the.com/cufflink
Proof that even buttoning a sleeve can be turned into a flex.
means A small decorative fastener used to hold together the two sides of a shirt cuff in place of a button.
from A transparent English compound of "cuff" plus "link." "Cuff" is a medieval English word for a glove or sleeve-end (originally something like "cuffe," of uncertain deeper roots), and "link" comes from old Germanic words for a loop or joint in a chain — the same family as the links of a chain. The object earned its name honestly: it literally links the two edges of a cuff. The compound "cuff-link" appears once such fasteners became fashionable on shirts with separate, buttonless cuffs.
- royal roots
- Popularized when Louis XIV craved fancier wrist closures
- name source
- Started as paired buttons called sleeve buttons
- hidden code
- Once signaled wealth, club ties, and secret allegiances
- shirt rebellion
- Modern buttoned cuffs nearly killed them off
- smuggler classic
- Hollow versions hid microfilm in spy lore
cartier panther cufflinks — iconic art deco design first created in 1914, worn by royalty and celebrities