It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a good pair of cufflinks. That's my belief at least, no offense to Jane Austen. So it's been the practice in my household to always keep a few pairs of cute but classy cufflinks lying around the house (new, of course) in case any gentleman's birthday catches me by surprise. I used to stock ties, but it's hard to find ties that really have great personality (I think the unworn Winnie the Pooh tie I bought my brother one year taught me a lesson about tie-buying). Cufflinks are a small enough detail that you can get really funky without deterring professionals from incorporating them into the work wardrobe. The styles in Hong Kong tend to be pretty vanilla, though... I usually gift Shanghai Tang ones; they're kitschy and colourful and reasonably priced, but Etsy is a great place to look as well, especially for something cool and vintage-y... where else will you find cufflinks emblazoned with drawings of an anatomically correct heart?

After the cut, we'll introduce you to 10 more options for every guy in your life.

For the karaoke nut, these microphones will act as power-ups, pumping him up and getting him into the groove before the next big "K" session.


For the lit nerd, these whale tails conjure up visions of Moby Dick defying Captain Ahab. Oh, snap, look who took Great American Literature? (And audited Literature by Women -- see first sentence.)


Alternatively, these dictionary-definition cufflinks will please the wordsmiths who subscribe to a more pacifist philosophy... Thomas More fans, perhaps? Or perhaps even, to stretch things a bit, Tolstoy diehards (they may not be as ubiquitous as Twihards but I'm sure they're out there somewhere.)


I don't know exactly what a bike ninja is, but I'm sure some comic fanboy would fall for these... Me, I just like the term.


Okay on a more serious note, I'm totally ordering these for my own snuggle-bunny. That's not a term I usually use to describe my better half (usually I use such terms of endearment as "stupid-face" or "drunk ass") but you can't really write on the blog that "I'm totally ordering these for my drunk-ass stupid face". But I do and will love my stupid-face snuggle-bunny forever, so these cufflinks need to be displayed on the sleeve as a warning sign to other girls who might potentially try to muscle in on my property. It's a tactic you should try too -- gift for your man, woman-repellent for you.


GEEK ALERT. For the computer nerd in your life. Not that a computer nerd would WANT a n00b sign, or a n00b would understand the true significance and geeky glory of having the n00b label. Irony, eh?


Say you know a Ross Geller, or someone kind of like the character Raymond Lam plays in TVB's Mysteries of Love, which sadly ended its run last week...


And say you know Andrew Hsu... you could buy these cufflinks (which I initially though would be customizable to your own initials but apparently are only available in A and H...)(Oh I made a pun! And totally unintentionally, for once.) Andrew, I know you're looking at this, I totally get to punch you.



When in doubt, I suppose, a handlebar moustache is the one-size-fits-all gift. Nothing more chic than a handlebar moustache, as I established last year in this post. In fact, these cufflinks and that necklace in tandem would be PERFFF.


Get them all at The Cufflink Maker.