This type of cuff is made of metal plates or toughened leather and is designed to protect the wrist. This layer of fabric sits around the wrist or ankle of a garment (shirt, coat, jacket, etc.) and acts as a sort of cuff to keep it in place when it is worn. In order to keep the fabric of the garment from fraying, turned-back cuffs serve as a protective barrier and allow the cuffs to be easily mended or replaced, without having to alter the garment. A separate band of cloth can be sewed onto the garment or worn independently, fastened either by buttons or studs. Cuffs can also be constructed by turning back (folding) the material.
A cuff might feature a decorative border, lace, or another embellishment. Masonic cuffs are the folded, completed bottoms of the legs of a pair of pants in the United States. The phrase ‘turnup’ is still used in the UK, despite the fact that this usage is becoming more common.
Shirt Cuffs
Cuffs on shirts tend to be separated along one edge and then secured together, allowing a hand to pass through and then securing the cuffs to the wrist more securely. This is the case except for casual clothes. For those who want to keep their hands or feet warm, a variety of sportswear has cuffs that either include elastic or are woven such that they may be stretched around a person’s hand or foot and still remain tight.
Three types of shirt cuffs are available, depending on how the cuffs are attached:
Cuffs with buttonholes on one side and buttons on the other are known as Button Masonic Cuffs.
With buttonholes on both sides, the cufflink or silk knot may be inserted into the buttonholes to secure them. “Kissing” style, when both sides are pushed together; or extremely unusually, with the outside face of the cuff contacting the inner face, like a button cuff (though this is unorthodox).
Link cuffs come in two kinds
Only the original linked Masonic cuffs, which are necessary for a white tie, are acceptable for a black tie. Traditionalists may also wear lounge suits in this manner.
They’re called French cuffs because they’re twice as long and they’re worn folded back on top of themselves. It used to be that French cuffs were seen as more formal than button cuffs, however, this is no longer the case. French cuffs are no longer restricted to lounge suits or more formal attire (i.e., no sports jackets). In fact, many men now don’t bother with a tie or jacket at all.
To this day, they are the most popular choice for both formal and semi-formal events. Cufflinks are a must while wearing French cuffs. Buttons or cufflinks can be used to close convertible cuffs.
There are two ways to make either a single or double cuff: First, the cloth is folded back upon itself, creating an outside cuff and an inner one. The sleeve’s inside and exterior is reversed.
Trouser Cuffs
The bottom of most trouser legs is hemmed to avoid fraying. Trousers with cuffs (“turn-ups” in American English and elsewhere) are rolled outward and occasionally pressed or sewn into place after they have been hemmed. Functionally, it serves to impart weight to the lower leg, which improves the drape and enhances comfort. Because trousers are often excessively long for a child, parents can extend their wearability by cuffing and unrolling them as their child grows out of the pants. To prevent catching mud on their pants while the roads were still unpaved, men would roll up their pants.
People in various countries rolled the bottom of the pant leg to “lock” a long pleat at the bottom of the pant leg in the 1980s and early 1990s, which was a popular style among young people. This was done in order to make the legs seem slimmer. The “tight-rolled pants” or “pegged pants” craze is said to have made a reappearance in London in the 2010s. Afterward, fitted pants for younger wearers began to stop at the top of the shoe rather than being long enough to drape and “break” over the wearer’s instep.
Conclusion
The buttons and buttonholes at the ends of suit jacket sleeves are mainly for aesthetic purposes alone and serve no practical use. Open at the wrist, “Surgeon’s cuffs” are typically linked with high-end tailoring, particularly in the military.
