Guidance / Dress codes
Four codes, three cuffs, and one mistake that causes most returns.
Last updated 12 August 2026 · Governing law: England and Wales
The three cuff types
Before any of the four codes matters, check your cuff. This is the single thing that decides whether a cufflink can be worn at all, and getting it wrong is by a wide margin the most common reason a cufflink comes back to us.
Takes a cufflink
French (double) cuff
Twice the length of an ordinary cuff, folded back on itself so four layers of fabric line up. Two holes, no button. The cufflink passes through all four layers and holds them shut.
Cannot take a cufflink
Barrel (single) cuff
One layer of fabric with a button sewn to it and a buttonhole opposite. There is no second hole for anything to pass through. No cufflink fits this cuff, and no adapter changes that.
Needs separate studs
Wing-collar dress shirt
A stiff standing collar with the points turned out, and a front placket with holes rather than buttons. Separate dress studs close the front; a proper evening shirt also has French cuffs for links.
If there is a button sewn onto the cuff, it is a barrel cuff and no cufflink will fit it. There is no adapter and no workaround; the cuff has one layer and one hole. Our Dress Code Match asks this question second and returns an empty cufflink set when the answer is a barrel cuff, rather than recommending something that cannot be worn.
Black tie
When. Evening events from about six o'clock, where the invitation says black tie or dinner jacket.
- A dress shirt with a placket that has holes rather than buttons — closed with separate dress studs.
- Chain-link cufflinks, or plain faces in silver, onyx or mother-of-pearl.
- No tie bar. A self-tied bow tie has no blade for a bar to grip.
- A signet or plain band is unremarkable; anything more is not.
Usually out of place. Base-metal and business-casual pieces. Our matcher filters both tiers out of a black-tie result entirely.
Morning dress
When. Daytime formal occasions — weddings before about six o'clock, and certain race meetings.
- A stick pin or a collar bar rather than a clip-style tie bar, which is the older and more correct form for the daytime.
- Gold reads correctly in daylight; silver is equally acceptable.
- A French cuff shirt with cufflinks; a wing collar is optional and, if worn, needs studs.
Usually out of place. Steel and brass. Not a rule so much as a mismatch of register with a morning coat.
Business formal
When. A suit and tie, in an office where that is the standard rather than the exception.
- Bullet-back or whale-back cufflinks in sterling or gold, with a plain face.
- A tie bar between 40 and 50 mm, narrower than the tie blade.
- One ring at most, and preferably one you already wear.
Usually out of place. Anything that reads as a novelty. The point is that nobody notices.
Business casual
When. A jacket without a tie, or a shirt on its own. The broadest and least defined of the four.
- Steel, brass and titanium — the base-metal line exists for this tier.
- Knot cufflinks, if the shirt has French cuffs at all, which most do not.
- A chain under the collar, a money clip in the pocket.
Usually out of place. Dress studs. They belong to an evening shirt and nothing else.
Tie bar widths
A tie bar should sit inside the edges of the tie, never overhang them. Measure the blade of the tie at its widest and choose a bar shorter than that.
Bars shown against a 60 mm tie blade. A bar should always be narrower than the tie — a bar that overhangs the edges is the most common sizing error in this category.
The other number that matters is the jaw opening. A 3 mm jaw takes a light silk and a shirt placket; a heavy wool or knitted tie needs 4 or 5 mm. Both figures are stated on every tie bar we sell.
Clip the bar through the tie and the shirt placket. Through the tie alone it holds nothing in place.