Belts for Jeans
Plus, white t-shirts and Nikki Ogunnaike's fashion-month favorites.
A few weeks ago, I published a photo of my vintage 501s cinched at the waist with a ribbon tied in a bow around the belt loops on either side of the top button. It’s what I do in a pinch when I don’t have the right belt – a trick I adapted from designer Adam Selman, who did a similar thing with a bandana when I met him for Jean Stories in 2015.
It’s a brilliant hack. But it also got me thinking about proper belts, an accessories category that has, thus far, eluded my interest. What is a good belt? And why has wearing one felt so… strange (to me, anyways)?
My mom wears belts. Like me, she is a skilled uniform dresser, and my daughter-first mind sees her lovingly and forever in her signature look: Vintage straight-leg Levi’s corduroys with a button-down shirt and a belt. Her shoe, a loafer or hard-soled boot, is leather. Substantial. Even in Los Angeles, my mom rarely wears sandals (which is how I came to inherit the YSL ones I wore here).
My mom guided and helped crystallize many of the choices I made for this letter. She has rules: Black belt, black shoes, for example (I’ll touch more on her rules throughout). We don’t always agree – “A skinny belt doesn’t go with jeans,” she said, for example – but I do feel that after buying a bunch of belts and then talking to her about them, I deeply and truly understand the appeal. To be someone who loves great shoes and bags is to be someone who wants her belts to be extra-beautiful, too. Marie Claire’s new Editor in Chief Nikki Ogunnaike exemplifies this fact with real clarity and style in the Jean of the Week (below).
I’ve paired all of today’s belts with jeans previously featured, the pairs I wear regularly and therefore consider with nearly every clothing purchase I make. I put everything with what I believe are some of the best white t-shirts in town. It’s pretty amazing how varied a look can be, even when using the same 3 ingredients. A uniform is anything but uncreative. I’m certain my mom will agree.
Anderson’s: Nubuck Waist Belt
These are the jeans I was cinching with a ribbon just a few weeks ago: The 1982 Levi’s 501 redlines from Shop Altelier that I love wearing low and loose, but sometimes want to just oomph and pull up tight. Anderson’s has been making belts in Parma, Italy for more than 50 years. I love this one’s suede-y leather, white top-stitch, and the delicacy of its elongated D-shaped buckle. Note: The waistband ripples created by tightening this belt are a big part of the cinch-factor’s magic.
It feels right to me to wear jeans with belts and white tees. The other classic – a white button-down shirt – is too equestrian for my taste; too old-feeling for my age; too preppy for my place in the world. I love this sleeveless tee from the English company Sunspel because it layers so nicely under cardigans and V-neck sweaters.
Bottega Veneta: Intrecciato Leather Belt
It’s with this one that I realized how slippery the slope of buying expensive belts can be. Package a pair of nice jeans (B Sides) and a very simple and inexpensive white tee (Madewell) with a luxury leather belt, and suddenly you have an outfit. Bottega Veneta’s signature woven leather rope combined with a gold, infinity-loop closure is lush. White jeans. Blue jeans. This belt elevates both to higher standards.
The woven rope stretches, so it’s flexible in terms of fit. I bought a Small (my jeans are size 25) and it doesn’t pull at all. A Small would probably fit up to a size 27 jean, depending on how high it sits on the waist.
Ralph Lauren: Calfskin Buckle Belt
I bought five belts from Ralph Lauren, which offers hundreds on the website across the company’s three brands – Polo, Ralph Lauren Collection, and RRL. I chose this one because I can see myself wearing it for the rest of my days. It’s so gorgeous and well-made, if my kids ever want it, it’ll be there for them, too. These vintage jeans + this belt + the Frances de Lourdes Grace Tee + the Sherman Field chain and pearl pendant is a peerless trifecta of smart, sophisticated essentials. It’s almost (almost) too polished. Hence the shoe...
Belt a pair of jeans up higher on the waist and they will get shorter in the leg. I like what’s now a cropped length with really special socks and iconic (if dirty) sneakers (sorry, mom, I know the Stan Smith’s break your rule). See the Footnote1 for more.
Vintage: Braided Leather Belt
Let’s be clear: You don’t need a belt to need a belt. Madewell’s 90s Straight jean, which I’m wearing here, fits my waist fine. It’s about punctuation. The belt – braided, brand-less, and borrowed-forever from my mom (thanks, mom) – is weathered and wide. The waistband on this jean is also wide: 4.25cm. (For context, the waistband on my vintage 501s is 3.75cm; doesn’t seem like a big difference, but anyone who knows jeans knows every fraction of a cm counts.) I feel the success of this match is the near-identical proportions of the waistband and belt; the total eclipse of the top button; and the buckle that spills over.
This belt, stamped “Made in Argentina,” is really, really long and was most likely made for men. If you want a belt with similar heft, I recommend going to Drake’s or Buck Mason. The buckle prong can push through any part of the belt’s braid, making length/size irrelevant. As for my t-shirt: The Washed Cotton Mini Boy T from 6397 is clean, classic, and feels way more expensive than its price tag.
Jean of the Week: Nikki Ogunnaike
Fashion month just wrapped in Paris and Nikki Ogunnaike, doing her first show season as Editor in Chief of Marie Claire, floored me with her denim style. Her jeans: Vintage Levi’s, which she got at a Nike event (of all places) and had tailored to fit her, exactly. “They were huge, I’m pretty sure men’s, like 36 waist, but I really loved how they fit in the leg,” she said. So, with the help of Anna Gray of Club Vintage, Nikki adjusted the measurements to her specifications. “Now they go everywhere with me.”
Given the theme of this letter, I had to ask Nikki about her belt. “It’s Noah. So men’s, technically, but a size that works for me.” Living proof that what you are in jeans – top-notch and menswear-inspired, for Nikki – often trickles up to accessories.
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Jane
Footnote. Years ago, Raf Simons put his spin on the iconic Adidas Stan Smith sneaker, replacing the signature perforated side stripes with an uppercase “R.” I’ve been wearing these shoes for more than a decade (I clean them religiously, just not this week), and honestly, they are so deeply ingrained in my style, I hardly notice them anymore (which is a nice way to be about footwear when you need to get life done.) Cinch a jean that’s typically loose around the waist and the whole leg will hike up. Suddenly, things are cropped, and here is where socks come in… With a nice sock, you can make a beat-up shoe belong. I recently discovered the Japanese knitwear company Babaco, which makes these textured, stripe-like pintuck socks. Who dares to doubt my dingy Adidas, now?
Love this belt roundup and your outfits are so chic! Would love to know what you think of Khaite’s Benny Belt!
Loved this whole newsletter - from the footnote to Nikki to your styling tips! And I completely fell down a rabbit hole on Jean Stories, re-reading old articles! Love :)