Creating a reputation is something you are going to do right now. Even the littlest things will matter in the process of building it. Your clothes choices will be the first thing people notice before listening to anything you are going to say. A cufflink and a tie bar are insignificant things, but actually, they are the ones who will determine your reputation.
Consider accessories to be the punctuation of your clothes. A tie bar is a comma in your sentence. It is a holder, it pauses and adds some elegance. Cufflinks are a dot at the end of this sentence. They are the ultimate mark of your professionalism. Wrong accessories are the same thing as using emojis in a formal letter. 😅
To begin with, let’s speak about the tie bar. There is only one thing that you need to consider while picking up a tie bar – it has to function properly. It has to hold your tie in place by clipping it to your shirt placket. If it can not do this, then there is no reason in buying it. The bar has to be neither longer nor wider than your tie. The ideal width of your tie bar would be three quarters of your tie’s width. One or one and a half inches wide bar is suitable for most modern ties. You also have to place your tie bar correctly – between the third and fourth buttons of your shirt.
Now let’s move to materials and design. Sterling silver or brushed steel is your best choice while picking up your first tie bar. These materials are not going to contrast with your watch or belt buckle. Forget about novelty tie bars with weird designs – they are suapposed to look elegant and stylish. The simpler it is – the better.
Now we can speak about the cufflinks. You will have some freedom in their choice, but you should remember that quality is preferable to quantity. You should buy a couple of French cuff shirts in order to have cufflinks. Cheap and poorly-fitted cufflinks will spoil the whole set of clothes you are wearing. Your best choices here are classic knots or simple rectangular cufflinks made of silver or gold. They will suit your navy, grey or white shirts well.
The closure mechanism is also very important. Whale back and toggle closure cufflinks are reliable and easy to handle. Don’t buy the bullet back closure type if you are a clumsy person because it will simply fall down. Your cufflinks should stick out of your jacket sleeve by approximately a half an inch. If they are totally hidden inside your sleeve or hang outside like charm bracelet – something goes wrong with them.
One more advice is waiting for you. Don’t rush to buy dozens of tie bars and cufflinks. Buy a couple of good pieces and gradually expand your collection. Silver tie bar, knot cufflinks, a pair of cufflinks with onyx or lapis stones for special occasions, tie bar with some texture.