This is sort of an unusual Ask Anything post for me because it isn’t directly photography or small business related- but it is a topic that came up during an engagement session last week and applies for sure! Lots of women in the photography business are great decorators, and share many pieces of their homes because of that.  We did certainly go out for the #JGPdreamoffice (see it here!), but in general, I don’t consider myself an amazing decorator. I do, however, love fashion and have a pretty good sense of what works- so I enjoy sharing a post here and there about styling for family sessions or engagement sessions, or other fashion topics (like how to tie a blanket scarf!).

So, while purchasing dressier shirts for your little boys or your men, have you ever noticed shirts that have great cuff linings, like this? They are super in style right now!

I always love them because they are like a little fun surprise! So for the first year or so that I bought them for my son, I always would just fold them once like this so that the cuff could show.

But, inevitably, the cuffs would end up just kind of flopping around, unfolding, and looking generally sloppy because they weren’t tight enough to his arm.  So I would always end up double cuffing the sleeves, so that they were a little shorter and tighter and would stay put- but then I always lost the cute cuff design, as you can see each option demonstrated here. Neither were what exactly what I wanted!

So when I bought my son another one of these shirts recently, I paid close attention to how it was folded before I washed it- and was able to modify to solve the issue!

3 steps to showing the fun cuffs inside male dress shirts

1). Start by making one large fold up past the elbow with a sleeve.  You should see the full cuff lining and maybe the same length of shirt lining as well.

2). Instead of folding the whole thing again how you typically would, just fold the part that’s at the bottom (it will look just like the rest of the shirt vs the fun cuff lining) over the bottom of the cuff lining- so you can still see the cuff lining at the top!

3). Adjust and make sure the correct amount of the lining is showing for your taste! Sometimes it is fun for it to be just a sliver, and sometimes you might want more showing.

Really dressy mens shirts will not likely have a different cuff lining- but most casual dress shirts will- and this is a way to show them off! Brides, these are often the types of shirts your guys end up wearing to engagement sessions, so hopefully this is helpful!  Side note: You can never go wrong with suspenders, regardless your age!!

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