The Iconic Double Cuff Bracelet Look

BY JB JONES

There are certain strong styling moves that never really disappear. They’re just waiting in the wings, patient in their everlasting chicness—certain the time will come when a bold and stylish soul will land them back into the limelight.

Wearing two cuffs, one on each arm, is one of these.

It’s not a trend, it’s a choice. You don’t just find yourself wearing double cuffs; it’s a maneuver and one of the most statement-making jewelry looks you can don. This isn’t about layering. We are not playing to excess. Rather, we are constructing a simple and sophisticated look: one cuff on each wrist. Aim for balanced, intentional, and proportional.

Iconic fashion editor Diana Vreeland wore two matching cuffs as if they were the only obvious option for wrist jewelry. On her, bold cuffs weren’t accessories; they were part of her personal architecture. The boldness of it perfectly matched her personality: forthright, witty, and spectacularly creative. It’s a look for decisive, mold-busting women who know what they want and where they’re going. Think about it: no one could call Vreeland indecisive.

The same goes for Coco Chanel. And of course, we can’t discuss Chanel without crediting jeweler Duke Fulco di Verdura (founder of the Verdura jewelry house), who arguably created the most iconic modern day cuff: the Maltese. Famously worn by Chanel (Vreeland wore the Kenneth Jay Lane copy), Verdura designed the original Maltese cuff in the 1930s. The fashion designer famously broke jewelry rules by wearing one on each wrist.

Now the double cuff look is re-emerging—on power-players on the red carpet and in influential media editorials. In a stunning character-driven editorial in the May issue of Harper’s Bazaar, style icon Chloe Sevigny wears a set of large silver cuffs by Jean Paul Gaultier to brilliant effect. Elegant and modern, we again see a woman in charge of her destiny.

The moment for the double cuff feels so right now, largely because it’s a shift away from years of what I consider over-styling. After years of stacking, layering, mixing and messing around, the return to something more clean, controlled, and precise feels inevitable. If I have to live in a world full of chaos, it feels pretty nice to be specific about my jewelry choices. At the very least, wearing two cuffs conjures Wonder Woman, which I am here for, too.

Here’s a three-step guide to getting the look:

How to Wear It

1. Keep it simple. You don’t need much else accessories-wise when you’re wearing two cuffs. A clean sleeve, a bare neckline, maybe nothing else? The power of the look comes from its ability to cut through everything else, so lean in and let the cuffs carry the look

2. Mix it up. While the icons we discussed wore matching cuffs, the matching part isn’t so necessary. In fact, it can be more interesting when they don’t. Slight variations in texture, weight, or finish keep the look from feeling too rigid. Whatever your mix, aim to take up space in a way that feels deliberate, not decorative.

3. Be confident. The real key to the look—and really any look, ever—is just to own it.