Back in 16th Century France, wearing cufflinks was a sign of royalty and high-class, but today every can own a set. Every man should own a set, because like a tie clip, they can make your outfit perfectly unique.
It should be noted that there are two styles of shirt cuff. The first and most common shirt cuff is the single-length cuff. This is seen as the more casual of the two cuffs. The second and more formal one is the French cuff. It is characterised by the longer sleeve and the fact that the cuff must be folded over. Because the cufflink originated in France, they fit into a French cuff (unless you are French, then it’s the Musketeer cuff) in two ways.
Kissing Cuff
This is the most common style of cuff worn because it is the more formal of the two. The ends of pinched together to create the appearance that they are kissing. This allows the holes to be lined up before you pass the cufflink through them. Because of the more formal nature of this cuff, this is the more popular of the two to be used with cufflinks.
Barrel style Cuff
This style is the more discreet of the two for wearing cufflinks. For this style, instead of making the cuff ends meet, you must pass one end below the other and pass the cufflink through. This creates a barrel cuff. However the barrel style cuff is more common with the single-length cuff therefore usually not needing the use of cufflinks.
