If you’re a belt wearer, you might relate to how particular I am about how a belt fits and looks around the natural waist, or further down with lower rise bottoms. Too short, and the belt looks ill-fitting. Too long, and it looks untidy. The length has to be just right, or doctored in some way to look the right length. 

I don’t like the belt to fit on the first hole. That makes it look too small to my eye. I also don’t want the end of the belt to flap about because it’s too long and not secured by the belt loops of the pants. That makes the belt look too big. 

When a belt is too long, I stick it down with a piece fashion tape to prevent flapping. When it’s a narrower and softer belt that is far too long, I fold and knot the end of the belt in front (like we did back in the ‘80s). You can see the visual effect in the photo of one of my outfits below, and a video on how to achieve the knot here.

Belts that fit perfectly on the waist sometimes don’t fit correctly on the hips because they are short, and vice versa. You might have to commit to wearing them in one way to get the length right. But doctoring a too long belt on the waist like I suggested above works well, and makes a belt more versatile.

I don’t mind wearing belts that are narrower than the belt loops of bottoms, but tend to prefer a belt that fills out the loops. This looks more neat to my eye.

Over to you. Are you fussy about the length and width of a belt, preferring it to look and fit a certain way?