Belts hold trousers up and once doubled as weapons
A belt is a flexible strap of leather, plastic, or cloth worn at or near the waist to secure clothes, carry tools, or shape a silhouette. Loops on garments guide it; a keeper loop tames the loose end. History also records belts used as whipping instruments.
A belt holding up trousers relies on friction and on the torso being narrower, and slightly squashable, just above the hips. Braces work differently, hanging the waistband from the shoulders instead. On dresses, robes and gowns, which already hang from the shoulders, a belt only pulls in and emphasises the waist, and very wide versions called waist cinchers start to resemble corsets. A metal or leather tip often protects the loose end, and pouches, holsters, scabbards and Japanese inrō can hang from a belt in place of pockets.
Men have worn belts since the Bronze Age, and women have taken them up whenever fashion favoured it, notably in the early Middle Ages, in late 17th-century mantuas and with skirt-and-blouse outfits between 1901 and 1910; Art Nouveau buckles now draw collectors. Before the First World War, officers in Prussia and Tsarist Russia cinched wide belts brutally tight over their uniforms, both to carry a sabre and for looks. Everyday men's trousers lacked belt loops until the 1920s, when waistlines dropped, though sportswear had them earlier.
Leather dominates because it bends and tightens without damage and moulds to its owner over time; suede, canvas, webbing, rope and vinyl are alternatives. Formal belts run about 28 to 32 millimetres wide with polished buckles and glossy leather, while casual ones for jeans are 35 to 42 millimetres, textured, with antiqued buckles and heavier stitching.
Belts carry darker associations too. In some countries a father's belt stood for corporal punishment, being light, strong and always at hand. Sagging trousers below the hips, common among young men from the 1990s, is thought to trace back to prisons that confiscated belts as possible weapons. Studded black leather started with 1950s bikers aiming to intimidate, passed to late-1970s punks, and lives on among emo and revival fans; Suzi Quatro wore studded wristbands and a choker, though no belt, in her 1973 clip for Can the Can.
Source: Belt (clothing)
