The Five Belts every Guy Should Own – $19.98 – $39.99
Belts are like referees. They only get noticed when they’re screwing up everything around them. Of all the things in your wardrobe, your belt needs to be the most subtle. Unless you’re a rodeo champ, you don’t want to be drawing attention to that part of your body. You really only need the first three of these, but if you have these five styles of belts, you won’t ever be in need of another. (Moving from Left to Right)
1. The Reversible Dress Belt | Alfani Black/Brown Dress – $19.98
You want a matte or low shine buckle. Nothing that could be used as an emergency signal mirror. Keep the buckle rectangular, the leather smooth, and remember that your suit pants should be well tailored to the point that you won’t need a belt to hold them up anyway. Two belts in one, under $20.
2. & 3. The Upscale Casual Belt | Gap Basic Leather Belt – $29.50 for Black & Brown
Perfect for jeans or chinos. Able to stand as an almost dress belt if you’re tucking your shirt in and wearing a casual blazer over an oxford. Decent width to the leather, rectangular buckle with rounded corners. Get one in black and brown.
4. The Roller Buckle Casual Jeans Belt | Ariat Triple Stitch Roller Belt – $32.95
No need for a black belt in this style. Made for jeans, boots, and sneakers, it’s a year round belt that’s laid back with plenty of character. The buckle is usually square or taller than it is wide. Doesn’t look the best with tucked in shirts.
5. The Brightly colored or striped Fabric Belt | Lacoste Navy Logo Belt – $39.00
Usually for the warmer months with a hint of nautical style. A lot of web or fabric belts will slip throughout the day. The solution is a belt like this, with the metal riveted holes. The croc logo is a nice touch. Also available in a slightly different style, in khaki canvas stripe.
Stick with these while avoiding braided belts, silver tipped belts, and large trendy buckles, and you’ll avoid the pitfalls of unwanted crotch/waist area attention. You’ll also keep your pants up.
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Great call on the Gap basic belts. Although I normally hate The Gap’s yuppie “chic”, these are a perfect width for all my pants, with or without a tucked-in shirt, and (just as importantly) are nicely substantial without being bulky. I’ve been wearing the brown ones for years, and now have several: a newer, crisper-looking one, and an old one which has acquired a great worn-in sheen. Note that the silver color on the brass buckle will start wearing off quite rapidly, which looks great on the brown belt when you wear it with jeans (I’m a big believer in using my clothes until they look “used” rather than paying Urban Outfitters to wreck them for me), but isn’t so hot in black. In general, I have to say that the black version of this belt is somehow not as nice as the brown–the color and texture (and buckle) just don’t go together as well as they do in brown.
Maybe I have some kind of beltocidal tendencies but I managed to destroy several belts in a row before I switched to wearing exclusively belt forms that have the little stitching on the tops and bottoms to keep them from falling apart. I have a Perry Ellis version of this in black and it seems to be working beautifully.