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What characteristics of belt should I pick?

georgeka

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I'm moving from jeans to trousers (four-season, wool or blends, like Incotex or PT01) and now looking for a casual belt to wear with them. The rest of the outfit is OCBD and semi-brogues shoes, or white sneakers on occasion. What width of belt should I pick 1.25'' or 1.5''? What buckle would be the best? I want to look rather casual than dressy.
 
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johng70

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Generally speaking you want your belt color to mach the color tone of your shoes - doesn't have to be exact but it should be close. So black shoes = black belt, dark brown shoes = dark brown belt, light brown shoes = light brown belt, oxblood shoes = oxblood belt etc. I'll let someone else speak to the fashion direction for matching with sneakers.

If the belt is going to see heavy use, I'm a big fan of harness or bridle leather belts - they definitely wear better than cheaper belt styles.

I would go with 1.5" for casual wear.
 

georgeka

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@johng70 thanks for replay. I will try first my tanner goods belt, but have doubts it will match trousers or slacks.
 

paulraphael

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After years of bad luck with belts, I've done well buying from Etsy shops. Eventually I figured out who the best tanneries are (I'm a fan of Hermann Oak harness leather, Sedgwick Bridle leather, and some by Horween and Wicket & Craig). Do a search and see who's using the leather you like. As long as you're looking for something simple, this is 3/4 the battle. I generally go with makers who use Chicago Screws to attach the buckle, so you can change them. In my experience, it's harder to find a great buckle that I like than a great belt. I found my favorite buckle on Ali Express.

This approach can get you a great belt that will last basically forever, for half or a third the price of something branded.

If you're looking for a more traditional dress belt, with stitching, it's probably safer to pay up and go with someone like Equus.

Also, FWIW, I find that I stretch belts. The makers always tell me their leather won't stretch and they're always wrong. I need to get my belts around 1-1/2" shorter than their final size, even with 7mm thick harness leather.
 

georgeka

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Thanks guys, I ended up not liking the look of my tanner goods belt paired with trousers and ordered another one from Equus with more traditional buckle.
 

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