones...These famous fashion names establish cufflinks as the essential accessory for men.
Miror of our history, cufflinks espouse centuries through various designs: art deco at the end of 19th century, extravagant in the period 1940-1950, eccentric in 1960 with Holywood stars and whimsical today.
Cufflinks are relatively recent in the fashion history. Until the beginning of the XVII th century in Europe, cufflinks didn't exist. Elegant men retained their handles by ribbons or lace.
However, some eccentrics started to use silver or gold buttons connected by a small chain to retain their handles: cufflink had been born.
This eccentricity phenomenon allured but it been necessary to await the end of the XIXth century so that cufflinks become an element running of the wardrobe male. Several reasons with that: the industry development which allowed manufacture lower cost but also the shirt evolution and the men's wear in general. Male fashion was democratized and become more sober under the influence of some men like George Brummel whose elegance and refinement marked its century.
At the end of XIXth century, the middle-class and the businessmen showed the elegance style. But these new kind of dandies remained very traditional, sometimes austere. Dark costume during the day, dinner jacket during the evening. Only their cufflinks showed their personality. Manufacturers were very imaginative and multiplied forms, matters and fasteners mechanisms: chain, lever with rocker, rigid connection... Principal modern mechanisms were invented at that time.
At the beginning of the XXth century, very imaginative English creators, like large jewellers (Cartier, Tiffany...) adored "Art nouveau". Strong artistic currents like "Art Déco", Cubism or Bauhaus influenced cufflinks creators which used sophisticated matters: opaline, enamels, crystal, pearl, preciousstones...
In 1924, Mr Boyer, of the Boyer company, created fastener system made up of a tilting stick over all his length between a double stem. Nowadays, this system remains most still used.
Of Charles Lindbergh to Duke of Windsor, elegant men succeeded to mark their time by their detail sence. They never separated from their cufflinks.
In the Seventies, shirts with built-in buttons replace cufflinks. Fortunately, some irreducible elegant men fight to continue to carry cufflinks. The haute couture famous names, faithful to traditions, perpetuate this jewel existence.
Thanks to new designers as Paul Smith or Gucci, cufflinks are back to the fashion stage: cufflinks will continue to add the right kind of suave sophistication
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