Sanctioned Research - Your feedback on a new belt design

[Brig]

This is going to be a simple post. The title has indeed been approved. As many of you are renowned for a keen fashion sense and your abilities to analyze retail products, I ask for feedback on a product I intend to bring to market. It is a leather belt. Some of you may have seen similar styles in Eastern Europe or perhaps parts of Asia, but I have modified the concept a bit. The patent was available and the market hadn't been penetrated yet, so I figured, why not give this venture a shot.

After I describe it and you see the pictures of what we've produced, let me know if this is a product you'd like to own and wear, or could be different enough to take the place of your typical belt. If not, any suggestions for a different direction, or is the direction good? Lame, cool, awesome, useless, groundbreaking, sleek, or never catch on?

The concept and product:

Basically, it is a holeless belt, but quite different from the low-end auto locking Boy Scout style ones. This one uses high quality metals and a sliding-magnet technique to allow you to adjust the belt to your comfortable size. Buckles attach to the leather using metal teeth. It is much more simple and sleek than it sounds, so let me show the pictures.

Other buckle and leather styles we have prototyped, all with buckles you can swap:

Detached from the leather, ready for shipment or display:

Erik Blaire would be the brand name, and Slidebelts would be the product, or http://www.Slidebelts.com , but all I need to know is if you feel this would be a great product, given its versatility. It is made of high quality alloys and leather, and the ability to slide to a diverse comfort level means you never have to poke holes in your belts. Removable buckles means you can swap out that nice solid silver and put it on the mocha brown leather, or maybe go for a more distressed leather style. It also is convenient for airport trips incase your buckles set off the metal alarms, you can quickly remove the buckle. It might be difficult to see how it properly works, especially since I haven't done any videos, but I hope you might catch the vision here of what could be a different direction in belt apparel.
Again, is it a product you'd like to own and wear, or could be different enough to take the place of your typical belt?

Cheers,
Brig

 

[entrero]

Does it have GPS?

 

[bourbonbasted]

Seems intriguing enough. But I have a best practices policy in place to keep other dude's names as far away from my junk as possible.

I think it would have more legs if Mr. Blaire wasn't so pronounced on the product. Not having pronounced logos is kind of a pillar of this forum (save, hermes man).

 

[Requiem]

Won't the metal teeth bruise the leather?

 

[Unregistered]

This already exists... I had a belt a few years back (pre SF) that looks exactly the same, down to the bean shaped release button on the bottom of the buckle.

 

[DrPsycho]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

This already exists... I had a belt a few years back (pre SF) that looks exactly the same, down to the bean shaped release button on the bottom of the buckle.
Likewise. Bought an el-cheapo version (not this brand!) years ago mostly because I liked the look of that specific solid buckle, novel degree of adjustability, and the hole-less look of the belt. Being a cheapie, though, the glued leather began to warp, then came apart... spurring the "why didn't I realize it before" revelation that I couldn't move the buckle to another leather belt because of the specificity of the geartooth mechanism. It ended up sailing into the trash instead.

 

[kasakka]

They just had to put that brand name there didn't they. With just the logo it would've looked quite good. Still, I don't see it really having much of an advantage over a traditional belt as far as function goes.

I do like plaque buckles, any suggestion where I could get a few belts with that kind of buckle (only not as bulky as the ones pictured).

 

[pvrhye]

The plain brushed steel one looks nice.

 

[allaboutshoes]

Lawsuit

 

[RSS]

No designer names, please.

The all steel one is my favorite ... but would be limited to use on a very casual belt ... the look being similar to a military buckle.

 

[pvrhye]

Could you design one with the leather continued through your fancy buckle?

 

[crinklecut]

It looks kind of like a cable tie or something. Also, that guy is wearing a tie over a t-shirt.