A Guide To Choosing The Best Men's Belts

Most men don’t think much of their belts. After all, belts are only for holding up your pants, right? That’s its main function, but for the fashionable gents, the humble belt is more than just keeping your pants in place. It can be a stylish accessory that completes and accents your outfit for a great look.

A Guide To Choosing The Best Men's Belts

That said, choosing the right one can take more than just picking the first belt you see in your local department store. From choosing the right size to picking the right color, choosing a belt will require some thought. This guide can help you find the perfect belt you need.

Belt Size Guide

The first thing you need to consider when choosing a belt is the size. You want to make sure you don’t buy an overly long belt. Consequently, you don’t want a belt that’s too short and won’t fit your waist.

In general, belts have five holes—this should give your body some room for change. It also allows you to wear pants of different thickness and give you the opportunity to tuck your shirt. Ideally, you want a belt that fits you when the buckle pin goes through the middle hole. This should give you about six inches more to the left of the buckle once fastened.

If you’re unsure, always go with a shorter belt, but always make sure to have enough length to tuck the belt under the first loop. You don’t want to wrap a long tail strap around your hip or let the belt hang down loosely.

You can measure the belt from the inner edge of the buckle to the middle hole. Meanwhile, the total belt length will be the belt size plus about six inches. To get your belt size, you simply add three inches to your waist size.

High Quality Leather Belts

Leather makes up most of the belt materials. Von Baer recommend that you only choose a leather belt if it's made from high quality leather, as cheaper leather can degrade quickly and leave you with an unprofessional belt.

Quality leathers can last a long time, and they can be quite versatile for a variety of outfits. That said, leather belts are divided into different types:

Leather belt from Von Baer

Full-Grain Leather

This is the best leather type you can get. Full-grain leather belts often feature natural texture and folds on the surface.

Top-Grain Leather

Top-grain leather is similar to full-grain leather, but most of the texture has been smoothed out. 

Suede Leather

Suede is a unique type of leather with a napped, fuzzy finish. Although commonly used in jackets and shoes, suede leather can also be used in belts. 

Braided Leather

Braided leather is made from braided strips of top-grain leather material. This type of belt helps add some texture to casual outfits.

Exotic Leather

Exotic leather may use ostrich, alligator, and lizard skins. This type of leather is often used for casual outfits. However, you can also use it for dress suits as long as they look simple and in dark colors so they don’t stand out too much.

Belt Buckle

You can easily make all kinds of statements with the belt buckle. And with so many styles and options to choose from, it’s important to choose the right type to achieve the look you want to create.

Here are some of the most common belt buckle types available:

Frame Buckle

This is the universal buckle design for men’s belts. It’s the classic rectangular or square-shaped metal frame with an empty center with a prong. This is used for all formal and casual belts and is suitable for all types of fashion looks.

Box Buckle

A box buckle is a rectangular piece of metal with solid material from the front but hollow on the other side. The box-frame buckle is open-ended and doesn’t have any holes in the strap. Box buckles are more suitable for casual wear, but they can also make a good statement in formal or even office attire.

D-Ring/O-Ring Buckle

In general, you’ll see this type of buckle on braided or canvas belts. You simply need to weave the strap through the two side-by-side rings and double the strap back through one of them. This type is more suitable for casual attire.

Belt Colors

In terms of colors, black and brown are the universal colors for men’s belts. This is particularly true if you’re wearing a suit. These colors are quite versatile so you can wear them in both formal or casual attire.

However, some other colors you might want to try for a smart or casual look are tan, oxblood, gray, navy, tan, and even white for summer outfits. A rule of thumb when choosing a belt color for your outfit is to always match the belt and shoe color. Also, the metal buckle should be of the same color as other metal accessories you’re wearing.

Takeaway

Although a minor accessory in men’s fashion, the right belt can make a significant fashion-forward style statement to any outfit. And by following the above tips, you can finally step up your belt game and choose the perfect belt for every occasion and get your look just right.