Equus Leather - English Handstitched Bridle Leather Belts - Official Affiliate and Review Thread

[Equus Leather]



I must say the prominent smell of the Equus belts was a bit overpowering to my old subtle fragrance. So I had to look for a scent that would complement while wearing an Equus and found this

Interesting! Im not familiar with that brand, I tend to go for Sandalwood based smells myself. The Sedgwick leather is subtle enough in smell thats you can't smell it unless its been enclosed in a box for a while or you sniff it from close range. The Bakers are a little stronger when new but fade with time. If we could bottle the smell of the Bakers Aus Nut I strongly suspect we could sell it, its tremendously appealing. Charlie

 

[MrNestor]

I'm just about to order the leather samples since I am also a bit concerned about colour matching, but somehow it feels a bit greedy to order them all. On the other hand they would only get one shipping cost if I just took it all right away...

Oh well, if the belts are as amazing as I've heard they'll have me as a customer for years to come.

 

[OzzyJones]



I'm just about to order the leather samples since I am also a bit concerned about colour matching, but somehow it feels a bit greedy to order them all. On the other hand they would only get one shipping cost if I just took it all right away...

Oh well, if the belts are as amazing as I've heard they'll have me as a customer for years to come.

They are! I've now got 6 belts and my dog's collar and lead are Sedgwick London tan (well, they used to be!)

 

[Equus Leather]



I'm just about to order the leather samples since I am also a bit concerned about colour matching, but somehow it feels a bit greedy to order them all. On the other hand they would only get one shipping cost if I just took it all right away...

Oh well, if the belts are as amazing as I've heard they'll have me as a customer for years to come.

If we didnt want people to order samples we wouldn't make them free Go for it!

Charlie

 

[MrNestor]

Thanks Charlie!

They're ordered and I'm very much looking forward to it.

Oh boy, it feels like this will be a fun ride, ordering a belt and then being so conscious about coulours and quality that new shoes and belts will go hand in hand.

 

[cold war painter]

Good move, you get a much better understanding of the leathers from even a small piece than you can from a picture.

 

[Osiris2012]

For a great leather fragrance pretty hard to go past Tom Ford Tuscan Leather or for a softer note Clive Christian C.

Charlie, any navy belts being made in the workshop at the moment or have there been any supply issues with the navy?

 

[Equus Leather]



For a great leather fragrance pretty hard to go past Tom Ford Tuscan Leather or for a softer note Clive Christian C.

Charlie, any navy belts being made in the workshop at the moment or have there been any supply issues with the navy? 

We're actually waiting for a batch of the Midnight Blue/Navy at them moment - shouldn't be long though. If you have an order in the book drop me a PM with your order no and I can give you a more accurate idea of time scales though

On the subject of leather smells I finished the second Metta Catherina watch strap last night. This has to be the big daddy of leather smells, strong hints of smoke and Latikia, really powerful, I love it. I hope theres going to be a little left so I can have one!

Charlie

 

[Equus Leather]

Just received a couple of really nice photos of Metta Catherina strap #1 in action I thought Id share. Still love the grain pattern and the smell, I hope we have enough I can have one myself!

#2 is just about to leave us and we're just getting the spec for #3 sorted. Been a tricky one to organise but lovely leather (and customers) to work with

 

[LA Guy]

I've been wearing my Wakugi for the past week or so, since I got back from vacation. Pretty great belt, and unique buckle. In the future, if you do order more of the Rentetsu, would it be possible to get a buckle made for a 1.25" strap? It would be great to get that belt (I'd order it immediately, even prepay for it) in the smaller size. The 1.5" belts are great with heavy jeans, but I feel that a 1.25" strap, especially with such an interesting buckle, would be a little less aggressive. The black Wakugi belt is subtle, but that size, in the Rentetsu, might be a bit wide for me.

Cheers,

Fok.

 

[Equus Leather]



I've been wearing my Wakugi for the past week or so, since I got back from vacation.  Pretty great belt, and unique buckle.  In the future, if you do order more of the Rentetsu, would it be possible to get a buckle made for a 1.25" strap?  It would be great to get that belt (I'd order it immediately, even prepay for it) in the smaller size.  The 1.5" belts are great with heavy jeans, but I feel that a 1.25" strap, especially with such an interesting buckle, would be a little less aggressive.  The black Wakugi belt is subtle, but that size, in the Rentetsu, might be a bit wide for me.

Cheers,

Fok.

Hi Fok,

Great, glad you like it!

I know what you mean re 1 1/4" versions Theres an argument that says they are a feature inherently casual belt so need to be quite chunky, likewise they could be more general purpose as well on a narrower more subtle strap. Ive commissioned the Damascus buckle in 1 1/4" specifically because they are a bit smarter, I'll investigate the Rentetsu in a narrower width as well and see if thats do-able.

Hopefully the Damascus buckles will be with us shortly as well as one or two more Rentetsu - watch this space!

Charlie

 

[LA Guy]

Hi Fok,

Great, glad you like it!

I know what you mean re 1 1/4" versions Theres an argument that says they are a feature inherently casual belt so need to be quite chunky, likewise they could be more general purpose as well on a narrower more subtle strap. Ive commissioned the Damascus buckle in 1 1/4" specifically because they are a bit smarter, I'll investigate the Rentetsu in a narrower width as well and see if thats do-able.

Hopefully the Damascus buckles will be with us shortly as well as one or two more Rentetsu - watch this space!

Charlie

I understand what you are saying, but casual belts have been getting narrower for many seasons now, and in 2014, the difference between a casual and a dressier belt is more distinguished by the leather, the finishing style, and the buckle, than by width. Dress belts are still uniformly not wider than 1.25", but casual belts regularly range from under 1" to about 1 5/8". I do like the Damascus buckles, but tbh, I think that I like the Rentetsu more...

 

[patrick_b]

I understand what you are saying, but casual belts have been getting narrower for many seasons now, and in 2014, the difference between a casual and a dressier belt is more distinguished by the leather, the finishing style, and the buckle, than by width. Dress belts are still uniformly not wider than 1.25", but casual belts regularly range from under 1" to about 1 5/8". I do like the Damascus buckles, but tbh, I think that I like the Rentetsu more...

I spec'd two West End belts in 1 3/8" and find they do just about everything well. Scott Harness with brass and a burgundy bridle belt w/brass buckle. The burgundy works with jeans/chinos and even business attire in a pinch. It's been the perfect travel belt with Color 8 LWBs or boots as I can dress the shoes up or down as needed. The Scott belt is a bit more casual, but still works well with business casual and just as well with heavy jeans & boots. 1 3/8" is a great compromise and I keep thinking it would be a perfect size for the Rentetsu buckle.

 

[LA Guy]

I spec'd two West End belts in 1 3/8" and find they do just about everything well. Scott Harness with brass and a burgundy bridle belt w/brass buckle. The burgundy works with jeans/chinos and even business attire in a pinch. It's been the perfect travel belt with Color 8 LWBs or boots as I can dress the shoes up or down as needed. The Scott belt is a bit more casual, but still works well with business casual and just as well with heavy jeans & boots. 1 3/8" is a great compromise and I keep thinking it would be a perfect size for the Rentetsu buckle.

I like 1.25" or thinner better, mainly so that they go better with slim clothing, and with more voluminous clothing, the belt would look more "rope" like, which reminds me of the rope belts used in peasant clothing in China and Japan. Probably all of this is of no interest to anyone else, but I'd be super happy if Charlie could commission such a buckle for me!

 

[Equus Leather]



I like 1.25" or thinner better, mainly so that they go better with slim clothing, and with more voluminous clothing, the belt would look more "rope" like, which reminds me of the rope belts used in peasant clothing in China and Japan.  Probably all of this is of no interest to anyone else, but I'd be super happy if Charlie could commission such a buckle for me!  

Our sales figures bear out the trend towards 1 1/4", thats what we sell the most of by a long long way. There are still the those who like 1 1/2" for general wear though - my own absolutely favourite belt is one of the first Scots made which is 1 1/2". I wear it every day in the workshop, my puppy (now over a year old!) has chewed it a bit and its now 3 holes too big, its an old friend that I won't part with though. If you trawl through our sales figures you can see interesting trends about width preferences amongst different age groups in different countries etc. We don't do it scientifically enough to compile the figures but as with everything in fashion its clear there are different niches. As much as possible we try to have something that'll appeal whatever width your in to. We've just taken delivery of a new design in 1" for e.g. that the narrow belt people will like I hope.

Id tend to agree about 1 3/8" - its a really interesting hybrid width and maybe the ideal. We really struggle to source buckles in that size though which is a shame. We're trying to commission more and more of our own designs as time goes by so we can hopefully get some more. Likewise 1 1/8" seems to be a really nice formal width - 1" is too narrow (to me) and 1 1/4" is too wide. My own formal belt are all 1 1/8", though when I was younger 1" seemed to be the width everyone had.

Fok, if you have an image of the type of buckle you have in mind we might be able to do something - depends what it is. I can see why the texture of the Rentetsu is up your street though, its very organic and while I had wood grain in mind rope isn't that different

Charlie