Kingman and Pink coral cuff by Braxton Parkett. It’s huge. It’s A LOT of cuff. It has 5 heavy gauge sheets of silver that meet as one at the terminals (the ends). It has pretty beadwork surrounding the ropework, surrounding the turquoise. It has raindrops between each piece of pink coral (it’s just lighter red coral, but pink is just a combination of red and violet in color theory -- according to scientists). It has 10 hogans because 5 isn’t enough. It’s a lot of cuff. It has repousse applique on both sides. Why? Because you wanted a lot of cuff and Braxton figured “okay”.
Why does any of this matter? Well, I like statement cuffs. I mean, I also like cuffs from artists that blend in. But I don’t think I talk about how much I love cuffs that say “I am your outfit!” Sometimes you don’t want to pick a cuff based on the outfit. You want to pick the cuff and build an outfit around it. Why? Because the cuff speaks and people listen. The rest of your outfit can be that long linen thing you bought on Etsy. It can be that solid-colored sweater -- purple works with pink. Brown works quite well, and the cuff is tarnished enough that it will work with the colors. Maybe the ensemble is a simple denim shirt, denim pants, and stacked leather heels -- brown! Maybe suede! Maybe it’s a white shirt that picks up the white chert in the turquoise. Maybe it’s pink, but not an exact match. So the cuff stands out against the pink -- you do the double pink thing we do. I don’t know what I’d wear if this were mine. But I know one thing: I’d build an outfit around the cuff, and not the cuff around the outfit. Why? Braxton made sure the cuff stands out. Now you give it a backdrop that fulfills the artist's desire. The key to the big statement cuffs: You’re the canvas for the piece.