Age-appropriate Men's Fashion: Belts

Age-appropriate Men's Fashion: Belts

By:


Most men have a problem with accessories, belts in particular. Like neckties and wallets, you probably have a tendency to use whatever ones have been given to you by friends or family for birthdays and holidays. But there's often a divide between what you get from your loved ones and what you should be wearing on your waist. Is your belt a boxed gift of fashion pariah-dom? Read on to find out.

Just Enough Hardware
A lot of guys are guilty of doing up belts that have too much hardware in them. It's akin to a shirt with too large a print or a necktie with too loud a color; there was probably a style statement intended somewhere along the way, but it got lost in the sheer gaudiness of the execution. What's left behind is an accessory that's too busy with too much design or too many details and too few merits to redeem it.

Belts should be belts, period. Aside from the metal that's used for the buckle or fastening, any other hardware is to be considered excess and must therefore be avoided. All those metal-tipped, copper-adorned and steel-decorated specimens have got to go. Riveting, metal-rimmed belt holes and the like should be similarly disposed of.

Just the Right Color
The breadth of technologies currently used in producing men's fashion means that there's a very wide selection available to you. Yet even with all those choices, the standard for 'proper' belts on a 30-plus guy has changed very little in the last several decades.

Men's belts today come in two general materials: fabric, which is most often braided canvas, and leather. The rule of thumb in buying them is to never get a leather belt in a color you don't consider for your shoes, and a fabric belt in a color you don't want for your pants. If you think about it, this narrows your range down to blacks and browns for leather belts and an additional tan, navy, gray and khaki for fabric pieces.

It's another matter when you begin matching the belt to the rest of your outfit. As with neckties, it's all about what combination makes you look good in the end, but there are a few rules of thumb nonetheless. You can choose to follow these if you're not sure where you should start with the pairing.

Leather belts should always be matched to your shoes. Black shoes require a black belt, brown shoes call for a brown belt, and so on. They don't have to be the exact same color, just coming from the same family will suffice, but the effect is much better when the two go hand in hand visually.

Fabric belts, on the other hand, serve a very different purpose. They're your more casual options that are meant to give contrast to something else you're wearing, and that item of contrast is usually the pants. If you're wearing something light like tan or white, say, a navy belt works great to add contrast. On the flip side, dark pants like navy or black look much cooler when finished off with a contrasting white or beige fabric belt.

A Final Word on Belts
Think about belts like you would your shoes or your necktie. No single one of them is the 'star' of the show, but all have to work together to create a cohesive outfit. Eye-catching belts are sometimes okay for the younger crowd, but can never be pulled off once you hit your thirties. After you pass that threshold, it's time for you to tone down your wardrobe.

Keep everything understated, and don't expect too much of your belts. The secret power of stylish looks comes from combining different classic pieces to create one outfit that really comes together. Always keep that in mind, and you'll be one step closer to finding your own timeless sense of fashion.

About the Author:
Hendrik is a regular writer with articles on mens fashion and style. To date he has more than two hundred articles published on mens fashion. He is also the founder of an online retailer for neckties and Ties. Looking for a new tie? Then Hendrik recommends you check out one of these Red Ties.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Fashion-Style Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.