Making Your Skin Crawl

Hello again; pardon the sebatical! The week has been quite busy. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. Today we're talking belts. I used to think that a man needed only one belt in his wardrobe: a reversible belt, brown on one side and black on the other, with a swiveling buckle allowing for an easy change between colors. Then, my shoe wardrobe began to expand, and I realized that different shades of brown required different belts. There is no way for one to appear as if he knows how to dress when his chocolate-brown wingtips are paired with with reversible belt "stock" chili-brown.

So I began to collect belts in varying shades of brown, keeping my reversible belt for use with black shoes, which I wear much less often. After amassing sufficient brown shoes and belts to match, I began acquiring more black shoes, and realized that a chintzy, reversible belt made my good shoes look cheap, and that one high quality black belt was required to complete my collection. I chose the belt in the bottom photo, a sleek looking alligator number from Ralph Lauren, with a silver buckle (if you don't wear gold jewelry, buy only silver buckles: NO gold). This did it. Not only does the belt look great, but simply having it inspires me to wear black shoes more often.

All of that being said (and thank you for bearing with my brief history of accessory consumption), I wanted to offer a suggestion for finding a classy belt. Exotic skins, such as lizard (top picture) or the aforementioned alligator are a little bit dressier than the smooth calf-leather belts that are more commonly seen. They can, however, be dressed down and worn with jeans. I like the exotic skins because they set the wearer apart a little bit more from the rest of the crowd. Everyone and their proverbial brothers sport belts without any character. Grab some attention from those who want to give it by having an accessory that pops!

Do remember, though, that it is very important that one invests in good belts. Cheap belts may be initially easy on the wallet, but the corrected grain leather (if leather at all: a lot are "pleather") will show wear very quickly and will crack and crease. The belt will eventually require disposal, but before it's thrown away the inferior belt will diminish the overall appearance of a polished outfit, cheapening the look of every other component.

One doesn't need to spend a fortune. Genuine alligator belts cost several hundred dollars, but high-quality embossed leather belts can be found for well under $100. One of the belts pictured above is the genuine article, and the other is embossed leather. Can you tell which is which? My lips are sealed, but the one that sells for well under $100 is still of exceptional quality. Just resist the temptation to spend ten bucks on a dress belt. You're all worth more than that.

Until next time,
Cheers!
-Paul