no More belt loops pt. 2
“A gentleman should never wear a belt” as the old Savile Row saying goes.
And in that same vein, belt loops are dead, for tailored clothing that is.
Side adjusters or braces all the way as they (mostly, I) say. But hear me out.
N.B This is a revamp of the prior article.
The most important part to note is that you should wear what you want. This is my opinion, it’s not right or wrong or set in stone. To be fair, a belt can sometimes look somewhat decent either if there is no jacket involved, or with certain business attires.
But, personally I think in the case of belt loops, they leave you with a difficult dilemma visually;
It doesn’t look particularly elegant without a belt, leaving the loops as some unsightly looking thin vertical straps of cloth stacked around your waistline.
First solution? Side adjusters:
Given that the world still seems adamant that low rise trousers are the way to go, and I really do not understand the appeal, why would one destroy any last bit of proportion by adding a belt to that hot mess?
You’re not just setting a frame for your body where the perceived waist line is ridiculously low due to the low rise. But by wearing a belt you’re also cutting your body in half, forcing any onlooker to focus their eyes there, and as such suddenly you’re a hobbit.
Of course, this is said from the perspective of someone who’s not particularly tall. As with anything in style you have to choose what fits your body type. That still doesn’t account for belts though, in my opinion. I generally think keeping an elegant clean waistline is essential. As for the most obvious counter argument; “why do you have side adjusters then?”, they are not as visible from the front and to be honest, as opposed to belts I think they look classy and elegant.
Like I said, this is an opinion, not the truth handed down by God.
But in the rare case you’re still going to opt for belt loops, and consequently commit to wearing a belt every day, I urge you to at least try to get trousers with some generous rise to them. Which, to be fair, I would suggest you do either way.
Rise is a topic I’m coming back to soon, but as if the belt/no belt discussion wasn’t already controversial enough, rise seems to be just as much of a trigger.
Again, I must emphasise that body type and hight determines what looks best. In my case I usually go for a rise around 26-27cm which puts the waist just over the navel.
In any case, that wasn’t really the topic for today.
Continuing, the second option would be braces.
Granted, I haven’t worn braces thus far. But I’ve stumbled upon a problem where my continuously shifting waist size becomes an issue. I generally don’t get wider around the waist from my normal size but sometimes thinner. The problem then is that I’m already at the last straw on the side adjusters. As such, I decided to opt for braces when I’m on the leaner side of the scale.
The practical benefits of braces are quite obvious, they keep your trousers in place.
The visual aspect again is something that comes down to personal preferences. They do add a significant visual detail to your outfit and whether that is good or bad is up to each individual to decide.
Personally, in the same vein as side adjusters, I think they look very classy. Even in cases where there’s no practical need for them, quite a lot of men wear them as an accessory/part of the outfit.
As a conclusion, I would recommend trying trousers with side adjuster or braces as opposed to a belt even if you are a strong proponent of belts, just to see how it looks and fits your style.
I didn’t just wake up one day with an immense hatred for belts, I found over time that it just wasn’t for me. I wore belts for the majority of my life but after trying trousers with side adjuster the conclusion was that both visually and for comfort they were right for me.
Photos: My own. Sketch: Image by Anderson & Sheppard via www.anderson-sheppard.co.uk/haberdashery/style/trousers-2/”
