Men’s Belts – What You Need to Know

I’ve talked a lot about “fancy” fashion items lately, spectator shoes, dyed denim jeans, gladiator sandals and suede boots. But none of these would shine if we didn’t have the basics down.

A solid outfit is built from the ground up and belts are one of those pillars.

Are belts optional?

Generally speaking yes. But don’t forget that belts are just another accessory and that accessories are what make outfits look stunning.

If you’re overweight then skipping a belt is probably a great idea. You don’t want the first thing people notice to be your belly. Not just that but those amazing belts can break the outfit in 2 (literally). Remember: to look taller and hid the extra pounds, avoid horizontal lines of any kind.

Just remember that if you want to skip belts, the pants have to fit you perfectly in the waist. Otherwise they’ll just start falling down as you start walking.

General rules

I really don’t want to repeat myself. I discussed how should a great belt look like in the Be Stylish Package ™. Before you start buying them, you should know which ones to stay away from.

In there I also how to match your belt with your shoes AND the rest of your accessories (watch, wallet, umbrella etc.), tips on storing your belts (to keep them straight and in shape) and (this is a biggie) how to buy the right belt.

The two types of belts

This part is easy as well as important. There are 2 types of belts: those that you can only wear in casual encounters and those that you can wear in both formal and informal settings.

The first type of belt is thick, usually made from canvas and sometimes from leather. These can only be worn as part of casual settings.

For instance take a look at this military belt:

You wouldn’t wear it to a wedding, would you?

But I bet you would wear one of these:

Tricks to making belts work

When ti comes to matching belts, the rules are not set in stone. Not by far. There are, however, some general rules you’ll want to consider.

Rule #1: brown belts go with brown shoes. If you’re tired of matching brown, you can try to go with different shades of brown on the belt and shoes. But black and brown rarely work well together.

Rule #2: match your belt with anything you want. For instance, I really like wearing a brown belt with chinos and a dark-brown shirt. I look fantastic in this outfit and it’s not hard to figure out why. All 3 elements are form the brown family and match each other. Plus, the pants contrast very well with the other two.

Some more cool casual belts

Before we get to the lookbook, I wanted to show you a few types of belts that meet all the stylish criteria we need: good fabric, decent buckle, good colors.

The one on the left is a brown leather casual belt. You can see it’s pretty thick. The second one is a braided belt which stands out in its own way and adds dimension to your outfit (and your waist).

photo:

And how about something more extravagant yet still stylish?

And if you’re looking to stand out through the buckle, try this one:

photo: www.weishuhndrywall.com

OK, last type of belt. These are called D-ring belts because of the 2 rings that replace the buckle which are in the shape of the letter D.

Lookbook

Let’s take a look at some awesome head-to-toe outfits photos where belts fit very nicely in the outfit. Trust me, it’s not that hard.

photo: and Bethany Struble