Piece of the Week: Vintage Cufflinks

Enthusiasts

Piece of the Week: Vintage Cufflinks

Isadoras

Cufflinks have always been a beautiful way to wear your heart on your sleeve.

Not surprisingly, the evolution of the cufflink can be directly tied to the history of the men’s shirt. But their effect on fashion touches womenswear too.

Cufflinks were originally designed for noblemen. In the seventeenth century, cufflinks, or “sleeve buttons” replaced the ribbon as a means to keep a cuff closed. Because these buttons were so much more interesting than a boring string, their popularity soared.

In the Georgian Era, cufflinks were ornate and expensive and often featured a miniature painting on quartz.

The Victorian Era saw the evolution of the modern sleeve cuff. Victorians loved the formality of a stiffly starched cuff, which made cufflinks a necessity, since it was hard to get a button through the starched fabric.

Victorian cufflinks were made with less expensive materials like paste and lower-priced gems, in order to be affordable for middle class men and women. The Victorian moss agate cufflinks below are a perfect example.

The popularity of cufflinks has waxed and waned over time with the flow of fashion. Today, cufflinks are still worn by men and women everywhere. They are an easy way to express your personality and your style.

The cufflinks from Isadoras antique heirloom collection tell the tale of a time gone by, when cufflinks were the norm for both sexes and not only served a function, but were an integral part of the current fashion.

Vintage cufflinks not only add an element of sophistication to any ensemble, they are a fun addition to other pieces in your own heirloom jewelry collection.

Greta Garbo sports classic round cufflinks with her white shirt.