Photography: Michail Androulidakis
Editor: Katerina Theocharis
Cufflinks separate men from boys. Wear them wisely.
There is usually a confusion when it comes to men’s accessories.
Am I too casual? Is this matching my outfit? How can I add a little something to my outfit without appearing overdressed?
What are cufflinks?
Cufflinks, accessories that first appeared in the 16th century in France, were a sign of royalty and high class. Today, they are used by everyday men to add extra personality and style to their outfit, as they can totally transform a plain white shirt and may bring out your whole outfit. Cufflinks are mostly formal or semi-formal and the proper outfit to wear them is a suit or a tuxedo combined with a tie or a bow-tie.
The Shirt
In order to wear a pair of cufflinks you need a shirt with special cuffs.
There are two types of cuffs:
The Kiss cuff: The cuffs are pinched together and the ends look like they kiss. Kiss cuffs are mainly better with with French cuffs, which are longer sleeves that must be folded, in order to hold four layers of fabric. French, also, call them Musketeers and they are the most dressy type of cuffs.
The Barrel-style cuff: The top end is being overlapped with the other one. This is the most discrete way to wear a pair of cufflinks, while the look better with a single length cuff, which is the most common and casual.
How-to-wear
In order to have a balanced, stylish and sharp appearance, one should know, at first, his own style. How could you characterize it? Casual? Sporty? Classic?
As Epictetus once said: “Know, first, who you are and then adorn yourself accordingly”.
Once you find your style, everything will be easier in choosing the right accessories. There are different styles of cufflinks, different metals, plating, stones and materials. One should tune in the cufflinks with the occasion, the outfit, the mood and his style. For example, for a special occasion you should wear a pair of quality classic cufflinks with your formal suit, not a pair of funny ones.
The design features a clasp mechanism that makes fastening easy.
The MINAS cufflinks that I chose to present you today, belong to my personal collection and my favorites. I totally love their finish and how their minimal design discretely enhances my looks.
About MINAS
Minas was born in 1938 in Athens. He trained as a goldsmith who from the age of 15 knew exactly what he wanted to achieve. At the age of 30 he went to America. He lived and worked for 11 years in New York, as a freelancer and established his presence as a designer, creating pieces in gold and silver as solid materials, but never used stones.
In 1980, he moved his studio back to Athens to begin a new limited production of personally signed pieces. Minas has continued this tradition and still signs personaly every piece he creates. In 1983 he begins to experiment in industrial design and applies his engineering skills to the improvement of his workshop.
From 1986 he devotes himself to architectural design and constructs an extraordinary house on the Greek island of Mykonos marrying the Cycladic tradition with modern ideas.
In 1990 he starts to design furniture and works in marble, wood and stainless steel.
In 1992 he exhibits his work creations in Zoumboulaki gallery. For the first time he presents a large selection of his designs in various materials. His designs are compact and they incorporate the human gesture. Soon after the exhibition, Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art embraces his collection with enthusiasm and displays it as a permanent exhibition.
The same year begins his cooperation with Georg Jensen silver smithy, on a range of designer’s products, as well as on a large collection of silver and gold jewellery. Four years later he presents his entire work in an exhibition in Copenhagen, the Cultural Capital of Europe for 1996. Minas is the first non Scandinavian artist to join the Danish firm.
In 1997 in cooperation with Georg Jensen launches the “watch” at the Basel Fair in Switzerland.
The First Minas store opens in Mykonos in 1998. The Designer’s touch is recognizable through his creations from the very first moment.
In the same year Georg Jensen creates artwork on silver Minas’ design of the marble plate. The prototype is now part of a private collection in London. In 1999, Georg Jensen hosted a series of exhibitions in New York, London and Paris.
In 2002, the Greek major porcelain company ΙΟΝΙΑ embraces his innovative designs with enthusiasm and creates an outstanding series of porcelain items. He collaborated with the Japanese company Isetan and created several pendants motivated by his collaboration, among them the “Eye Glass” and the “Initial pendants”.
On December 2005, he opened his flagship store in Athens.
In 2015, Minas opened his first London store in Knightsbridge.
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