You don’t have to build a completely new wardrobe at the beginning of each season. Adding a new belt with a fashionable buckle or design detail immediately updates your wardrobe.
Belts tend to be a rather neglected accessory in a wardrobe! They’re tangled in messy heaps or hang slumped over coat hangers, forever slithering to the ground. Coil them in perspex boxes to give them visibility and the neat storage they deserve, or hook them though the buckles on a special belt rack.
Treated well, they take up minimal space but can have a huge impact on your wardrobe.
How to choose the right Belt?
Many women are uncertain about when and how to wear a belt for the maximum effect.
How wide should it be? Does it complete an outfit or detract from it? What will the width and size of a buckle do for an outfit?
To establish which belt width is best for you, take the following measurements.
Stand up straight and measure the distance from underneath your bust to your waist.
Deduct 5 cm (2 in) to ensure that there is enough distance from beneath your bust to the top of your belt.
The balance of the measurement will give you the correct width of the belt you should select.
For example: If your measurement from bust to waist is 10 cm (4 in) and you deduct 5 cm (2 in), you are left with 5 cm. Your best belt width would therefore be 5 cm. If your measurement is 5 cm or less, deducting 5 cm indicates that wearing a belt is not a good idea. This does not necessarily mean you are short-waisted. You may just have a low bust!
Fashion Notebook
The prong of the belt should fit into the middle hole of the belt to allow for weight loss or gain.
Avoid wide belts if you have a full bust, a low bust or a short waist.
A wide belt will only work if you have a long waist with good hips.
As a rule, your shoes and your belt should match to ensure continuity. You can’t wear a white shirt and navy pants with a navy belt and brown shoes. The shoe and the belt are accessories, and therefore should be the same colour.
Be cautious about colourful belts. A red belt, for example, against a contrasting colour could have the effect of cutting you in two, making you look shorter and broader. Basic colours in a style that will last season after season are the best investment. On the plus side, a good belt can turn an ordinary pair of jeans into something classy or make a plain outfit more interesting.