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Man's Ultimate Belt Guide Casual Vs Formal Buckle, Strap & Sizing For Men's Belts
[0:00:00] Pop quiz, gentlemen, what’s a belt?
It seems pretty obvious, you’ve got a strap, you’ve got a buckle.
And, yes, that’s the technical definition.
But, guys, I would argue that belts are the most underutilized fashion accessory in a
man’s wardrobe.
How can I make this claim?
Because most men are following the basic rule of matching the belt strap to their shoes,
matching the buckle to the other metals they’re wearing, but when you look at the wide variety
of straps out there, the wide variety of buckles out there, you realize that belts can liven
a wardrobe, that belts are so much more than just the device to hold up your pants.
Guys, today’s video the ultimate guide to men’s belts.
[Music] To make this video simple, I broke it into
three parts.
First, we’re going to talk about buckle styles and types.
Then, we’re going to talk about strap styles and types.
Finally, we’re going to talk about belt sizing.
The first belt buckle style I’m going to talk about is the frame style.
This is one of the most common, it’s also one of the oldest and because of that it’s
also going to be one of the more formal.
It’s a very simple design.
So, as you can see we’ve got a metal frame right here.
This one almost a square, but it is a rectangle.
The other distinguishing feature is the prong.
The prong, another piece of matching metal usually matching and what we see here also
is a keeper.
So, this is for whenever the tongue of the strap comes around and you can tell the tongue
because it usually has a little bit of a curve edge right in there.
You’re also going to see distinguishing because of the holes in the strap.
This is where the prong is going to go right into.
I know many of you guys have seen this before.
One of the most common styles you’re going to see out there.
The second belt buckle style we’re going to talk about is the plate style.
This is easily one of the most recognizable styles out there because of the large plate.
Now, underneath the plate we have a hook and that’s how it connects to the actual strap.
So, it uses the whole system like the previous system, but that’s where it’s very different.
This is the most casual style out there.
We’re going to see in Western world where you’re going to look at those belt buckles
and you see, okay, which rodeo did he actually win this at.
Some people just simply wear it for decoration, but in Western world they love their buckles.
We also see in the biker culture where they bring in a different number of different designs.
At the end of the day, this is a very casual design, one that is basically for decoration
and for being able to show off.
The third type of belt system you’re going to see out there is a micro-adjust system.
So, this do not use prongs, they don’t use hooks, and in fact, if you look at the tongue
of the belt what you’re going to see is no holes.
That’s because they’ve got basically a track system and this is going to have like
thirty different adjustments, so a lot of people like it because you can adjust it every
quarter of an inch versus on other belts you usually got a one inch adjuster.
Now, it’s going to slide right in as you can hear and it’s going to go right on that
tracking system.
It’s going to have a release right in here, that’s how these ones work.
And by the way, this is an Anson Belt.
I’ve talked about them before, they’re the paid sponsor of today’s video.
And for eight years, I’ve been working with Anson Belt and Buckle.
Guys, you need to check out what Frank and David the father-son combination over at Anson
Belt and Buckle are doing over there.
They got this great gift box option.
If you haven’t seen it, it’s amazing where you get three buckles, you get two straps,
or you can go with two buckles and three straps, but at the end of the day you can create six
different belts from that.
Just go over there guys, look at all the different straps look at all the different buckles,
look at all the different combinations that you can put together.
And, guys, if you’re on the fence you’re may be a little bit hesitant to grab one of
these belts, check out their lifetime guarantee.
This is one of the reasons I just love this company.
I’ve heard stories of guys cutting their belt straps too short.
Well, guess what?
They send them a new strap.
But when it comes down to the functionality of your belt, if in your lifetime this thing
stops working, just simply send it back to them, they will replace it.
Guys, no fine print, no catch or gimmick, just an honest guarantee and that’s what
I love about this company, they’re real people and you definitely want to go check
them out support them.
I’m going to link to them down in the description.
Go check out Anson Belt and Buckle, one of my favorite companies.
The next buckle style is the box frame.
This is where the box is going to be metal, it’s going to be hollow, and it’s going
to be open on both ends.
Now, the type of material that we’re going to see in the strap is going to be mostly
canvas.
You won’t see leather and you won’t see synthetics because they will slip.
The way this works is at the end of this, it goes right into here, so right through
and then it’s going to use tension.
And this is why the canvass is important because when it pushes it up, canvas isn’t is just
going to work pretty well.
And this actually works really well, you’re going to see this in the military, it can
get wet, it can get dirty, easily washed, relatively inexpensive, so that’s why we
see it there.
Final belt buckle style we’re going to talk about is the O ring and the D ring belt buckle
style.
These are some of the most ancient and simple belt buckle styles out there.
You’re going to see them on casual belts.
So, belts that are using a braided leather, using a webbing, are using canvas, the belt
is fastened by threading the strap through the rings.
[0:05:08] All right, gentlemen, let’s talk about belt
straps, let’s talk about the various colors, let’s talk about the materials, and how
this goes into what you can wear with it the formality.
In general, the darker the color the more formal; the lighter the color, the more casual.
Everything you see here is leather.
Now, leather is going to be more formal than a lot of other materials, so we’re talking
canvas and other ones, they’re going to be more casual.
But, let’s talk about the various types and styles we see here.
Why this is the most casual?
Look at all that design, everything that’s textured in there, that’s going to make
it more casual than this other similar colored one which has a more plain.
Understand the simpler the belt, the darker the color is going to be oftentimes more formal.
Now, what about ultracasual belts like this belt right here?
That right here whatever you wear this with, this is going to be more casual.
Great for the 4th of July, but this is not going to be a formal belt.
This is fun belt, all the straps grab in Anson Belt and Buckle.
This belt right here, very casual.
Now, let’s talk about belt strap material.
First stop, we’ve got leather and for good reason.
For thousands of years, men have used leather straps because they are durable, because they
have easy access to them, it’s proven.
And because of that reason, leather is one of the most common materials out there used
for belts.
Let’s talk about though the various types of leathers.
So, you’re going to see calf skin.
Calf skin is going to be in higher end belts, it’s going to be something that’s very
soft, very supple, but it’s not going to be as durable as cow hide.
Now, cow hide is where we’re going to see thicker leather belts more durable leather
belts.
We’re going to come work belts, we’re going to see belts for concealed carry.
Cow hide is one of the most common belt materials we’re going to see out there.
Then, we’re going to have exotic leathers.
This is where you’re going to see lizard, you’re going to see crocodile, you’re
going to see alligator, you’re going to see ostrich, you’re going to see – oh,
you’re going to see snakes.
All different types of materials because leather isn’t just coming from cows, it’s also
coming from other types of animals out there.
You’re also going to see braided leather and that’s a very casual type of look.
It’s basically too casual for a suit, but it can be okay with a sports jacket I guess.
What you’re going to see with this type of basically is a frame style buckle and they’re
very adjustable because you can basically put the prong at any point throughout the
braid.
Another leather to talk about is suede.
Now, we don’t see suede very often in belts but when we do it’s in a casual style.
Finally, tooled belts.
Tooled belts we’re going to see in Western wear, but basically this is where we have
engravings and basically drawings done into the leather, we’re oftentimes going to see
it on a thick tough cow hide because they’re going to be associated with work belts as
well.
Now, let’s talk about fox leather aka fake leather.
Now, when it comes to fake leather, I’m going to recommend that you go with something
of higher quality, you don’t want to buy cheap fake leather.
Why?
Because it’s going to start to crack very quickly, it’s going to look like cheap fake
leather.
If you don’t like leather, look at other alternatives which we’ll get into.
The next material I want to talk about is canvas.
I love canvas because it’s durable, it can get dirty you can wash it, it comes in a wide
variety of colors.
It is overall going to be casual, but you could go with maybe a black color let’s
say you don’t want to wear leather, wear it with a nice buckle.
Now, you want to avoid a lot of them come with a box buckle.
This is going to be one that’s got more of a military origin.
These right here are coming from Anson Belt and Buckle, so you could bring them in the
buckle like this and it would have worked and look great.
Maybe a buckle like this, wear it with something maybe a black or even a light-colored formal
casual look.
At the end of the day, you’ve got a lot of options out there.
And I love canvas because of the wide colors that we can bring in and the combination colors.
The next material I want to talk about is webbing.
Webbing is distinctively different from canvas in that webbing uses a synthetic material
as its base, so it’s not going to have a knap surface like canvas does.
It’s also not going to be as susceptible to a tension type of buckle.
So, with webbing you’re going to want to use a D or an O ring type of buckle.
The next belt strap material I want to talk about popular in certain nautical circles
is rope because for sailors rope is going to be a lot better of a strap than any type
of leather.
You know why?
Because when leather gets wet and then it dries up quickly, it gets wet it dries up
quickly, it starts to lose the moisture that is in there, it starts to crack and then it
breaks.
Rope doesn’t have that issue, it can be washed, it can be cleaned, it was plentiful,
hence why it was a great belt strap.
Now, let’s talk about how to accurately measure yourself for a belt.
You’re going to need a tape measure, you want to accurately measure your waist where
you would have wear that belt and then look at that number.
That is the size belt number that you need to get.
Sounds simple, but it’s complicated because, okay, so I wear a 34 belt, I have a 34-inch
waist, but when I look at jeans, guess what I wear?
A 32-32, with trousers I wear a 32-32.
What’s going on here?
[0:10:03] Understand that jeans most trousers use vanity
metrics.
That is not your skin measurements, hence that’s the issue with most people buying
belts online, they buy the wrong size because they’re buying something that’s too small.
Belt companies are going to measure from basically the base of the prong going down all the way
to the center hole which when they have five holes that’s going to be a third one.
So, in my case, this is going to be 34 inches going from this point to this point.
Understand?
Another measurement you’re going to see out there guys is going to be the height of
the belt.
So, if it’s about 1 to 1.25 inches, that’s going to be a more formal belt, anything above
1.5 inches is going to be casual.
So, guys, that’s it.
Hopefully you enjoy the video, hopefully you learn something and you start wearing a belt
more often.
Look all the different straps out there, all the different buckles, you have more fun with
belt.
Let me know down in the comments, if you enjoyed this give it a thumbs up maybe give it a like,
pass it share it around with others.
And go check out Anson Belt and Buckle, I’m going to link to them down in the description.
Guys, this is one of their belts.
And if you have a 50-inch waist, if you’ve got a 26-inch waist, they send you one strap
that’s over like 50 inches long, you cut it to adjust and guys like I said I mean I
heard of a guy that cut it too short, he simply wrote them a letter, what did they do?
They sent him a new strap.
Amazing customer service, amazing company that’s why I love to support them.
Guys, that’s it.
Take care.
I’ll see you in the next video.
[Music] [0:11:33] End of Audio