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Cuff links expose Trad as a sometimes bicameral institution. On the one hand are the Puritans for whom any sign of straying from the righteous path of the Commandments is never to be considered:
Thou shalt be clothed only in button-down shirts (and then with the proper collar roll)
Thou shalt eschew pleated trousers
Thou shalt not worship graven images at establishments such as Paul Stuart
These chaps’ wardrobes were frozen in time between 1957 and 1962. They might include such items as knit ties, big heavily brogued shoes, and tie clasps, but the fact that these items are hopelessly square (and ugly to boot) is no disincentive: Look at the old pictures from Life magazine! See? Fred Astaire wore an argyle sweater! The Puritan strain is all about hewing to the line.
The Puritan camp is also about value, even frugality. No sartorial item can be apprehended without reference to its cost; to this group, the Trad who shops at Ben Silver may as well be setting fire to his checkbook. Jewelry is not worn (“Thou shalt not be turned out in baubles, unless they be a cheap timepiece fastened to the wrist by a ribbon strap”). The Puritan value-consciousness also explains the curious practice of “thrifting,” that is to say wearing someone else’s tax deductions.
The second strain of Trad includes what I call the Universalists. Within the broad general framework of Trad, for the Universalist, anything goes. The Puritan is against show; the Universalist is all for it. The Universalist owns seven pairs of horse-bit loafers: a black pair, a brown pair, a tan pair, a brown suede pair with lug soles, one pair of driving loafers, an old pair of Cole-Haans that no longer fit but remind him of his college days, and a pair of Guccis never worn because the sole is too thin (but too expensive to bear shitcanning). Needless to say, none of these shoes has ever been introduced to a pair of socks. If they made sheepskin skippers with horse-bits, the Universalist would own them too. He likes to test the rules of Trad and push the envelope of acceptable cost, without actually shopping at Neiman-Marcus.
While the Puritan quaffs those droll emblematic ties like mother’s milk (the snooty fox, black sheep, bull and bear, etc.), the Universalist harbors an abiding hunger for the confounding prints on offer from Vineyard Vines and even Hermès, although, again, the latter may require a trip to Neiman-Marcus or at best the duty-free in Heathrow. That the whimsical appeal of these ties fades after two wearings does not discourage the Universalist. He pairs them with spread collar shirts featuring, as often as not, French or double cuffs. And double cuffs of course require cuff links. (The Puritan does not want to look like an investment banker. Investment bankers are neither steady nor respectable.)
To the Universalist, buying a pair of cuff links at Paul Stuart is the greatest treat imaginable. And even for the frowzy old Puritan who once or twice a year dons the blue chambray Lee Iacocca with white collar and cuffs, Stuart is the mecca for links that are beautiful but not over-the-top. These cuff links are small works of art and have an heirloom quality about them; my collection is pictured above. Note that Stuart’s links are the proper and infinitely preferable double-sided ones, where each side bears a design and is connected by a chain (or “link”). The material is silver or gold with enamel in brilliant colors and patterns. The selection on the Stuart website is meager, so you’ve got to go into the store where, if you can brave your way through the rapacious sales staff who lurk ‘round every corner, you’ll find somewhere between 50 and 75 different patterns available. One never feels guilty about buying a pair, though at the price – $350 – one doesn’t do it very often.
At a lower price point, Kent Wang sells terrific double-sided cuff links. Ben Silver, too, has traditionally offered an admirable collection of conservative links. By “conservative” I mean that none is bigger than a half dollar, is constructed of fiber optics, or weighs more than a quarter pound. Always remember, cuff links should not require a conversation about carats; if they can be purchased at a jeweler’s, chances are they’re too flashy – even to a Universalist.
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