Silk Knots VS Cufflinks

[Brian Sheridan]

I love buying vintage art deco cufflinks on Ebay.

My question: are there different rules for wearing the colorful silk knots verses gold or silver cuff links.

My vintage silver ones almost seem to flashy and formal for daytime wear.

And to what color does one match the silk ones? My shirt, jacket or tie? Or does it matter?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Silk knot cufflinks (and there are cheaper versions made of nylon thread) are extremely popular in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, where more men wear French cuffs than barrel cuffs. I find that with time, they lose their elasticity and can fray. Luckily, they're not expensive.


In South America, at least, knot cufflinks are worn more often in the evening, while metallic links (usually silver-colored) are more popular for the daytime. I have no idea why.

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[adamgottschalk]

I love buying vintage art deco cufflinks on Ebay.

My question: are there different rules for wearing the colorful silk knots verses gold or silver cuff links.

My vintage silver ones almost seem to flashy and formal for daytime wear.

And to what color does one match the silk ones? My shirt, jacket or tie? Or does it matter?

Oh, no! Are you one of the ones bidding up cufflinks from nancyp43? Tony seems to have an endless supply, though he might be slowing down. I've lost a few sweet ones, how about you? My tastes do seem to differ from most folks; the ones I like most usually don't get many bids. I've found that chain-type cufflinks are impossible for me to do up for some reason; for really vintage, I prefer the one piece kind, a la silk knots but not silk knots, though I don't mind those. I've seen metal imitations of the silk knots that I like. My favorite pair in terms of wearability is a pair of late 1800s gun-metal links; each link is a short, arched piece of metal, one side ornate for the outside of the cuff, the other side just a solid ball. Ultra easy to put on.

I have a load of shirts which have "convertible cuffs"; these have a button to the side of the button-hole inside, such that you can use them with cufflinks if desired. The thing I like most about them is that the cuffs are normal, single-layered, instead of being double-layered on both sides as with standard French cuffs. This makes it a whole lot easier to don cufflinks in my life. There are of course drawbacks; the cuffs are not as "robust" as true French cuffs, and the button is indeed somewhat visible on the inside.

 

[Orgetorix]

Oh, no! Are you one of the ones bidding up cufflinks from nancyp43?

I've bought a few from that seller. Great stuff.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

Oh, no! Are you one of the ones bidding up cufflinks from nancyp43?

No I am not...though I might be now. lol Do'H!

 

[adamgottschalk]

In South America, at least, knot cufflinks are worn more often in the evening, while metallic links (usually silver-colored) are more popular for the daytime. I have no idea why.
.

I'll make a guess: fancier links are worn to work and ones seen as more casual are worn in evening?

 

[adamgottschalk]

No I am not...though I might be now. lol Do'H!

Do check him out. The nicer ones go for way more than I'd ever pay for a pair of cufflinks, but he's got a wide range of well-taken-care-of jewelry.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I'll make a guess: fancier links are worn to work and ones seen as more casual are worn in evening?

Could well be. Chilean men prefer to dress down in their free time, even if wearing suits. Heck, I've been to New Year's parties there where the men sported polo shirts and khakis while the women with them wore long evening dresses. Go figure.

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[Tomasso]

I've been to New Year's parties there where the men sported polo shirts and khakis while the women with them wore long evening dresses.

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[Marc Chevalier]

Yeah, I know. lol


All Chilean boys and girls are made to wear striped ties from the age of five. (School uniforms. And not clip-on ties, either. Real ones.) Practically every non blue collar job requires Chilean men to wear ties, and most wear suits too. It's like the 1950s never ended over there.


Perhaps for this reason, Chilean men grow to intensely dislike suits and ties. They wear them not by choice but by convention, if not outright compulsion. Heck, they're not even "allowed" to loosen their ties after work, when they head on mass to bars.


On the weekends, Chilean men get as far away from suits and ties as possible. They opt for the more casual (yet still "safe") uniform of polo shirt/buttondown, khakis, and penny loafers. Absolutely indistinguishable from one another, they would fit right in to any East Coast or Southern U.S. country club.

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[chucklehead]

bullet links

these just came in the mail for me

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Are you gonna bite them?

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[Brian Sheridan]

As interesting as this is...I still don't have an answer on when to wear the silk ones or when to wear the metal ones.

Focus, people, focus.

 

[Orgetorix]

I think the answer, honestly, is to wear them whenever you like. I wear both kinds. I'd say don't wear the silk knots with a dinner jacket, but other than that, it doesn't really matter. I suppose the level of formality of the rest of what I'm wearing might help determine which I put on--e.g. silk links with a glen plaid suit and a striped tie; metal ones with a striped worsted suit and a Macclesfield tie.

 

[Tomasso]

. I'd say don't wear the silk knots with a dinner jacket, .

I sometimes were black silk knots with a DJ when wearing a covered placket shirt. [huh]

 

[Orgetorix]

I sometimes were black silk knots with a DJ when wearing a covered placket shirt. [huh]

Ok, forget I said anything. :eusa_doh:

 

[Tomasso]

Ok, forget I said anything. :eusa_doh:

Done!

 

[Brian Sheridan]

Ok, forget I said anything. :eusa_doh:

No, what you said is great. I guess there isn't any rule to be broken (which can be cool) or faux pas to be committed (which is uncool) in choosing metal vs. silk. I just wasn't sure.

The trick, I think, is to match the colors in a pleasing way. There is less of a concern with metal.