Sure, originally belts have had the function to hold your bottoms in place or the width of your garment under control. However, for every stylish women the knowledge how to best accessorize with belts can do a lot for balancing their body shape. Read about the importance of belt width and color and how you can use the right belt not only for function, but also for dressing for your shape and enhancing your style factor. Learn which garments to belt in which way.
- The Right Belt Ups Outfits of All Styles
- You’ll Love These Easy Stylist’s Belting Tricks
- Which Belt is Best Depends on Your Body Shape
- Who Looks Best with Which Belt?
- Which Belt Color Is Best for Balancing Your Body?
- Gallery of Belt Outfit Ideas
- How to Add Shape with a Belt
- How to Belt a Sweater
- Can you Belt a Twinset
- Can You Accessorize Evening Attire with a Belt?
- Sheath Dress Belting Ideas
- Best Belts for Various Personal Styles
- What Mistakes to Avoid When Accessorizing with Belts
- How to Determine Your Belt Size?
- Take Home Message to Avoid these Mistakes When Belting
- Further Readings Beyond how to Best Accessorize with Belts
The Right Belt Ups Outfits of All Styles
The following ideas and tips work for all kinds of personal style – Casual, Bohemian, Classic, Urban, Dramatic/Glamorous – you name it.
When putting an outfit together carefully consider every detail: Your personal style, lifestyle, body type, and budget. These details are truly indispensable. Remember expensive never substitutes for style.
You’ll Love these Easy Stylist’s Belting Tricks
What to try
- A head-to-toe monochromatic outfit using the belt as an accent or pop of color.
- A skinny belt worn over a skirt for a feminine touch.
- A thin belt over a partly closed jacket of a twinset. It’s a classic.
- Belted leather pants for a cool Rock’n Roll inspired look with blazer and T-shirt on the weekend.
- Match it to your bag, clutch for the weekend.
- Add a statement to an evening gown. So unexpected.
- Add a chain or thin gold or silver leather belt to cocktail separates.
- Use this accessory to up the style of a summer maxi dress. A little white dress with tan leather looks casual posh and laid back at the same time.
- Wear a wide belt over a sheath dress at the office.
- Use it for shape to underline the slimmest point of your body.
- Balance the look of loose pants with a fitted shirt using a belt.
- For an urban summer style try a white or olive dress with a tan thin double wrap style. When your torso is long, you can pull off a triple wrap where the leather is about an inch to 1.5 inch wide (2.5-3.8 cm).
- An evergreen classic is a LBD with a white belt. Best of all, it doesn’t matter whether it is fancy or a T-shirt version or anywhere in between.
- When you have Bohemian Style try a metal one with a floral maxi, ethnic or embroidered dress.
- Add a textured belt to a floral, abstract, leaves or paisley print maxi dress.
- Use a scarf as a belt.
- Up your sweater with a statement piece.
- What about adding shape to a coat or styling your outerwear?
- Try to accentuate your waist when wearing a down vest?
- Jump the band wagon of belting a blazer
- Add shape to a straight knit dress. More on how to wear a knit dress in this guide.
- A chain belt to add glamour to a jumpsuit.
- Try a textured (e.g. alligator, crocodile, snake or lizard imprinted, laser cut or macramé belt) with a floral or abstract print jumpsuit.
- Knot the belt of a coat in the back, when wearing the coat open (e.g. side view photo of the OOTD). Otherwise, the tails can become not only a safety issue, but also get dirty when sitting down on public transportation.
- Let a statement buckle be the jewelry of your look (see OOTD).
- Knot the belt of a trench coat.
Which Belt is Best Depends on Your Body Shape
In addition to your personal style and vibe of the outfit, your belt has to fit not only with respect to length, but also with respect to your body shape. Unfortunately, when buying clothing you can already set yourself up for making mistakes when belting. Because dressing for your body shape all about balance the width of the belt can help in achieving your best look.
Hiding the “flaws”, emphasizing the best features.
Who Looks Best with Which Belt?
When you are short-waisted thin leather belts and whimsical chain belts work best for you. You can read more about how to dress when you are short-waisted at the link. Try a low slung belt on your hips.
When you have a long torso and comparatively short legs, wide belts are your best friends. Avoid low slung belts and convex ones. Match it to your skirt, or pants. Here match means, have the belt the same color as the bottoms. Doing so creates the illusion of longer legs and a shorter torso than you actually have.
Tip: Add heels in the color of your pantyhose or pants to create the illusion of miles long legs.
Stick with these simple rules:
When you have a short torso and long legs, match your belt to your top to elongate your torso.
When your body type is balanced you are lucky. You can get away with a belt that contrasts to what you wear on the top and bottom.
Rules for inverted triangle, apple and pear shaped gals:
When you are pear-shaped, never wear a belt on your hips. Any horizontal line creates attention to where it is. You don’t want the attention at your widest part ever!
When you are apple shaped, wear your belt just below the breast to give the illusion of a waist. Never wear one on your hips.
When you are Y-shape (inverted triangle, try a wide belt in a light color on your hips to balance your wide shoulders.
Which Belt Color Is Best for Balancing Your Body?
The most balanced body type is the hourglass aka 8. A belt creates a horizontal line. Dark colors give the illusion of being leaner than light colors. Therefore, a dark belt at the waist “reduces” the width of the real waist.
This also applies when wearing a scarf as a belt. Actually, this styling offers many color choices and you can adjust the width to your body shape easily.
Gallery of Belt Outfit Ideas
How to Add Shape with a Belt
How to Belt a Sweater
Can you Belt a Twinset?
Can You Accessorize Evening Attire with a Belt?
Sheath Dress Belting Ideas
Best Belts for Various Personal Styles
Don’t miss out on my styling tips for all kind of dressing situation in midlife, buy my book How to Dress for Success in Midlife.
What Mistakes to Avoid When Accessorizing with Belts
- Wearing a belt on your hips when you are pear-shaped. It draws attention to where you don’t want it.
- Wearing a wide belt when you have a short torso.
- Jacket’s hem, vest or sweater ends above the belt. It looks like the piece is too short or has shrunk in the laundry. Both is never ever in style.
- Wearing a thin belt when you have a long torso. It looks lost and draws attention to your having a long torso meaning also having short legs.
- The color clashes with the colors of the outfit.
- The color matches the color of the top while it should match the color of the pants for best balance.
- The color matches bottom while it should match the color of the top for best body balance.
- The vibe of the outfit and accessory fail to go together. Think for instance a studded punk-inspired piece on a chiffon feminine romantic summer dress.
- Too tight closure! It creates the look of honey bee body. And like trying too hard.
- Adding a statement style piece when already wearing a statement necklace, statement earrings, or statement glasses. Over-bling unless your personal style is Glam or Drama.
- Adding a long pendant necklace. It could be caught by the buckle when you sit down leading to a potential disaster/injury when you stand up.
- Another common mistake is to not paying attention to the loop size of your skirt, pants or dress.
- Not checking the length of the dress hem when belting a dress for shape. The hem may hit at a non-flattering point of your leg or make the dress shorter than you want.
- Belting a trench coat. It has to be knotted! More on the best trench coats.
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- Not checking your derriere. They may emphasize/draw attention to your but in an unwanted way.
- Not paying attention to the belt shape. Check that there are not “awkward pockets” when belting your pants. Some pants and skirts cannot be worn with a straight cut, but ask for a curved one.
- Wearing this accessory on a skirt or pants without loops without making sure that it stays in the place you intend to wear it.
- Too small a distance between the hem of the top and the belt.
- Wearing a belt that has the same waist size than the jeans. A belt has to be two inch (5 cm) longer than the waist band for the most flattering look.
- Not checking your derriere. They may emphasize/draw attention to your but in an unwanted way.
How to Determine Your Belt Size?
The right belt size depends on where you want to wear your belt. A best guess is your jeans waist size plus 2 inches (5 cm) for pants. For a belt to be worn on the slimmest part of your torso it is best to take the measurement of the part and add 2 inches. You want that in case of a three holes belt, you can use the middle hole.
Currently, long belts are It. Go for one with the end hitting just above where your legs start when closed (see featured photo. When you want to knot your belt above a blazer, wear the blazer when buying the belt. You want the end to show about 5 cm outside the knot.
Take Home Message to Avoid these Mistakes When Belting
Never underestimate the power of accessories when worn right. They are also a great way how to get more outfits from the pieces you already own. Avoid the above listed mistakes when belting to look your best.
Further Readings Beyond how to Best Accessorize with Belts
This post belongs to the series on how to up your outfit with accessories. Further issues include how to
- Up your style with scarves
- Style with brooches
- Look incredibly stylish with hats, or
- Improve your style with gloves.
Photos of me: G. Kramm
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