OK, I know I've railed on men's jewelry before. Aside from a nice
watch and a wedding band if he's hitched, I just don't like jewelry on
a guy. A gold necklace, gold-link bracelet, or any other trinket to me
is not very macho. I like my men manly.
I will make another exception, which is all man: the cuff link. Oooh,
think Harrison Ford, Pierce Brosnan, Justin Timberlake. Cuff links are
suave, sophisticated and very macho. Luckily, they're making a
comeback, according to Marques Harper, a Cox News Service reporter.
"They're being worn day and night and by everyone from college
students to older men for whom dressing up never went out of style."
"Cuff links are always in," says Bozhena Orekhova, GQ's accessories
editor. "They are one of the accessories that men can wear, like
watches. It shows a lot about your manners and how seriously you take
your style."
According to Harper, cuff links came into play in the 1600s when King
Charles II of England made popular a shirt with a lacy front and
matching cuffs. (Charles had grown tired of using ribbon to tie his
cuffs.) They might have had their peak in the 1960s and '70s, but
there has been a recent surge in interest in them as a key men's
accessory.
Fall style forecasts at Neiman Marcus, which sells cuff links from
John Hardy, King Baby and others, show French cuffs and cuff links
will be must-haves as more professional men -- or men simply looking
to stand out in a sea of button-up shirts and jeans -- return to
dressing up.
Prices range from a few bucks for a thrift-store find to thousands of
dollars.
Recently, jewelry designers have turned to non-traditional cuff link
materials such as bone, rubber, titanium, wood and various gemstones.
Styles vary from the kitschy and comical (martini glasses and water
faucet knobs) to the luxurious (David Yurman's black diamond cuff
links).
So, okay men, if you must adorn yourselves, you have my permission to
buy a pair of cufflinks, or three.
Mother-of-pearl cuff links, or pearl cuff links, are gorgeous and
sophisticated.
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