Dress vs. casual belts
Mike S. Says:
What constitutes a dress black belt? I’ve got a black belt similar to this brown one but I’m guessing that would be the basic black. What should I look for in a dress black belt?
Well, the easiest way to answer that is to show you the differences between a basic black everyday belt (left) and a black dress belt (right):
Casual Belt
- usually matte
- leather or suede
- brass buckle, plated or not. Can be shiny or roughed up. Buckles can be distinctive.
- 1 3/8″ wide, or thereabouts
- usually not moulded
- some have edging
- can have details such as embossing, patterns, antiquing, writing, etc.
When you look closely at the basic belt, the leather is usually more rough, has a grainy pattern or is matte (rather than glossy).
Dress Belt
- usually glossy
- buckle is always polished (most are nickel plated)
- the one shown is a classic molded design (meaning it’s slightly rounded and has an edging)
- thinner than a casual belt at about 1 1/8″ wide
Overall, you’ll see that the standard dress belt is very simple. You won’t find much variance in this area. If you do want to be creative, I would look for small touches on the buckle styles, but nothing too large.
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POSTED IN: Accessories
2 opinions for Dress vs. casual belts
Mike S.
Oct 3, 2005 at 1:06 pm
Excellent, thank you for follow up.
Joost Schuur
Oct 4, 2005 at 9:57 am
I’ve noticed belts not staying straight after a couple of years of usage. They literally become crooked and take a slight bend to the left or right. Is this just general wear and tear (it’s happened to the one I wear 90% of the time), or a sign of a cheap belt?
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