There’s been a lot more interest in belts with smarter clothing in recent years – something I highlighted and explained my reasoning for in this article.
But we’ve never done a ‘wardrobe building’ piece on them, or set out my general advice in one place – at least, not since this rather basic piece 16 years ago (16 years!).
So here are some guidelines, essentially capturing all the little pieces of advice given in answer to comments, plus some personal reflections. I’ll follow up in a subsequent article on suggested brands, including my personal collection.
1. Colour
A smart belt should roughly match the colour of your shoes. That doesn’t mean you need a brown one for every shade of brown you own, but in general most guys that wear a lot of smart clothing will need a dark brown and a black, plus perhaps light brown or tan.
A good example of matching or not is Color-8 cordovan. I’ve never managed to find a Color-8 belt I like, but this is minor niggle. Until I do find one I’m happy with, I wear dark brown (given how dark most of my Color-8 is) or forego a belt altogether.
With more casual shoes, there is much less need to match materials or colours. You just want a more casual belt – eg a tan suede, a braided leather – rather than a slim smart calf. There’s also more leeway to wear more colours – eg stripes on a webbing belt.
More on matching leathers in this article.
2. Leathers
As with colour, you want to roughly match the material when it comes to smarter shoes. So suede with suede, leather with leather.
This is pretty obvious – less obvious are the things that make a belt smarter in respects other than colour: width, buckle, stitching, type of leather. The most common mistake I find guys make is wearing a thick brown leather belt (often with a big buckle) with a fine calf shoe.
This distinction between types of belts is also often one between types of maker. Independent leather workers, particularly in the UK, tend to work in thick leathers like bridle that have no backing and no stitching along their length (eg Tim Hardy). These will usually be more casual than a maker who uses finer leathers like calf, on both sides.
Braided leathers are a nice casual option, but can look a little old-mannish in some contexts. Personally I prefer these when they’re a little narrower, or very worn in. Tooled leather is a lovely art and a more casual look – a nice option if you want the belt rather than buckle to be slightly unusual.
3. Other materials
Exotics such as crocodile can be a nice way to elevate a belt, without going for something as dramatic as a big buckle or an unusual colour. Unfortunately, exotic leather has gone up hugely in price in recent years – the supplier I know best has seen the cost price of their crocodile double in five years.
If you can afford it, I still think croc is a nice option, but also look around for alternatives such as lizard (Ralph Lauren used to do some great ones) or ostrich – I recommended here my ostrich-leg belt from Silver Ostrich. Other types of leather with some texture, such as deer or a tumbled calf, can be also be a nice bridge between smart and casual.
A canvas belt is useful and subtle, and has functional aspects some people like (a little stretch often, a softness and lightness). But like braided belts, they can look a little old-fashioned. The best way to avoid this is going for something slimmer and subtler, or getting an unusual vintage one (Sean Crowley has loads), or perhaps a cordovan-faced one (eg Rubato).
4. Width
Classic belts are usually between 1.25 and 1.5 inches, with smarter ones at the narrower end of that spectrum.
However I like narrower belts, both as a more elegant look and something a bit more unusual. Going from 1.25 to 1 inch makes a surprising visual difference – like a lapel going from 3.5 inches to 4. It’s particularly nice with tailoring, but I like it with jeans too, like my Ludens belts.
One-inch belts have become popular in recent years and quite a few of the newer brands offer it (Berg & Berg, Natalino, Rubato) where the more traditional ones stick to 1.25 and above. So it might be a bit of a trend, but at the same time I don’t think it will ever look odd or out of place, given it’s a small difference.
Very thin belts can also be quite interesting, like Matt Woodruff’s here for example (vintage) or the tape belts Husbands and Scott Fraser Collection do. But they’re definitely more of a look.
5. Buckle materials
A good belt buckle is solid brass, even if it’s then been coated silver. It’s stronger and ages better. That’s often the most difference between a cheap belt and a more expensive one, though not everyone bothers to say so online. (In person it’s more obvious – solid brass is heavier.)
Try to avoid buckles with obvious treatments. ‘Antiqued’ effects tend to look artificial, and even something with a coating that doesn’t look like it’s had an ‘effect’ applied is better to my eye.
You can get buckles in solid silver, but they will be more expensive. One well-known silver design is the engine-turned buckle associated with Tiffany, some Western belts and Brooks Brothers (and so a bit of an Ivy staple) These are often not as expensive as other sterling silver as the material is quite thin.
Those Ludens belts of mine have that design. And that leads us onto the last section…
6. Buckle designs
This is a huge area, and probably deserves its own in-depth article at some point. You can roughly separate it though into different shapes of dress buckles, and then more unusual ones like Western buckles.
As to the first category, I think elegance and subtlety will be the watch words for readers. Think of this as a piece of jewellery, at least from a design point of view. One of my favourite aspects of a Cartier watch is the clasp you get on many Tanks – that delicately turned and flowing design that really adds to the design of the whole.
Obviously, a big Hermes ‘H’ is fairly crass, but it’s worth considering the finer aspects of design too, as it’s likely to be one of the few pieces of hardware you’ll be wearing.
Buckles become more casual as they get bigger and thicker. They may suit a thick cowhide belt more than a dress one. But they also explode in possibilities, with square frames and oval plates, containing initials or pictures, as well as three-piece engraved sets.
These can be real works of art, and fantastic if they’re your style. But as with most things I’d advise going slowly and carefully. I have two from Silver Ostrich which I love, but mostly as objects. When I put them on they often feel like too much of a statement, and they get worn a tenth as often as every other belt – usually when an outfit feels like it lacks something.
Double-ring belts are nice on canvas belts, a little more unusual on leather ones. I’ve had them in the past but sold mine as they always felt a little fussy. I can definitely see the appeal for someone who likes the functionality though.
That feels like enough for a first article, but do let me know what I missed and what you’d like to see included in subsequent pieces.
I will, as mentioned, do one follow-up on my collection and brands, but feel free to share your personal recommendations in the comments here as well.
Remember all articles on PS are broken down into categories in the menu, so there is a dedicated section here on belts and wallets (small leather goods basically).
