Help me keep my pants from falling down at the office. Belt edition.

April 7, 2013 3:32 PM

I need to buy myself one black "professional belt," maybe a brown one too. Leather or pretend leather is fine, but I'd rather not get that "foil" stuff that flakes off or wrinkles after two uses. The quality of belts at Marshall's and Ross is disappointing (Rhinestones! Faux snake print! Not Professional!) For me, "professional" means plain. Boring.

More boring probably than professional shoes means to the world. Poking fun at myself here. Obviously I'm bad at shopping. And I have more of a What Would a Nerd Wear or Outfit Posts sense of style than straight up matchy matchy pants and jacket wardrobe.

What are the buzzwords that suggest actual quality in a belt? What are the buzzwords that will alert me that I might be purchasing crap? What belt have you bought that has held up well? How dumb is a reversible belt? I know nothing. Maybe belts go on sale at some point in the year. If so, I could maybe wait until that time.

Because I don't have a car, this mythical belt needs to be available online and cost less than $50. So much the better if it's eligible for free super saver shipping an amazon. I am a temp, and my job stability plus some medical bills mean belts outside of my budget will make me cry.

I have some pants with belt loops. And I want to wear them. Which means I need a belt for the office. My current belts are two of those trendy skinny belts, which don't really work with regular sized loops (and actually, I can't figure out how to wear them at all. One is navy and the other is sort of a pale lavendery silver.) and I have a woven hemp belt that is more Summer on the Cape than I would wear to ANY job.

posted by tulip-socks to Shopping (17 answers total)

Have you searched Ask MeFi? I seem to recall some belt posts recently.
posted by michellenoel at 3:41 PM on April 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

I have better luck with belts at Marshall's/Ross (and in general, I suppose) if I look in the men's section. This might work for you too, if you are looking for very plain belts.
posted by needs more cowbell at 3:45 PM on April 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

Here's a black patent / brown embossed croc reversible belt on Zappos for $42.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 3:56 PM on April 7, 2013

I just bought a belt based on the guidelines in this previously, which answers some of your questions about quality. (At least on the men's side, though it's not as if there's a difference on the women's side.)
posted by holgate at 3:56 PM on April 7, 2013

Try the Gap/Gap Outlet?

I bought quite wide and sturdy plain leather belt at Gap Outlet for about $15. It is black/brown reversible. The buckle is a plain brushed metal plate. It is easily reversible by swiveling the buckle, it takes a couple of seconds.

Note that Gap Outlet does not have Gap things cheap; they make cheap clothes and stick Gap labels on them.
posted by carter at 3:57 PM on April 7, 2013

Seconding Gap's belts. Surprisingly well-made.

If you're ordering online, the keyword is "full-grain".
posted by supercres at 4:03 PM on April 7, 2013

Try amazon.com - I just took a look and they have several belts well under $50, like this Nine West belt for $24.
posted by bunderful at 4:07 PM on April 7, 2013

In any store, I suggest just skipping right past the women's section, which seems to be focused on "fashion" rather than utility. I bought a perfectly bland black leather belt in the men's section of Walmart for less than $15. They also had brown & reversible ones for a similar price. (In my experience, something labeled "real leather" lasts longer than "bonded leather", which seems to stretch & tear at the pre-punched holes.)
posted by belladonna at 4:39 PM on April 7, 2013

I have this brown/black reversible belt from Gap. It works in a professional or casual setting. Plus, reversible- 2 for 1! 40 bucks, which felt pricey to me for a belt, but it's heaps better than all the 20 dollar belts I had before.
posted by saul wright at 4:51 PM on April 7, 2013

I bought my black leather, silver standard buckle belt at Target. It was reasonable, around $30. It' just plain black leather. I also saw that target tended to have a lot of standard belts. I also agree with checking Ross. (I too needed one to go with dress pants or business-wear.)

Also if you shop online, be sure to check the measurement in inches for the size, as sizes may vary. Therefore you will also want to measure your waist and/or current belt that is comfortable.
posted by Crystalinne at 5:41 PM on April 7, 2013

I bought two belts, one a light brown full-grain leather belt for jeans, the other a dark (nearly black) shiny leather belt for more professional wear, both from Eddie Bauer, for 10$ at their clearance outlet. This was ten years ago and I still wear the brown one literally four days a week (every day I'm not at work) with jeans and it still looks awesome. The black one I have worn at least once a week or more since then and it still looks amazing too. Eddie Bauer. Online, looks like they're around 35$? Worth a look. I haven't even thought about buying a belt in ten years because of that.
posted by takoukla at 6:00 PM on April 7, 2013

Best answer: In that price range (or even if you went a ways out of it) you'd be hard-pressed to do better than Narragansett Leathers, but they're not nearly speedy as Amazon. (You're waiting for Alan to see your order and make your belt; nothing happens overnight here.) But the belts are very, very nice and quite cheap.

Bridle leather is less formal than some but it looks good with most dress pants, and these are my normal daily-wear belt. (My standard "dress" belt is this one for $85 from Epaulet.)

A lot of the belts I see recommended here are really mediocre leather, I'd be very wary of anything "shiny" that's not clearly high-quality.
posted by ethand at 7:27 PM on April 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

This belt, in both brown and black has been a staple of my wardrobe. Clean, simple and well made and no buckle to jab you or add extra weight.
posted by blaneyphoto at 7:29 PM on April 7, 2013

The essential belts at everlane are fantastic, and the buckles come separately from the leather for ultimate mixing and matching.
posted by thirdletter at 8:39 PM on April 7, 2013 [1 favorite]

Narragansett Leathers
posted by exogenous at 8:11 AM on April 8, 2013

I'm a guy, so I have experience buying belts from the men's section (as many above recommended). I have two belts I picked up at Express years ago. Both in good shape, except that the buckles are showing wear, so I can't wear the black one for work any more. I picked up a replacement while traveling, a cheaper reversible belt, and while I wear it to work I secretly hate it and wish I'd gone with a full-grain, non-bonded belt instead. It looks OK from a distance, but to me it just feels cheap.

So rather than buy one reversible belt, buy two single belts made of actual leather instead of a thin veneer of leather over some other material, or two strips of cheaper leather glued together. It will cost more up front but both belts will last you far longer than the single reversible one.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:37 AM on April 8, 2013

Definitely had this same situation! Why is it so hard to find a basic boring decent-quality belt!
I sucked it up and went to Macy's and found a Hilfiger one I liked. It's only been a few weeks but so far I am satisfied. It's soft but durable-feeling, and it's contoured in the back (fits those of us with curves). It was a little cheaper when I bought it in store. Macy's is always having sales, sign up for their email list.
posted by radioamy at 4:50 PM on April 8, 2013