SHOP $150; shinola.com
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I got called on to consult for a friend’s belt purchase. That’s the life I live. I’m happy to help someone drive anywhere, move apartments, or anchor a TV to the wall. I’m cool being a menswear consultant, but a belt felt kind of mundane. “What’s a good belt to buy? I know you’ve got opinions” was the ask. Is that all I’m good for?
Not sure, but my friend was dead-on, because I’ve got some fucking belt opinions. I own only two (on purpose), both made to order from a townie in my old college town. (Shout-out to Irvin at Masada Leather.) My friend wasn’t into that. He wanted a style he could buy over and over. So I had to find a mass-market option that matched everything I love about my small-town belt—classic look, top-notch leather, versatility, and durability. The perfect belt, essentially. Not easy, but I did it. I dug around, and I found that perfect belt. It’s a Shinola one-and-a-quarter-inch belt in U.S.A. Heritage leather.
It’s a classic, versatile look.
Most important to this whole belt equation is versatility. When you’re paying $150 for the thing, you want it to pull double duty. This belt does that with a few style choices.
First, you’ve got the center bar buckle. For me, a center bar buckle is a classic, casual look. If you see any picture of Marlon Brando in jeans, he’s probably got a big brass center bar buckle. This Shinola is on the thinner side and in a silver-tone metal, so it presents as more modern. That thinner buckle with the one-and-a-quarter-inch width also makes it a little dressier. I’m not saying I wear this belt with a suit; it’s too casual for that. But if I wore it to dinner with a nice shirt, jacket, and trousers, I’d still be better dressed than most guys in 2024. This belt can do a lot, and I’ve never seen it styled poorly.
SHOP $150; shinola.com
The leather is some of the best you’ll find.
The other thing I love to mention when I say “shop small” is leather quality. Any small-time belt maker is going to be a freak about that. These people have spent their whole lives obsessing over leather, and that’s hard for any brand to replicate when they scale. Shinola manages to do it. Even on a grander scale, the brand really, really cares about leather quality.
The leather on this belt is from Shinola’s U.S.A. Heritage line, which the brand has made to order by a tannery in Milwaukee. It’s aniline dyed with no attempt to hide the leather’s natural imperfections or make it look the same forever. That’s the shit I love. Every belt has its imperfections in the hide, and every belt will age gracefully. On top of that, these are sewn in the U.S.A. Though that has nothing to do with the quality, it lends itself to that small-time feel. You don’t know the person who made your belt by name, but you could theoretically meet them. It’s a nice thing to think about.
SHOP $150; shinola.com
Please don’t buy a designer belt.
People have ridiculed men for buying do-it-all products, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing, at least not in the world of belts. A belt is a utility item first and foremost, and Shinola understands that. When you pay $150 for this belt—or the same price for something dressier—none of that money is lost to the brand name. It’s going into the materials and the skilled artisans sewing it. Form is following function here.
That’s really what this whole testimonial is about. If you buy a belt from some guy who’s been working with leather for decades, there’s no inherent fashion appeal. The style comes from the belt’s function, which is a beautiful process. And Shinola is committed to that process.
SHOP $150; shinola.com
Photographs by Joe Lingeman. Prop styling by Heather Greene.
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