Over at Men.Style.Com, Katherine Wheelock tears into French cuffs – and cufflinks by association - with loads of snark and vitriol. “Unless your name is Lagerfeld, Wonka, or Prince Such-and-Such, you do not have license to wear French cuffs – under any circumstances.” Wheelock overloads her article with mocking sexual overtones and relegates cufflinks to ‘artifact of a bygone age’ status.

I respectfully disagree.

Ms. Wheelock is throwing out the baby with the bathwater. It’s true that gaudy, ostentatious cufflinks don’t look that smart – of course they don’t, they’re gaudy and ostentatious. That’s not because they’re cufflinks, but because they’re ugly cufflinks.

The article also disputes the idea that links make a good impression on the ladies. I’m sure that there are plenty of ladies that don’t go for them, but my experience is that there are plenty that do. I can’t remember a time when I’ve gone out to a bar or club in French cuffs and not gone home with at least a phone number. And most of those times, the conversation starter was a compliment on my cufflinks.

There’s nothing wrong with French cuffs, or with the cufflinks that go with them. In fact, one point I can agree with Katherine on is that ‘open-cuffers’ – people who try to achieve a ‘cool’ look by wearing French cuffs sans cufflinks – just look messy and unstylish.

The simple truth is that no accessory is inherently good or bad; it depends on how it’s worn. Always dress appropriate to the occasion; if you’re going to try to pull off French cuffs in a more casual environment, it’s a good idea to pick fun cufflinks that don’t look like they came from your grandfather’s sock drawer.