WTB: Tan suede belt, new, sz 32

[thinman]

I've been searching unsuccessfully for a tan suede belt with silver buckle, size 32, to pair with Mantellassi penny loafers and chukka boots in "honey brown". I really would like to get some use from these shoes/boots this summer, but I haven't worn them since I bought them in January because I don't have a belt. Here are pics: The shoes appear a shade darker on my monitor than in real life. The real color is probably best represented in this photo of a Mantellassi belt from VCH (unfortunately, too short for me): http://www.virtualclotheshorse.com/i...d=101083253317 If anyone has a *new* tan suede belt to sell, please PM me; if anyone knows where I might find one in a store, online, or by mail, please post. Recognize that the biggest city near me is Dallas, although I will be in DC later this month. Thanks in advance.

 

[DocHolliday]

Do you have a Marshalls nearby? Mine and another I visited recently both had suede belts from Nautica in about that shade (maybe just a bit lighter). For $12 or so, it could serve until you found something better.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Do you have a Marshalls nearby? Mine and another I visited recently both had suede belts from Nautica in about that shade (maybe just a bit lighter). For $12 or so, it could serve until you found something better.

Doc, I do have a Marshall's nearby and their belts are the only worthwhile items I've found (Robert Talbott casual belts). But I visited them near the end of last week and didn't find what I was looking for.

 

[HalfCanvas]

I'll take a quick look for you on the way home from work, Thinman. What is your waist size?

 

[Roger]

Thinman, I've had the very same challenge with respect to a pair of suede Mantellassis that turn out to be identical to your low boots! On a thread a couple of weeks ago on pairing belts with suede shoes, I gave a number of links vis-a-vis this color. Maybe you missed these. In any case, one was Talbott belts, available at Hansen's:

http://hansensclothing.com/display.asp?id=2457&sra=26 (You want the nutmeg.)

http://hansensclothing.com/display.asp?id=1717&sra=42 (Nutmeg again.)

http://hansensclothing.com/display.asp?id=1442&sra=48 (Either brown or cognac.)

They're not exactly giving these Talbott belts away, but sometimes we just have to suck it up, I guess, and pay retail. Hansen's (from whom I have yet to buy anything) offers free shipping, however, and will give a complete refund on returns. So they might be worth a try if you can't get an adequate match on eBay or this forum.

How about these?

http://www.shoebuy.com/mezlan-7414/172804/392497

http://www.paulfredrick.com/catalog/...308C&sc=MSNSU7

http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/18110760.html

http://www.colehaan.com/colehaan/cat...ctGroup=139940

Here's another way to solve this problem:

http://www.shoebuy.com/allen-edmonds-hyde/171882/390638

Here we're picking up the suede in the border, but with a calfskin center. With the pebbled-grain leather, however, we are still acquiring some texture.

And don't forget that any belt in the right color longer than your length of 32" will work. It's an easy and inexpensive alteration to shorten a belt. I routinely buy my belts a little too long, and then have them shortened to the exact point where the prong in the middle hole produces a tight-enough, but comfortable fit. Then I have the shoemaker put snaps on it so that I can swap buckles.

Short of a Sutor Mantellassi belt in the same suede color appearing at Lance's, I think that the probability of a very close match is close to zero. We don't, however, really require that close a match. Keep in mind the 3 feet of separation between shoes and belt; this allows somewhat different shades of light brown to appear very similar--if not identical--from any practical distance. In the process of trying to get this right, I've accumulated three light-brown suede belts, including an A-E in "cashmere suede" that is, if truth be told, close enough. Still, like you, I continue to look!

 

[chorse123]

That second one is quite nice! I wish this kind of thing turned up at my, terrible, Marshalls.

 

[thinman]

Roger, thanks for the many suggestions. I did indeed miss your original post. The Talbott belts look good and I actually own a Talbott chocolate suede belt that I picked up from STP. My Talbott belt is very nice, but the pricing at Hansen's gives me pause. The Paul Frederick belt looks like a close color match and it might make a good stopgap belt, once it goes on "sale" in a couple weeks.

HalfCanvas, I wear a size 32 belt and I'm looking for a silver buckle, which Roger presciently anticipated in his post. Edit: I'm regretting not jumping on a Barney's suede belt in size 36 that edmorel sold several weeks ago. I probably could have had it cut down to 32".

 

[HalfCanvas]

I didn't see anything today, but I'll keep my eye out for you. It's a tough color to find though.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by HalfCanvas

I didn't see anything today, but I'll keep my eye out for you. It's a tough color to find though.

Thanks for checking. I appreciate the effort.