One common styling question I receive is— "How do you wear belts!?" Let's take a little deep dive into them. We'll talk about some basic fundamentals when purchasing belts and give you some ideas on how to wear a belt!
2 PLACES I LIKE TO WEAR A BELT:
AROUND MY WAIST— The belt will sit up around my natural waist line and accentuate my hourglass shape
AROUND MY HIPS— The belt will act as either an accessory or will be used practically to hold up 'dem jeans!
Each way depends on what look or vive you're trying to achieve or what part of your body you want to accentuate.
When I’m buying belts, I typically buy with purpose knowing—this one will go at my waist, or this one at my hips. I know some people want to have an all-purpose belt, and will buy it to fit around your hips and then use a leather hole punch to add holes in the belt so boom…. now it can go around your waist too! And that totally works! That said, for ME belts aren’t like shoes. It takes a LONG time to wear out a nice leather belt. So I prefer to buy my belts with their intended purpose in mind and stick to that.
Which takes me to my next point. When shopping for belts, keep in mind the WIDTH of the belt. I typically prefer a thin or medium-width belt. So that’s about a 1/4 inch to an inch. They tend to pair with a lot more outfits versus a super wide belt. They’re also a much more classic width. Majority of my belt collection is 10 years old from J.Crew. But they’re a quality leather, and they’re a classic width, so they don’t go out of style.
5 WAYS I LIKE TO WEAR A BELT:
1. The first way to wear a waist belt is over a dress! (2:25) This could be a fit and flare or a voluminous baggy dress. This is a great way to highlight your tiny waist or if you have a more athletic build, then you can fake a waist!
2. Try a belt over a blanket scarf! (2:31) This is fun and fashion forward. I get a lot of requests on how to wear a big old blanket scarf… Well ladies, this is one of them.
3. Next, wear a belt over an oversized cardigan and leggings. (2:46) Adding a belt here really helps to pull the look together and show off your waist.
4. Wear around your hips with high-rise denim and a cardigan. (3:09) In this instance, remember to tuck your shirt to show off your belt! You don’t have to do a full tuck; a half tuck is just fine.
5. Lastly, I love wearing a belt over a coat! (3:30) A lot of coats, especially trench coats, come with basic belts that match the coat. I don’t always love the belt they come with, so I like to add my own for a little pop of personality.
