HOW TO WEAR A BELT

Photos by baju24

Photos by baju24

Photos by baju24

       Belts are a nearly universal fashion accessory. Both men and women wear them. Some people use them for function, while for others they are merely an added attraction to an attractive ensemble. But today we’re going to discuss some of the basics of wearing belts for women of different sizes and builds and hopefully help you understand some of the key things to remember.

Types of Belts

       There are almost too many types of belts to list. You can find belts made from cloth, leather, woven cords, beads, metal links, and other shapes of nearly any substance you can imagine. The belt may be designed as an integral part of a particular garment, or designed separately as a form of jewelry worn from the waist. Whether it’s a strip of leather or vine used to hold the loincloth around the primitive tribesman’s waist, the chain of jingling bells swinging from the waist of the middle-eastern dancer, or the alligator strap with the sterling silver clasp cinched at the hips of a runway model, it is - simply put - a belt.

The Gold-Belted Rule

       If there is one rule that you always remember when it comes to belts, it’s that you have to pay attention to proportion. More than just making sure that a belt is long enough, or not too long, the width of the belt is important in making sure that the belt will look good on you. If you never forget the rule of proportion, you can avoid most of the worst mistakes in selecting a belt for your body type.

       To go along with this gold-belted rule, here are some others that will help you with your specific body type:

Average Builds

       As with other “average” categories, the woman with an average build can usually make good use of a wide variety of belt types. As long as she keeps the belt in proper proportion to her body’s specifics (length of torso specifically) she can feel assured that she’ll look good.

       The one thing to watch out for is for those women of average build who have either longer than average torsos, or who are considered “short-waisted”. The short-waisted woman should avoid wide belts because these will only reinforce the disproportion of the length of her torso. Likewise, the long-waisted woman needs to avoid belts that are too thin, since these either get lost on the body, or reinforce the fact that the torso is longer than that of an average woman.

       In general though, the average woman has curves, and her belted looks should respect those curves. The look should either enhance the curves or follow them, yet some belted looks result in the opposite effect and completely camouflage the natural shape of the body. Ideally, the belted look for the average build would be one where the belt was part of a fitted ensemble and served to accent the garment as an accessory, rather than creating a design element on its own (as through cinching fabric).

Thin Builds

       Thin women are often believed to have no problems when it comes to clothing, but even their clothing choices must be carefully considered. And frankly, unless she is a fashion model, most thin women are as unhappy with the shape of their bodies as many larger women are.

       For thin women, the benefit of many belted looks is that it allows them to create a silhouette that enhances their shape by making it appear slightly more contoured. A cinched waist makes both the hips and bust appear wider. However, for thin women, unless a belt is specifically intended for wear as a jewelry-like accessory, the belt should be worn either loosely fitted or cinched where appropriate. A loose-draped belt for a thin woman too often looks as though the belt is too large, and only makes the body appear unflatteringly skinny.


An ideal look for many thin women (and one that is popular in cooler weather and climates) is the look of a bulky sweater with a belt over it. This has the benefit of adding ‘padding’ to the cinched look and increases the appearance of shape to the figure. It should be noted that not all cinched looks are great and that a loose, draped shirt cinched with a belt can easily just look outsized and make the woman appear shapeless instead of shapely.

Heavy Builds

       Possibly the woman for whom belted looks are least friendly in general is the heavy built woman. Women with heavier builds generally fall into two body sub-types – apple and pear. These subtypes are also present in the other body categories but become most notable in women who are heavy. The ‘apple’ figured woman is called such because her body mass is primarily centered in her upper torso and mid-section. The legs are usually more normally proportioned. As a result she appears to be build like an apple on a stick. The ‘pear’ figured woman is often referred to euphemistically as a full-figured woman. Her body generally has the traditional curves of a woman, although a larger portion of her mass rests in the lower torso and thighs. In silhouette, she appears to look like a pear.

       For the apple figured woman, it is generally best to avoid belted looks altogether. Her focus should be on creating looks that accentuate vertical lines and thereby help to slim and make her appear taller. The pear figured woman CAN wear some belted looks as long as she remembers her proportion rule and understands that she wants to avoid all ‘cinched’ looks.

       Ideally, the heavy woman (with the pear figure) will want a look that features stronger vertical lines and uses the belt as an accessory to add to the vertical focus or create an asymmetry in the look. Wider belts are obviously better since the proportion rule will make many thinner belts look out of place. But in addition to a wider belt, if the belt is longer than needed and worn loosely fastened or clasped and allowed to drape, it can create a fashionable look and flatter the figure in the process. I generally recommend many close-fitted garments unless they are part of a layered look.

Extra Special Cases

       There are a couple of body types that need some special advice and emphasis in dealing with belts and belted looks. These are those types who are petite and heavy, and petite and thin. Women who are petite but of average build simply need to pay attention to the proportions of their body and the width of the belts they choose. Otherwise they follow the rules for the average build woman.

       The woman who is petite is small in stature (short) and she should pay attention to the advice in the corresponding thin and heavy sections above. However, as a petite woman, it becomes doubly important that she avoid belts that fit into the extreme ends of the width spectrum. On a petite and thin woman, a wide belt tends to leave her looking like a little girl playing dress-up in mom’s accessories. A thin belt can work for a petite and thin woman, but it needs to be of appropriate length or otherwise it looks ill-fitting.

       The petite and heavy woman should also avoid both wide and thin belts as these two extremes too often result in making her appear either too short, or wider than she honestly is. The purpose of fashion is to make a person feel good about herself, and if your accessory doesn’t do that for you, you truly don’t need it.

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