French cuff shirts with spread collar worn casually

[TimelesStyle]



Out of 100~ shirts I have maybe 6 that are barrel cuffs. In the UK French cuffs are meaningless, no one even notices them, but in the US I get the impression that you'd be arrested for wearing them unless you have several private jets and a yacht.
Americans use them a class divider whereas the rest of the world uses them to keep the ends of their sleeves shut. I can't speak for Finland but in the UK it is more than acceptable to wear FC shirts without a tie.

Agree with all of this, except does anyone in the UK actually call them "French cuffs" (vs. "double cuffs")?

 

[Gdot]

I wear french cuffs predominently. Almost exclusively. With suits, with odd jackets, with trousers and no jacket. Pretty much as long as I'm not wearing khakis or jeans I'm likely to have double cuffs. I do dial the fabric choices and choice of cufflinks up and down based on formality. So with something casual it's a tattersail and the cufflinks would be something less serious, like mid century sterlling silver and wood from Taxco or something kooky from an American modernists.

 

[GBR]



Agree with all of this, except does anyone in the UK actually call them "French cuffs" (vs. "double cuffs")?

'French cuffs' is a term solely associated with the US. In the UK they are known as 'double cuffs'. A very large percentage of suits sold for business use are in this form and it is quite normal for office people of all ranks in a company to wear them.

Why those in the US use this term - which would seem to be to insult the French, has never emerged here.

 

[tobiasj]



Absolute rubbish.
There is nothing whatever wrong with doing what you suggest.

...Except that you'll look like a gigantic douchebag.

 

[Ianiceman]



I really hope Vox drops by and lays down a fantastic explanation of the history behind french cuffs. Really.

Well if he does respond to this 'bat signal' I hope that he, or someone else equally revered, would put an end to this rubbish I keep reading on here about no Bluchers with a suit. It's only in America that I've come across this Rubicon line of formality demarcation, I suppose if you repeat something often enough it becomes the 'truth' no matter what the origin.

 

[stuarts8]

You should wear them and wear cufflinks too. I do this frequently and have no problem with not wearing a Jacket and Tie.
Stuarts8

 

[GBR]



...Except that you'll look like a gigantic douchebag.

In your eyes, but not those of most as the thread confirms.

 

[BoboMax]

it's fine, go for it. just don't wear them with jeans or khakis.

 

[ThatGuy]

As mentioned earlier, just roll up your sleeves

 

[FillW]

I bought a dress shirt with French Cuffs this weekend. I've never worn this type of shirt before. It has a double cuff that folds back over itself with two holes. Do you just stick the cufflink through like it was a regular button?

 

[radicaldog]

It's true that many, many people do it in the UK, so one can get away with it here. No idea about Finland.

 

[msulinski]

I bought a dress shirt with French Cuffs this weekend. I've never worn this type of shirt before. It has a double cuff that folds back over itself with two holes. Do you just stick the cufflink through like it was a regular button?

I suppose you could, but generally you put the ends together and put the cufflink straight through, like this: http://www.raresplendors.com/link-cuff-links.htm

 

[Geezer]

+1 on Blackhood, GBR and ianiceman.

I could not agree more that there is a strand in American thinking that to wear double cuffs you must not only be wearing a conservative suit, but also one or more of: (a) foreign; (b) very rich; (c) gay; (d) a playboy; (e) a New Yorker.

 

[MyOtherLife]



+1 on Blackhood, GBR and ianiceman.

I could not agree more that there is a strand in American thinking that to wear double cuffs you must not only be wearing a conservative suit, but also one or more of: (a) foreign; (b) very rich; (c) gay; (d) a playboy; (e) a New Yorker.

+1 to your +1 and also to your comment.

Were I a 20-something year old and wanted to wear a French/Double cuffed shirt casually, I would entertain these options:

• Slim (not tight) denim pants, an odd waistcoat, skinny tie, a nice pair of well maintained and polished black shoes, summer Panama hat and possibly Ray-Ban Wayfarers.
• Sport or seersucker jacket, slim tie, Straight-legged cream linen pants, slightly darker than cream socks, Spectator shoes, Panama hat.
• Slim linen pants, suspenders (braces), skinny tie (2.74"-3"), shoes of any colour other than black or dark brown, Panama or lightweight fedora.
• Shorts, odd contrasting fun waistcoat (not from a suit), sunglasses, loafers, no tie, shirt cuffs & sleeves rolled up, straw hat optional, chunky sport watch.

In imagining these suggestions, bear in mind that my strategy would be to tone down if not control the formality of the cuffs and collar at hand. It would be a little tricky or perhaps even bordering on costume but I believe it can be done and could be fun.

P.S.
Welcome to Styleforum and warm greetings to you and the wonderful people of Finland.

 

[tobiasj]

OP, I suggest that (if you haven't already) you read this: http://www.styleforum.net/t/287922/practical-thoughts-on-coherent-combinations-for-beginners

The problem is that French cuffs and a spread collar are at the formal end of the spectrum. Casual clothes like jeans are on the other end of the spectrum. And that's why it will ALWAYS look odd combining the two, no matter what idiots people will try to tell you. Get some barrel cuff button downs for casual wear, save the French cuffs for formal. Please.