A great belt could really drastically affect an outfit, but the false one can turn an otherwise fashionable person into total disarray. You can’t just replace a belt on anything from a cardigan to a cocktail dress and expect it to look attractive. Here are a few indicators to really help you enhance your belting game.

How to Choose the Right Belt

Below are the four key things to choose a suitable belt.

Make certain that your belt complements your overall look

Don’t attempt to make your belt stand out from the remainder of your outfit. Belts may appear to be flexible, but they are definitely very particular, and identifying the perfect belt can be just as difficult as finding the correct pair of shoes. The very first step is to identify your individual style or at least the appearance you want to achieve with a specific outfit, and then search for a belt to improve that style. Don’t just chop up two styles together and expect a positive result.

This type of Army-Navy surplus belt will indeed look great with something a little bit more sturdy, but it looks strange with this clean and minimal white-and-red striped dress. A more straightforward, graphic belt might have worked much better.

Select the appropriate width

In general, thick waist belts are ideal for ladies with longer torsos since they truncate their torsos and make them more likely more proportionate. Thin belts, on the flip side, look way better on short-waisted females as they don’t conceal their abdomens and make it appear as if they go straight from their breasts to their legs.

Determine the appropriate length

Generally speaking, your belt should fit through the middle hole. Any kind of shorter, and it will appear bulgy. If you leave it any longer, the tail might not lie down in a flat way against your torso, and you would not want it sticking out and getting blown each time you move your shoulder and arm.

Consider your belt to be a piece of jewelry

Don’t purchase a belt with a large, plump, antiqued gold clamp if you would not really wear large, pudgy, antiqued gold jewelry. This isn’t to say you need to complement your belt buckle to your accessories, but they should look like they belong together.

Knowing When to Use a Belt

It is true that wearing a belt can change your overall look. However, it is not always true, and here are some tips to help you know when you should wear a belt.

Tops

You should not belt a top. Untucked sweaters, t-shirts, tunics, or cardigans do not always have to be belted — belting them tends to make you look older than your real age and, quite often, just looks weird. If you want to attract loads of attention to your waist in a particular top, tuck it into a dress or skirt and afterward belt it.

Pants and Jeans

Don’t wear a belt if your trousers rest right on your hips and they don’t have belt straps. It will slip, and you will spend the entire day ineffectively attempting to keep it aligned on your waistband.

Coats

Use the belt that came with the coat. Just don’t try to replace it with your own belt. Fashion mags experiment with it every now and then, but it always looks effortful and noticeable. You will want your outfit to look effortless and natural.

Dresses

In general, belts can really and should be used to deliver extra shape and visual appeal to dresses, but be cautious if you are attempting to create a shape where none exists. Wearing a belt to generate a midsection means gathering a lot of fabric, which transforms the way the dress slats and can make it appear clumsy.

Skirts

Usually, belts look fantastic with high-waisted skirts. Just make absolutely sure that the central part of the skirt band sits nice and snug on your natural waist to prevent the belt from sliding around.

Best Tips on Styling a Belt 

Hips belts vs. waist belts

Belts attract lots of attention to the area of the body they are worn across. Generally speaking, waist belts are thought to be the most appealing as they highlight the smallest area of the body and do make you appear skinnier, but hip belts would do the same thing if they are encased a little bit on both sides. 

This implies that if you are wearing a pair of lower-waisted jeans with a belt you really want to show off, you should tuck your shirt in the front to make the sides and back of the belt be covered. You can also tuck your top in all the way around and then put on a jacket that is coated underneath the belt and wear it open so that only the center front portion is noticeable.

Tying a knot at the end of a long belt

In fact, this is perfect for outdoor casual outfits; just ensure that your belt is long and soft enough to lie correctly and not stick out at an odd angle or dig into your belly weirdly.

Coordinating your belt and shoes

Generally speaking, there is nothing wrong with pairing your belt to your sneakers, but it is not required. The pairing will make you appear sophisticated and put-together, but it is also an extremely conservative look. If you want to go for a more relaxed and fun look, mismatching is preferable.

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