"Belts are such dignity savers. Unsightly love handle hangover? Buy a belt. A slightly dowdy one-colour ensemble? Buy a belt. Wearing a vintage dress that isn't exactly the right size and needs a bit of definition? Buy a belt."
www.myfashionlife.com
Belts
Like any accessory, a belt can add so much to your look. Belts are a clear indication of what fashion era we are in. For those who are our age, who can forget the iconic (but questionable) 80's look of stirrup trousers and over sized shirt teamed with a thick belt around your hips?! Or the 90's inspired (making a come back now) elasticated thick belt cinched in at the waist and sitting very high up on your torso?
Like all clothes, there is an art to wearing a belt and it is best to follow a few rules to ensure no nasty style mistakes! The first thing to be mindful of is your body shape. Are you remember is that different body types can wear different belt styles. For example, a pear shaped woman is going to look hot to trot in a cinched waist belt. A slender tall girl is really going to cut the mustard in a slimline belt worn with a classic A line dress.
What body shape are you? FCaNK loves Trinny & Susannah's Body Shape Bible. With 12 body shapes sympathetically dealt with, you are going to find style with your body type! For those of us who have a muffin top around our tummy area, a belt (not worn too tightly) can hide those overhangs! You will look as if you have a thinner waist. A belt worn on the waist with a beautiful shirt billowing out above it looks stunning and hides any bulges!
How long is your torso? The longer your torso, the thicker the belt that you can wear. This has nothing to do with your actual height. Fur Coat can wear quite thick belts (she is quite short!) as she as a long torso. She also has a small waist so a cinched in elasticated belt with a dress looks fab on her! Conversely, if you have a short torso, wear a thinner, streamlined belt. Try to blend the belt in with your outfit so you flow from top to bottom.
How much should you spend on a belt? The fashion gurus will always tell you that a belt is an investment and that you should only buy good quality belts. They reason that as belts invariably come back into fashion, it is better to buy quality and look good. It is true that a good quality leather belt that is properly contoured will fit better than a cheap leather one...but hey this is the recession, so that is not always possible. Spend what you can afford but try and make sure that it is contoured and that the leather (or any material) is soft and flexible.
FCaNK particularly loves Bottletop's iconic ring pull belt. See below. Check it out online at Bottletop or at any of their stockists. At £28, you are spending little for some real biker chic style!
Happy Belt shopping ladies!
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