Alligator belts

Any recomendations for where to buy an alligator belt? Any brand in particular?

Moreschi. http://www.moreschi.it/ But also I saw some at Brooks Brothers very nice.

Check out: Paul Stuart, Brooks, Ralph Lauren. Also, Trafalgar -- good quality, and many colors and styles available, plus can often be found on sale at Filene's Basement and sometimes on EBay.

Moreschi makes some nice belts, but they sure do jack up the price.

In addition to the other brands already mentioned, I've seen some nice alligator and crocodile belts from Martin Dingman, Kleinberg Sherrill, and LAI. Of course, there are a lot of decent no-name makers as well -- you can save a lot of money if you can find a bootmaker who knows what he's doing.

Two characteristics to look for in an alligator belt are small, consistent pillow size and a minimum of piecing. Unfortunately, the two tend to counter one another.

The ideal belt would be made of a single piece of skin. The next best would be two pieces joined at the wearer's back. Most alligator belts are made of many artfully composed pieces of skin glued to a stout strap. In addition, many are edge-stitched. The drawback of the one-piece construction is that the pattern on the skin usually varies over the length of the belt. Also, they are usually much more expensive than a comparable pieced belt. The advantage of a pieced belt is that piecing allows for a more regular (though artificial) pattern.

You can spot a poor quality pieced belt right away by the clumsily arranged mosaic on its face. A subtler job of piecing can sometimes be detected by examining the belt's edge. Clever makers (Trafalgar and Dingman are two) cover their tracks by applying a thick dressing to the edge. In that case, hold the belt at arm's length and scan the pattern for straight line breaks across the pillow pattern. If you still can't find the piecing, you've found a well-made belt. Makers never neglect to mark one-piece belts as such.

The standard width for an alligator belt, particularly one designed to accept a slide buckle, is 1 inch. You sometimes see them wider, an inch and a quarter or even three-eighths. (The current Ben Silver catalogue features some wider models.) The places you are most likely to see both wide and one-piece alligator belts is in a western shop, but the lack of subtlety in execution usually makes them appropriate only on jeans.

Brioni and Zegna both made the highest quality ready to wear belts I've seen.

However, a bespoke alligator made out a hide you pick yourself is not that more expensive.

The best alligator belts that I have personally seen are from Torino. I have two of them.

Jeff

Brioni and Zegna both made the highest quality ready to wear belts I've seen.

However, a bespoke alligator made out a hide you pick yourself is not that more expensive.

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I seem to recall that the Brioni belts are made in Spain? Anyone know who makes them for Brioni?

JV

Speaking of the Brioni aligator belts, I bought two of them at NM a number of years ago. They are are an inch wide and by far the best of such belts I've ever had. Tjey look elegant without calling attention to themselves as do cheap aligator belts.

All my Brioni belts (including alligator) are stamped "Handmake in Italy."

Here an article on Flemings of Buckhead who do bespoke one-piece alligator belts for a 40% premium I'm told. http://gtalumni.org/Publications/mag...cesetters.html

Originally Posted by Jackie

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i have a great recommendation for alligator belts. Visit Trafalgar-leather.com for a great collection of genuine alligator skin. I was a bit apprehensive to order at first but once it was delivered i knew it was great quality!

They have a "Genuine" belt for $295 and a "Classic" belt for $375. Any idea of the differences?

Originally Posted by Jackie

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i have a great recommendation for alligator belts. Visit Trafalgar-leather.com for a great collection of genuine alligator skin. I was a bit apprehensive to order at first but once it was delivered i knew it was great quality!

Do you work for Trafalgar? Every one of your 8 posts on this forum mentions Trafalgar belts.

I got some nice gator belts from Rider for less than $100.

Tardini on STP for about $150 or less. I'm happy with mine.