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Style Spotlight: Choosing and Wearing Belts

Belts manage to be one of the most loved and simultaneously most misunderstood aspects of fashion for many women.

Belts can add a whole new dimension, shape and layer of style to an outfit if they’re worn the right way, but at the same time a belt can go oh-so-wrong. So how do you manage to achieve the former and not the latter?

Here’s our brief guide to belts:

  1. When you’re choosing a belt, think about what you want to accomplish by wearing it. If you choose a thin belt it’s going to feel like an accessory and a chic addition, whereas a wide belt can be a way to disguise and accentuate certain features of your body, and really add shape to an outfit that might otherwise be lacking in that area. If you’re really investing in a belt it may be best to go somewhere in the middle in terms of width.
  2. As mentioned above, belts aren’t just accessories—they can also be a handy tool to create an illusion. If you feel like you have a little extra weight in your midsection then wear your belt just above your natural waistline to accentuate your waist and take the focus off areas you may see as problematic.
  3. Belts can make an ideal way to add color and visual interest to an otherwise simple or monochromatic outfit. If you have an occasion that requires a more refined outfit or you simply like to wear all black or all white, for example, use your belt as that one place where you experiment with color, pattern or texture.
  4. Think outside the box when it comes to belts—they don’t simply have to be worn with a pair of pants. You may already also think of belts as being a great addition to dresses—particularly very blousy or maxi dresses—but they’re also excellent over cardigans, shirts and some types of jackets. It can be an instant chicness-adder to any outfit.
  5. If you feel like you have a more rectangular shape and you want to appear as if you’re curvier, one option is to wear a belt low on your hips. This is going to draw the eye towards this area and create contours that may not actually exist—wearing a belt this way can also be edgier than many of the other ways we typically wear a belt.
  6. If you’re not usually a belt wearer you’ll be shocked at how much adding one to a basic outfit like a pair of jeans and a t-shirt can make it feel so much more effortlessly chic and put together. Grab your jeans, a great white tee, add a belt and do the side tuck with your t-shirt and you’ll look like a model ready to head out and about on the streets of Manhattan.

Do you love belts? If so, let us know your favorite tips for choosing the right belt for your body and outfit and also the ways you love styling them.