Jan Leslie, and her husband Neil, stopped into our store and Wingtip today, and it provided a good excuse to share a photo of one of her favorite cufflinks: the Winking Owl.

Like all of Jan's hand-painted enamels, they are executed in 925 sterling silver with an anti-tarnish rhodium finish.

Available in 5 color combinations.

Jan Leslie Winking Owl Cufflinks  $375

I consider myself a pretty big fan of cufflinks, and yet I only own about a dozen pair that I regularly wear. If I'm wearing a green coat, shirt, or tie, I have a nice pair of jade cufflinks. Bright blue is great for my lapis links. I have a favorite pair with some burnt orange in them for a sport coat that has a burnt orange windowpane on it. And of course I have a few neutral cufflinks that will work with anything; cufflinks --new & vintage-- in gold, mother of pearl, rhodium, and gunmetal that may not accentuate a color, but keep my cuffs fastened.

Despite owning a store that offers a bigger selection of cufflinks than most, there are a lot of holes in my ideal Diversified Cufflink Portfolio (DCP)*. I have nothing with purple or lavender to match my new Oxxford suit with a lavender chalk stripe, zilch for red or pink, and I've worn the same old stud set for the last 10+ years to every formal event. It would cost me 1000s of dollars to round out a proper collection, and if you know me, I could spend 10s of 1000s if money were no object (sadly, it very much is).

Enter the Cufflink Library, coming soon to Wingtip. Inspired by companies like Netflix and Zipcar, the basic idea is that "access is better than ownership." Members will pay an annual fee to have access to a library of 60+ cufflinks in a variety of styles, finishes, colors, and stones. Take one out, wear it for a day or a week, bring it back, and swap it out for a new pair. Eventually, I expect the Library to house 100 pairs so that participating members will never have to wear sub-optimal cufflinks. Better yet, the annual fee will be a credit toward the purchase of cufflinks, so if you buy a few pair in a year, access to the Library is essentially free. All of our cufflink artisans --Jan Leslie, Robin Rotenier, Tokens & Icons, spiVey-- have agreed to participate in this little experiment.

Best of all, Steve Vigar, maker of the amazing architectural chess sets, will be designing the wall piece that will display the collection. Photos to come when it launches in late September/early October...

* There is no such thing, as far as I know, as a Diversified Cufflink Portfolio, but I can assure you that someday, there'll be an app for that...

I'm sure menswear, relative to other industries, is not exactly a hotbed of innovation. And for someone like me, that's actually a feature, not a bug; I appreciate clothing & accessories that are timeless. There is something very comforting about the fact that Bills Khakis has been making their 8.5oz Cotton Twill the same way for 20 years, and will likely be making the same way in 2031.

But trips to Market are still necessary to see what's new, who's new, and for me, to re-energize my own passion by seeing what our craftspeople have been up to. I did not expect the coolest thing I saw to be a pair of cufflinks, but that is exactly what happened when I visited Jan Leslie. The first pair that jumped out at me were these beautiful, Limited Edition Gecko Cufflinks.

The photo, while good, does not do them justice. Hand-painted enamel with a green gecko, golden eyes, and a bright, red tongue stretching out to a small, black fly on the clasp -- it's what every little boy dreams he'll one day have in a pair of lizard cufflinks.

I'll find out from Jan how "limited" they are since we sold the first pair yesterday. I realize they're not inexpensive, but if you're in the mood, give us a call; 15 minutes could save you 15%*.

* We don't really want to talk to you for 15 minutes to save you 15%. That's Geico's tagline. And they decided a gecko should be their mascot. We were just trying to be funny.

SAVE THE DATE: On Friday, April 30th, the San Francisco store will be hosting a Fall 2010 Preview and Trunk Show for Bills Khakis, Martin Dingman Leathergoods, and Jan Leslie cufflinks. The event will be a chance to see -- and special order -- items coming out this Fall. Of course, you can also immerse yourself in Spring's assortment of goods from each of these folks as well.

Some appetizers will be served throughout the day, and we'll probably decide on Springy drinks to serve as well (fresh lemonade, Arnold Palmer's, and maybe Southsides for those that need alcohol to get through their workday).

No need to RSVP. 

What:  Trunk Show @ On The Fly
Who:  Bills Khakis, Martin Dingman, and Jan Leslie
When:  Friday, April 30th from 10am til 6pm
Where: San Francisco store, 1 Embarcadero Center, Street Level
Why:  Food, drink, a sneak peak at Fall 2010, and giveaways!

Just about every clothing store on the planet tends to go on sale after Christmas, but only the really bold wait till the 7th of January to announce their sale (technically, many items did go on sale on December 26th, we just didn't announce it). Without much further adieu, our SALE is on!

There are a number of returning favorites to the sale: Bills Khakis Limited Edition pants, sportshirts, and outerwear, Agave Denimsmith knits, a few Martin Dingman shoes & belts, and some Ike Behar casual shirts.

Some newcomers include our entire assortment of Fairway & Greene golf apparel, Peter Millar outerwear and some sweaters & vests, some random cigar accessories and leather goods, and select Jan Leslie cufflinks.

If you've participated in our sale before, you know that the discounts will increase over time -- we're starting at 30% off -- but our inventory is very shallow so the availability of items disappears quickly. Wait at your own risk. 

For those in the Bay Area, the San Francisco store does have a number of items that just didn't make it to the website in time, including a dozen styles of Ike Behar shirts, a few Peter Millar sweaters & vests, and some other miscellaneous items worth contemplating. Stop on by. 

Happy Hunting!

About 10 years ago, I was told by an old, wise man or woman that a true gentleman does not buy his own cufflinks; he is gifted them. It made sense. I would argue that after a nice necktie or watch, a beautiful pair of cufflinks are complimented by a stranger more often than anything else you might wear. The kind words could be acknowledged with: "Thank you. I thought so too which is why I bought them for myself." But it sounds so much better to reply with: "Thank you. These were given to me by my [choose only one] grandfather/mother/wife/kids/mentor/etc." 

Earlier in this series, we covered the Golden Rule in shopping for "the guy who has everything": Gift something he wouldn't buy himself. This is an offshoot of the Golden Rule: Gift something he is not supposed to buy himself. 

There are at least 5 reasons why cufflinks make a perfect gift: 

1. You are providing the gentleman with a story to tell as to how we acquired them.
   
2. They are likely an heirloom type gift that will be handed down, and will grow in sentimental value over time.
   
3. Cufflinks are a great way to express a hobby, passion, or playfulness. I'm not a huge fan of lobsters or Formula 1 cars on a necktie, but they are remarkably expressive yet simultaneously subtle on a cuff. 
4. A cufflink junkie can never own too many cufflinks.
   
5. There are no sizing issues with cufflinks; one size fits all.