Nowadays, nobody thinks of leather belts as just a commodity, used to tie pants. In today’s world, they are more than mere accessories. They act as a symbol/mark of status, class, style, and elegance.
Women’s and men’s leather belts have evolved to go along any occasion or event. Features Of Leather Belts
Some of the generic things you might be able to identify in the best leather belts are-
- The colour- leather is available in a wide variety of colours. The most iconic ones are the ones in brown tones.
- Buckle- the function of a buckle is to hold the belt with your dress/pants nicely. As the leather belts go premium, the buckle’s quality and design get excellent.
- Prints and Patterns- to make belts look unique, designs, symbols and sometimes even patterns embellished within the leather belt to make it look unique and rich.
How To Identify The Good Quality Belts
There are tons and millions of accessories outside. We understand that it can get challenging to assort quality from crap. Here are things you can keep in mind before you go and buy men’s leather belts-
- Ensure that the belt shouldn’t have any crack openings. While you touch it, make sure it’s not fragile or flaky. A good belt is always smooth and could be folded easily without the appearance of any cracks.
- A good quality leather belt can soak in water within seconds! You can even test on your existing belts to see if your product was value for money or not.
- An original leather belt will always have a raw, leathery smell that won’t fade away.
Types Of Leather Used To Make Belts
Mostly the belts are made from cowhide leather. It is very thick, so the extractor usually splits the thickness of this hide into multiple layers to create different qualities of belts.
The layer closest to the animal hair is called the top layer. It is used to make Top Grain Leather. All the leather under this layer is called slip leather.
The belts made from both types of leather are genuine and pure. Though the quality, pricing and strengths of these leathers vary vastly.
- Professional belt makers use the Top-Layer Belts to design and carve out belts. In these, you can see the new grain surface of leather. Minor detailing like the grain patterns, naturally healed scars, everything is visible on such belts. This is the strongest and most expensive kind of leather.
- Smooth Leather Belts- it is a belt with much perfection. The tannery covers the natural scars and scratches; the grains are also removed to achieve perfection. The leather is sometimes separately embossed with a grain to reflect the natural leather texture.
- Split Leather Belts is not of very high quality and is much more economical to purchase. The farther the leather is from its top layer, the weaker it is. Therefore, the strength of these belts is low, and you have to be aware while buying such belts. Some may also sell cheap junks in the name of split leather belts.
- Bonded Leather Belts- these are not pure leather belts. The manufacturers attach old and new leather fibres to make a belt. These belts can be of poor quality and can tear apart easily. Unfortunately, the maximum number of straps you find locally are the bonded leather belts. These belts are much cheaper and comparatively readily available.