I must say, really whose Trust people who don’t read in the bathroom. Our bathroom at home is full of reading material; from Oprah magazines to a true crime book (my disgusting guilty pleasure), my husband’s history book (his not-so-disgusting guilty pleasure of hers), and his GQ magazines. When I’ve read my magazines one too many times, or when my current true crime book is finished, my last resort is flipping through their GQ magazines (just because I can’t see myself delving into the Industrial Revolution and how it profoundly impacted society). socioeconomic situation in America during the 19th century, no matter how boring I get). Then I realize that GQ is my husband’s fashion bible. From the way he wears his jacket and tie to the casual shoes he wears and the trendy dress shoes he always looks at in the department store; It’s all there on those glossy, cologne-laden pages. So instead of aimlessly searching online or reading magazines, I just have to pick my husband’s fashion-oriented brain. My question to him was how to determine what type of cufflinks to wear on different occasions. Search online and you will find many cufflink options; funny cufflinks, traditional cufflinks, and even cufflinks that are made to look like old 45’s. If you can imagine it, it’s probably in there in the form of cufflinks. But would it be okay to wear those classic electric guitar cufflinks to, say, a job interview? Is there a label for these things? What is appropriate? And when is it appropriate?
Playful/Hobby Cufflinks
You’re an IT analyst by day, scolding your colleagues for using up all their bandwidth watching YouTube videos when they should be concentrating on budgeting for the next fiscal year. You roll your eyes every time you hear someone on the other side of the cubicle wall yell, “Hey guys, is the internet down?” At night, though, you toss that short-sleeved button-down shirt to the sidewalk and launch into DJing on the turntables at the local club down the street. As a gift from his trendy mother, he receives detailed sterling silver DJ turntable cufflinks. When to use them? The debatable rule of thumb for gaming and/or hobby cufflinks is to wear them on less formal occasions. For example, while it might seem like a good icebreaker to wear these at your next job interview, you might want to leave them at home and talk about moonlighting as a DJ. after you have blocked the job. However, if you had an office Christmas party where a suit and tie was required, you could definitely get away with sporting cufflinks, due to the festive nature of the occasion. For weddings, it may be best to decide on a case-by-case basis. If you’re attending a best friend’s wedding and you know it’s going to be fancy but everyone will be dancing to the latest rap songs, go ahead and put on those fun cufflinks. On the other hand, if you’ve been invited to the wedding of your CEO’s daughter, where everyone will be dancing the minuet, skip the fun and go the more traditional route. At a political rally, you can always pair your suit with those Democrat donkey cufflinks if you want, unless, of course, you’re a TV reporter who needs to be even-handed with the public. If you’re attending a formal fundraising event for the local aquarium, go ahead and wear those piranha or shark cufflinks. When it comes to being funny or having a sporting interest through your cufflinks, just play by ear and do your best to always be tasteful, tailoring the cufflinks to the occasion where appropriate.
Traditional Cufflinks
Classic and more traditional cufflinks don’t always have to translate to boring. Striped, crystal or silk knot cufflinks could be considered classics. Simply match the cufflink to the color of your tie and/or the shade of your belt or wedding ring and you should have an easy fix. If you’re attending a funeral or formal wedding (like the boss wedding mentioned above), you’ll definitely want to go the traditional route. The same goes for a job interview. You want the panel interviewing you to focus on what you’re saying and what you can bring to the company, not looking at your Dallas Cowboys cufflinks and wondering if you’ll be the one to get everyone into a fantasy football league in ESPN instead of doing your job If you’re going on a formal blind date to see the opera, it’s probably best to go with a set of traditional cufflinks instead of the slot machine cufflinks; A first date is not the time for her to wonder if she is embarking on a relationship with a gambling addict who will force her to take out a second mortgage on her house to support her habit.
Actually, there really are no hard and fast rules when it comes to twins. It really is a matter of personal preference and personality as to which cufflinks you will wear with your various outfits at your various events. If you’re the type of person who can wear pink socks with a suit, be as flashy as you dare. If the thought of someone coming up to you about the Harley Davidson logo on your cufflinks leaves you in a panic, stick with something more traditional. Remember, cufflinks are meant to enhance an outfit, not detract from it.