Bespoke Shirts
The French Cuff Shirt.
Double cuffs and cufflinks — the one addition to a shirt that most immediately elevates the entire outfit.
A French cuff shirt — correctly called a double cuff, since the cuff folds back on itself and is fastened with cufflinks rather than buttons — adds a specific formality to a suit that no other element provides. The cufflink, visible between the jacket cuff and the shirt cuff when the arm is raised or extended, is one of the most prominent pieces of personal jewellery a man wears in a professional context. Getting the shirt right — the cuff fold crisp, the cufflink hole clean and even, the sleeve length exact so the correct amount of cuff shows — requires a bespoke shirt. A cuff that is slightly too long or too short collapses the entire effect.
How a French cuff is constructed — the details that matter
A double cuff is twice the depth of a single barrel cuff — it extends further down the arm when unfolded, then folds back at the midpoint to create a double layer of cloth at the wrist. The two layers are fastened together by four buttonholes — two pairs, one on each side of the fold — and closed by a cufflink passed through all four holes simultaneously.
The quality of the cuff construction determines the quality of the effect. The buttonholes must be worked cleanly, evenly, and with precise alignment — any slant in the hole, any unevenness in the eyelet, shows when the cufflink is in place. The fold must sit at exactly the right depth: too shallow and the cuff looks narrow; too deep and it becomes unwieldy. At The Black Lapel, double cuffs are hand-finished with careful attention to the buttonhole work, which we consider one of the most important small elements of a fine bespoke shirt.
Formality and context — when French cuffs are appropriate
Double cuffs elevate the formality of any shirt they appear on. A white poplin shirt with a double cuff is more formal than the same shirt with a single barrel cuff. This makes them ideal for the most formal professional contexts: senior business meetings, presentations to boards of directors, black-tie events where a formal dress shirt is required, weddings as a principal.
They also work extremely well in smart professional dress for clients who want to dress with more precision than the standard business shirt allows. A pale blue or white Thomas Mason poplin shirt with double cuffs, worn with a fine worsted suit and a tie, is among the most polished professional looks available — it communicates seriousness without stiffness, attention to detail without ostentation.
What French cuffs do not work for is casual dressing or very informal professional environments. A double-cuffed shirt under a relaxed blazer or a sports jacket reads as overdressed. For those contexts, a single barrel cuff — still well-fitted, still in a good cloth — is more appropriate.
Cufflinks — the only visible jewellery in professional male dress
Because a French cuff shirt is worn to display cufflinks, the choice of cufflink matters. The safest choices are simple — a plain oval or round face in silver or gold, a plain coloured enamel, a knot link. Novelty cufflinks and overtly themed links are generally best avoided in formal contexts where the cufflink is noticed but should not be the primary talking point.
The cufflink should match the formality of the occasion. Silver or white gold is more formal than yellow gold. A plain face reads as more formal than a patterned or enamelled face. For a black-tie dinner suit, a plain white dress shirt with simple sterling silver or gold links is correct and complete; for a business meeting, a more personal or coloured link is appropriate and adds character.
At The Black Lapel, we carry a selection of cufflinks in silver and gold-plated finishes that can be purchased at the same time as the shirt. We can also advise on which styles work with specific cloth colours and contexts based on our experience with formal dress.
Commission your shirts.
Visit us at 4 Sardar Patel Road, Adyar, Chennai — Mon–Sat, 11am–9pm. First consultation free.