One Accessory You Need for Silhouette Success
Behold the magical powers of The Belt: my single favorite accessory
I’ve always considered myself a “shoe girl” and have even been known to stow shoes away in unused kitchen cabinets. Nothing about my love for shoes has changed. I still believe they can make or break an outfit. But when we’re talking about an outfit as a whole, its success ultimately depends on the success of the Silhouette. And that’s where a belt comes in.
I think people sometimes think of belts as a practical item, and, in a way, they are. Belts were invented to meet a need. I love to think about that element of clothing: we can wear items simply out of necessity. That’s what clothing is ultimately for. But when we’re diving into the art of style, we're wearing things not only because we have to, but because we want to differentiate our looks. And it doesn’t hurt if it also does the job (holds up your pants).
Another way of saying this is that I think belts are a necessity, but not only because they keep pants in place. I think belts are necessary in another way, too: for crafting your Silhouette and when giving your outfit complexity via the Contradistinction Technique, explained below.
The options for belts are endless, with waist belts, skinny belts, chain belts, buckle belts, fabric belts, and so on, all available and eagerly waiting for you to wear them.
A Belt Menu, If You Will!
The Classic Leather Belt
The Classic Leather Belt is the most “utility” adjacent, the perfect style to paper-bag a pair of trousers or to fit a pair of jeans to your hips. But finding the “perfect classic belt” depends on what you're looking for. A classic, smooth leather belt with medium thickness is the most versatile. They work threaded through a pair of jean’s belt loops, with high-waisted trousers, or to cinch a boxy jacket. Skinny classic belts are great for a sharp but not-too-invasive element to pair with trousers or to layer over dresses or boxy jackets. Thick classic belts are bold, instantly bringing your outfit into the ‘80s or early 2000s. It’s a look! But when taking a belt for a spin, I recommend the classic medium-thickness or skinny style.
The most helpful advice when buying a leather belt is to be open to taking it to your cobbler! They will punch loops for you — often for free — to ensure your belt is the length you need. If you go with a braided belt, which I also love, the belt loop issue is removed, but they tend to be a bit more casual in style.
The Chain or Rope Belt
I love chain belts. I often fasten a long gold chain necklace from my grandmother into a chain belt. The beauty of many chain belts is that they, like braided belts, are completely adjustable, so you can wear them to contrast a pair of jeans (see Contradistinction Technique) or as jewelry over a jacket or dress. Recently popularized by The Row and Bottega Veneta, there are so many styles you can buy vintage or handmade for much less.
The Statement Belt
Some outfits rely entirely on the statement belt, whether a monochrome outfit brought to focus with a chunky buckle or a boxy Silhouette-made hourglass with a thick strap. Others, often Cypress Silhouette ones, get this unexpected element as added personality. A custom touch!
Now that we’ve broken down some of the belt types, the fun part of styling begins! I’m breaking down belt styling into Silhouette types because belts do very different things on different Silhouettes.
How the Belt Can Be Used for Each Silhouette
The Cypress
I’ve discussed how the success of the Cypress Silhouette relies on small styling details. It’s a Silhouette dependent on small additions, accessories, layering, and little styling tricks. The Cypress needs textural, tonal, and material variety. The belt is one of the easiest and best ways to achieve that.
The belt elevates all six of these outfits. Each look above is made up of roughly two to three elements (top, bottom, and outer layer) + belt. The belt breaks up the Silhouette in each and creates shape in some (Mecca’s, Jen’s, and Laura’s specifically, who use the belts to accentuate their waists). And to my point of classic leather belts being the most useful, five of these six looks use a classic-style leather belt.
The Evergreen
Belts help visually separate the top and bottom half of an outfit, the main Silhouette element of the Evergreen. While a belt helps to make a Cypress more complex, an Evergreen Silhouette sometimes depends entirely on a belt. A waist belt cinches the waist but also draws in the smallest area of the Silhouette, which helps make an Evergreen successful.
These five very different Evergreen looks display a combination of statement, rope, and classic belts. Laurel’s belt creates her Silhouette, while the other four use their belts to break up the outfit and distinguish between the top and bottom half. Isis’s outfit is quite interesting because, without this long-tailed belt, this outfit could veer Cypress! But the long tail highlights the volume of the pants and makes this outfit an Evergreen.
The Palm
The Palm Silhouette is concentrated up top, so a belt can be trickier to get right — you need to be especially careful not to overpower the outfit. Wearing a belt in a Palm look can help you keep the bulk of the outfit where you want it.
All five of these outfits are very different. Tamu is using her belt to compliment her see-through fringed skirt. It also makes her playful bottom classic and sharp (Contradistinction Technique!). Reese and Leandra use classic belts to focus the eye. Leandra's is a layering element, cinching her jacket. It's also contrasting the feminine lace tights (Contradistinction Technique again). Courtnee's belt makes her Silhouette and breaks up what otherwise would be a voluminous blouse. I also love how it visually balances her shoes. Michal uses her belt as jewelry, adding a focal element to her Palm Silhouette (which would have been a Cypress without the belt/with heavier shoes).
Let’s Take the Belt for a Spin
The Cypress
I used a braided belt (the Gap one!) to make my boxy blazer have some shape over a straight gingham shirt dress.
Break up a tonal outfit with a belt. This one is actually a men’s belt, which I had extra holes punched into. I love a long tail.
The Evergreen
Speaking of long tails… I reference this Emme Parsons one which comes extra-long. It’s a classic piece I used to contrast a pretty wild suspender skirt.
I used my grandmother’s “fish scale” silver belt to cinch a narrow linen blazer and give it some shape. I tied a shirt under it to force the blazer to billow out a bit, making this more of an Evergreen Silhouette.
The Palm
Another piece from my grandmother, this necklace-turned-belt is the perfect piece of jewelry for shirting. Again, I’m using it to help my top flare out to complement the shorts.
I used my belt to split up the outfit and to add a bit more weight to my otherwise very minimal shorts :).
As the weather gets warmer, our outfits will need all the non-bulky styling elements they can get! Try cinching, threading, tying, clipping, and fastening this week.
xo
Eliz
fun fun!!!