As my father's and brothers' personal shopper, I am definitely biased to designer labels - for shirts, suits, shoes, ties.
But not for belts.
I have seen many a Jew-boy wearing a Ferragamo or Gucci belt, with the horse-bit logo taking up half their belly, but their suit looks supremely lacking, and their tie appears to have been purchased from a street vendor.
I have seen many a Jew-boy wearing a Ferragamo or Gucci belt, with the horse-bit logo taking up half their belly, but their suit looks supremely lacking, and their tie appears to have been purchased from a street vendor.
Here's the thing: a belt is meant to hold up the pants. It doesn't make a man look skinnier or chicer if it's designer. If it doesn't help the wearer look svelter, then what's the point?
Instead of investing in a regular-priced designer belt because it's a smaller accessory and so seemingly affordable, purchase one from Marshalls, and save up for a designer suit instead. THAT makes a difference in terms of looks.
When one wears a good-quality suit, people notice. Ma got my brother-in-law a suit once, and men were actually coming up to him in shul to ask if they could touch it.
I like men's belts to be brown leather. And no, the shoes do not have to match. The shoes can be black and the belt brown; no worries.
15 comments:
I replaced my husbands belt the week we met. It was awful and it MATTERED.
My father got a full makeover after marriage. Now he doesn't buy ANY of his clothing. The little elves take care of that.
The belt needs to match the suit - brown belt and black suit? I don't think so.
I like your fashion advice. I'm also a mismatch type of person and when a man's belt is too flashy...well, you end up looking at the wrong place for too long!
And thanks so much for your comment on my blog, the link you sent me to that article about intelligence is fabulous!! And so true!!
xo
Sharon
If you have a nice suit and nice tie, you could totally go with a tackier belt!! ive seen it look great lots of times, it becomes a problem when the only good piece in the outfit is the belt
Guy In LA: I hereby decree that one may wear a brown belt with a black suit.
There is a difference between matching and complementing - and one does not want to look all black or all brown or all navy.
Another thing - brown leather is more of a neutral, since brown is closer to the natural hue of leather than black is.
YN: I didn't say tacky! Never tacky, just not designer.
Sharon: True! The buckle bit is certainly in an awkward area.
I'm surprised about your maykil approach to belt matching suits/shoes. I generally only wear black belts (with black/dark navy pants), though reversible ones can be handy for covering any occasion.
Anyway, I'm a big fan of flat/smooth silver buckles where the belt is threaded behind and the excess belt is hidden from view behind the rest that is actually looped around the waist. The regular clip buckles with the hoop and latch tend to wear down the belt material too quickly and doesn't look as nice, in my opinion.
For some reason, I learned to thread my belts "backward" meaning I start from the front left loop. I never realized this until someone pointed it out to me in yeshiva in Israel. I have since found out empirically that this is true, since most belts that have logos or writing on them are backward/upside down when I try them on the way I normally wear my belts. As such, I am a big fan of logo/writing-less buckles.
I also don't generally feel a need to advertise the maker of my belt. It's tacky. Like the people who buy their black hats in Israel and have the huge borsalino logo like it was a Nike or Gap logo.
The men in my family (since I am not yet dressing a spouse) stick with the ol' belt buckle. Eventually they die, and I go shopping.
Belt and shoes do not have to match. It's permitted the same way that women's shoes and purse don't have to match; it's too far away from each other to make a significant difference.
I suppose, that's it, in the end: big logos on belts are tacky. I didn't want to be harsh, but there it is. There are places where a logo can be pulled off, and it's not on a men's belt. Women can, though.
Obviously when I said "they die," I meant belts.
All this "supreme makeover" talk has me laughing and wondering if I should stay frum and marry up the 'ladder'...but I came here from "badforshidduchim', and I know full-well how much I was judged for the fact that I can't get fitted shirts that 'fit' my shoulders and arms, that dating me would be dating 'down' (economy), that I'd still have to date Jewish women.
Um . . . in terms of your shirt situation, stick with blazers with well-padded shoulders.
That's why the flat buckles that tuck behind are great, because the wear on the belt hole that is most frequently used (and it is typically just 1-2 anyway) is hidden away, thus preserving the use of the belt that much longer.
Regarding men's belts, I'd like to offer a shopping tip, though you may already be aware of this. Always, ALWAYS buy belts that have a little slit attached to the belt holes. This helps cut back on the wear and tear of inserting the buckle, and makes them last much longer. I've found out by empirical trial and error, and have had my belts last for a much longer time when I purchase ones that have the little slits.
Sort of off topic for this specific post, but still on topic for the "dressing for men" label. This new site to custom design men shirts in 3D is pretty cool! http://bleuflamme.com
It is cool!
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