What makes a great belt?

I find it interesting that no matter how many belts I buy I keep reaching for the same 2-3 in my closet. Sometimes it is just the right combo of color, fit, thickness of the leather, scale of the buckle, etc that feels better on than the way it looks on display. I also prefer belts with a trim profile over bulky buckles. I need all the help I can get keeping the waist trim.

I think the leather being non-corrected grain makes a big difference. Some belts seems to be a cheaper leather, and seem to crack after a year or two (at the part you have to bend in half to slip it through the loop behind the buckle.) Better leather belts like some from Canali don't do that. Or you can just avoid the whole thing by finding a belt designed without that extra loop, so the belt goes straight through without having to bend it too much.

LAI, which stands for Luxury Apparel International. Best belt in the market. All our belts have snap backs, all our belts are 1 3/8" all belt buckles are interchangable, all belts are made in Brooklyn, NY. The best belt you'll ever own, period! We also special order to your specs in a selection of leathers and skins.

Gary

Originally Posted by drink8648

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LAI, which stands for Luxury Apparel International. Best belt in the market. All our belts have snap backs, all our belts are 1 3/8" all belt buckles are interchangable, all belts are made in Brooklyn, NY. The best belt you'll ever own, period! We also special order to your specs in a selection of leathers and skins. Gary
Can we see what "the best belt you'll ever own" looks like? How much will the best belt I'll ever own cost me? Snap backs and interchangeable buckles sound like nice features, but I'm pretty sure I've seen those on some not so special belts too. Do all the top luxury goods come out of Brooklyn nowadays? Will I get shot if I come to your factory for a tour?

lot of cheap belts are made with an inside part of cardboard or something similar.
these belts get warped out of shape easily.

good belts are full leather through and through i believe, and not all made in china belts are bad. i own a few good ones from china and are very qualitative.

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

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Do all the top luxury goods come out of Brooklyn nowadays? Will I get shot if I come to your factory for a tour?

When did you last go to Brooklyn?

Originally Posted by drink8648

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LAI, which stands for Luxury Apparel International. Best belt in the market. All our belts have snap backs, all our belts are 1 3/8" all belt buckles are interchangable, all belts are made in Brooklyn, NY. The best belt you'll ever own, period! We also special order to your specs in a selection of leathers and skins.

Gary

Visited your shop a couple of years ago. Nice place.
1 3/8, huh? A bit too wide for my taste, except for w/ jeans.

I read once about a small company in Germany that makes belts w/o a separate underside/liner. Instead, to create say a 1" belt, they start w/ a 2" wide piece of leather and roll or fold the sides into a tube, flatten it, and then stitch it flat, either just in the middle or at the edges too. That way you have one solid piece of top-grain leather making the belt. The founder argued that this was the best way to make a belt. Has anyone seen or heard of this?

Originally Posted by the etruscan

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When did you last go to Brooklyn?
I've never been... but I've never seen a belt store in a Biggie or Mobb Deep video. Home of the finest menswear in the world: London, Paris, Tokyo, Napoli... Brooklyn?

Originally Posted by grimslade

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+1. Two of my favorites are brown and black Polo belts from C21. $25 each, down from Ralph's tagged price of $125.

Polo used to have some great, great belts. I have three or four, and all have held up very beautifully for the many years I've had them. I can't say what Polo belts are like now, but several years ago they were gems.

Originally Posted by drink8648

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LAI, which stands for Luxury Apparel International. Best belt in the market. All our belts have snap backs, all our belts are 1 3/8" all belt buckles are interchangable, all belts are made in Brooklyn, NY. The best belt you'll ever own, period! We also special order to your specs in a selection of leathers and skins.

Gary


Does LAI have a Web site?

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

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I think the leather being non-corrected grain makes a big difference.
My point is that you can get full-grain belts pretty cheap, so what differentiates them beyond that? Even with shoes, we talk about last and construction a lot more than leather quality, so it leads me to wonder: is there any different?

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

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Can we see what "the best belt you'll ever own" looks like? How much will the best belt I'll ever own cost me? Snap backs and interchangeable buckles sound like nice features, but I'm pretty sure I've seen those on some not so special belts too.
I'm with Fidel on this one: none of the things listed are enough to differentiate it from a $40 belt from LGC. Why is it the best??

First, I'm not the manufacturer, although I do get to select my leathers, choose my width, contrast or not the stitching and choose the buckles I want on the belts. So, this makes them my belts because of the way we detail them. Our belts range from $95.00 to $145.00 but if you choose to make (Special Order) a belt in a leather or exotic, the price will be higher. Yes, snap backs are not such an uncommon feature but we try to put them on all the belts so our customers who invest in these belts have the option to switch buckles from one to the other as they choose.
As for Brooklyn, we have made a concerted effort to buy as much as we can from US manufacturers. We have found that a great deal of excellent products are being made there such as Hertling Trousers, Catherine Joseph and Luxury Apparel International. I'm sure there are more but we have yet to find them but we will.
I do not think that LAI has a web site and posting pics could never hold a flame to what they are like in person. Just holding one of these belts tells alot before one ever owns one. Call around to some of the higher en retailers in your area to see if they sell this product and see for yourself. I will try to post some pics of some of our selections when I get a chance.

Best regards,

Gary

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

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Can we see what "the best belt you'll ever own" looks like? How much will the best belt I'll ever own cost me? Snap backs and interchangeable buckles sound like nice features, but I'm pretty sure I've seen those on some not so special belts too. Do all the top luxury goods come out of Brooklyn nowadays? Will I get shot if I come to your factory for a tour?

No offence to you specifically, Gary, but:

Originally Posted by drink8648

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Just holding one of these belts tells alot before one ever owns one.
...Sounds to me an awful lot like:

Originally Posted by Dennis Wilson, Lululemon Chair

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If you actually put it on and wear it, it is different from cotton.
Why can't anyone come up with an objective criteria for comparing belts?! (I live in a small city where I'd be hard-pressed to find a single non-designer belt retailing for $100. Even if I went and visited a larger city I wouldn't know where to look to find something better than AE.)

Originally Posted by Jared

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No offence to you specifically, Gary, but: ...Sounds to me an awful lot like: Why can't anyone come up with an objective criteria for comparing belts?!

(I live in a small city where I'd be hard-pressed to find a single non-designer belt retailing for $100. Even if I went and visited a larger city I wouldn't know where to look to find something better than AE.)
Most belts are pretty much alike. Generally speaking, men don't care about having a good belt. There isn't much need to develop an objective criteria. Any criteria is developed by your exposure to a range of belts. There just isn't much variation in the quality of belts available to the average person. The range goes from awful cardboard-like belts to belts that seem to be the same everywhere you look. Having snaps or chicago screws allow you to change buckles. Look for a belt with, at least, that feature. High end belts are made to order. Even if you hold one you may not know the difference between a fifty and a five hundred dollar belt. It depends on your experience.

Men do care when considering luxury goods. I would not have taken the time to post about these belts if they where ordinary.

Originally Posted by caelte

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Most belts are pretty much alike.

Generally speaking, men don't care about having a good belt. There isn't much need to develop an objective criteria. Any criteria is developed by your exposure to a range of belts.

There just isn't much variation in the quality of belts available to the average person. The range goes from awful cardboard-like belts to belts that seem to be the same everywhere you look.

Having snaps or chicago screws allow you to change buckles. Look for a belt with, at least, that feature.

High end belts are made to order. Even if you hold one you may not know the difference between a fifty and a five hundred dollar belt. It depends on your experience.

Jared,

I assure you, you would know but then again you would have to experience it for yourself.

Gary

Originally Posted by Jared

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No offence to you specifically, Gary, but:



...Sounds to me an awful lot like:



Why can't anyone come up with an objective criteria for comparing belts?!

(I live in a small city where I'd be hard-pressed to find a single non-designer belt retailing for $100. Even if I went and visited a larger city I wouldn't know where to look to find something better than AE.)