I travel a lot for work, and there are two things that in the past I always forgot; Cufflinks and a work belt.
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So you left your cufflinks at home. By accident. Sigh.
It might be something innocent that caused the accident, like you rode your bike or jogged into work and accidentally left your cufflinks out of your bag. Sigh.
Or it might be a little less innocent, you had a big night out and slept somewhere else, a bowling alley perhaps, and change into your spare suit at work. But don’t have cufflinks. Sigh.
It might be you are attending an out of town formal event, and in your hotel room you realise your cufflinks have been stolen by the baggage handlers at the airport. Sigh. You should have chosen a better airline.
The next few tips on how to make cufflinks out of home and office supplies should get you out of trouble.
If this happens to you often, and you still store your cufflinks in a cufflink box like a cave man, then you definitely should look into getting a Cufflink Strap to put in your locker or take on your travels. If you already have a Cufflink Strap and this still happens to you? Get yourself together, friend.
The Paper Clip Cufflinks
The paper clip is my go to cufflink when I get to the office and realise that I have left my cufflinks at home. I wouldn’t wear it on my wedding day, but it doesn’t look half bad.
- Pry apart the paper clip to make an S shape.
- Bend the paper clip back the other way, but with the larger side slightly bent so that both ends of the paper clip are roughly on top of each other.
- Now bend it slightly back the other way and fit it through the holes of your French cuffs.
- Push the clip closed.
- This should get you through the day, but for extra stability, rigidity and peace of mind, you can then tuck the ends of the paperclip behind the cuff, locking it in.
.
Step 1
Step 3
Step 5
Step 2
Step 4
The Bulldog Clip Cufflinks
This method is not inconspicuous, so be prepared to be caught out and to cop some ridicule. I was going to say this method was the easiest but it turned out to be quite hard to get all the cuff ends together for clipping.
- Jam your arm up against a table and bunch all the cuff ends together.
- Clip on the bulldog clip.
- Put the sides of the bulldog clip down.
Step 1
End result
The Elastic Band Cufflinks
The elastic band method is one that struggles to last through the day – the knot usually comes undone. Use only in tight situations.
- Put the elastic band through the cufflink holes.
- Put one end of the elastic band through the other and pull tight.
- Wrap around and repeat step 2 so you have a kind of knot.
- Tuck the end under the bottom loop.
Step 1
Step 4
Step 2 and 3
The Safety Pin Cufflinks
This is usually an easy to find household or hotel item.
- Open the pin and thread one side through the cufflink holes, being careful not to stab yourself.
- Swivel the safety pin around so that the small end hangs out and the bulky end is underneath.
- Clip the safety pin together.
Note – it’s really hard to get it undone!
End Result
The Staple Cufflinks
I’m not going to staple my cuffs together, and I wouldn’t recommend that you do either. But, if I really, really needed to, I would use 3 staples
- One staple through the bottom 2 cuffs.
- One staple through the top 2 cuffs.
- Then one staple through the middle two cuffs.
The Stapler and Paper Cufflinks
This is pretty random, but maybe all you have is some paper and a stapler. Looks pretty silly but will get you out of a jam.
- Cut a piece of paper about the size of a business card, but slightly skinnier.
- Fold is back and forward until it will fit through your cufflink holes.
- Thread through the cufflink holes.
- Fan out one side of the paper and then staple it.
- Fan out the other side and staple it.
- Flatten down the ends.
Step 1 and 2
Step 4 and 5
Step 3
Step 6
There you have it! Cufflinks from home and office supplies.
Let me know if you have any more tricks for making cufflinks from home and office supplies in the comments!
So you left your cufflinks at home. By accident. Sigh.
It might be something innocent that caused the accident, like you rode your bike or jogged into work and accidentally left your cufflinks out of your bag. Sigh.
Or it might be a little less innocent, you had a big night out and slept somewhere else, a bowling alley perhaps, and change into your spare suit at work. But don’t have cufflinks. Sigh.
It might be you are attending an out of town formal event, and in your hotel room you realise your cufflinks have been stolen by the baggage handlers at the airport. Sigh. You should have chosen a better airline.
The next few tips on how to make cufflinks out of home and office supplies should get you out of trouble.
If this happens to you often, and you still store your cufflinks in a cufflink box like a cave man, then you definitely should look into getting a Cufflink Strap to put in your locker or take on your travels. If you already have a Cufflink Strap and this still happens to you? Get yourself together, friend.
The Paper Clip Cufflinks
The paper clip is my go to cufflink when I get to the office and realise that I have left my cufflinks at home. I wouldn’t wear it on my wedding day, but it doesn’t look half bad.
- Pry apart the paper clip to make an S shape.
- Bend the paper clip back the other way, but with the larger side slightly bent so that both ends of the paper clip are roughly on top of each other.
- Now bend it slightly back the other way and fit it through the holes of your French cuffs.
- Push the clip closed.
- This should get you through the day, but for extra stability, rigidity and peace of mind, you can then tuck the ends of the paperclip behind the cuff, locking it in.
.
Step 1
Step 3
Step 5
Step 2
Step 4
The Bulldog Clip Cufflinks
This method is not inconspicuous, so be prepared to be caught out and to cop some ridicule. I was going to say this method was the easiest but it turned out to be quite hard to get all the cuff ends together for clipping.
- Jam your arm up against a table and bunch all the cuff ends together.
- Clip on the bulldog clip.
- Put the sides of the bulldog clip down.
Step 1
End result
The Elastic Band Cufflinks
The elastic band method is one that struggles to last through the day – the knot usually comes undone. Use only in tight situations.
- Put the elastic band through the cufflink holes.
- Put one end of the elastic band through the other and pull tight.
- Wrap around and repeat step 2 so you have a kind of knot.
- Tuck the end under the bottom loop.
Step 1
Step 4
Step 2 and 3
The Safety Pin Cufflinks
This is usually an easy to find household or hotel item.
- Open the pin and thread one side through the cufflink holes, being careful not to stab yourself.
- Swivel the safety pin around so that the small end hangs out and the bulky end is underneath.
- Clip the safety pin together.
Note – it’s really hard to get it undone!
End Result
The Staple Cufflinks
I’m not going to staple my cuffs together, and I wouldn’t recommend that you do either. But, if I really, really needed to, I would use 3 staples
- One staple through the bottom 2 cuffs.
- One staple through the top 2 cuffs.
- Then one staple through the middle two cuffs.
The Stapler and Paper Cufflinks
This is pretty random, but maybe all you have is some paper and a stapler. Looks pretty silly but will get you out of a jam.
- Cut a piece of paper about the size of a business card, but slightly skinnier.
- Fold is back and forward until it will fit through your cufflink holes.
- Thread through the cufflink holes.
- Fan out one side of the paper and then staple it.
- Fan out the other side and staple it.
- Flatten down the ends.
Step 1 and 2
Step 4 and 5
Step 3
Step 6
There you have it! Cufflinks from home and office supplies.
Let me know if you have any more tricks for making cufflinks from home and office supplies in the comments!
Cufflinks have been around in some shape or form for about 400 years, and will continue to be a go to accessory for the foreseeable future.
Cufflink use in formal wear
When a man goes out in a suit he wants to be seen in all his glory, and with jewellery like necklaces and bracelets for men not coming into fashion anytime soon where is a man to turn to bling himself out?
His watch? Probably not as these are moving towards “smart watches” and will most likely have to be put away for formal events as they will be too intrusive when buzzing and ringing at the table. Cigarette case? No one smokes anymore, and if they do they should read this book. Cufflinks, rings and belt buckles will be the bling of choice for the formal event, and maybe colourful socks for the poor peacocking man or the pantless bear.
The use of cufflinks in formal wear will be here for the long run, and we will most likely see a trend of more high end and expensive cufflinks and men owning fewer pairs, rather than the endless supply of cheap novelty cufflinks we see worn today.
Cufflink use in business attire
Businesses are becoming more casual and laid back about work attire, without the need to wear a tie or even a suit in some cases. If this trend continues then we will see less and less use of cufflinks in the workplace – people just aren’t wearing shirts no more! Business shirts that is. That being said, the other trend that I see in businesses is the move towards working from home more often. If this trend continues there could be a resurgence in wearing a suit to work to make sure that when you are at work you are looking ready for business.
If both of these trends continue, we will see a decline in the use of cufflinks, both because the workplace has become more casual and because people won’t be wearing a suit when working from home. This decline in the use of cufflinks will mean that people won’t need gillions of pairs of cufflinks, a person could most likely get away with a dozen or less pairs of cufflinks for business use.
Cufflink use for the salesman and customer facing business man
I have a special section for the salesman and the customer facing business man who at all times need to look their best. Unless they are forced to wear a polo shirt (in which case they carry cufflinks and a shirt in the car for ‘just in case’). Cufflinks have always been a big part of their artillery to enhance the perception of themselves in the eyes of the customer, and this trend will continue, even for those that sell over the phone which will most likely move to video calls.
In conclusion
Cufflinks still have a place in future society, but perhaps not as strong of a future in business attire as it used to be. However, cufflinks at formal events are probably going to grow in popularity. Your choice in cufflinks still show a lot about you, and you should choose with care how you present yourself on all occasions.