Five Belts to Better Jeans

And a look at the Rùadh style I love the most.

Shortly after posting my interview with Rùadh designer Jac Cameron last week, the questions started coming: “Have you tried these? Which one should I get?,” friends texted. Advising one to try the jacket and another to get the skirt, I explained that Yes, I had a pair of the Rùadh Quinns that were currently being hemmed at my local tailor. My plan was to wear them with some of the belts I had just bought for this letter, like so:

The Rùadh Quinn that all my friends keep asking me about. Anderson’s mock croc belt levels up to the quality and weight of this jean. White loafers – mine are old Gucci’s – go with every look in this letter. Here is one alternative, and I’ve listed a few more below.

If you missed my interview with Jac, you can revisit it here. Her thoughts on what makes a great straight-leg jean are so specific and interesting. Care to see how straight-legged the Quinn really is? Allow me to show you. Isn’t she sick?

I had my Quinns shortened with the original hems. For length, I tell the tailor to make sure the back of the leg grazes the floor when I’m standing up straight in flat shoes.

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It’s been a year since I did a roundup of great belts for jeans, and because I’m not wearing sandals in October (not interested, even though I live in L.A. and could wear sandals in October), belts are now back on my mind. Let me say that a different way: If I’m wearing a sandal or any type of open-toe shoe, I will not wear a belt. Not with jeans, anyways. (A cotton dress belted with flip flops for the beach is a different story.) This is not to say the shoe has to be dressy. Or match the belt (god, no). Sneakers work and I always like these. Classic desert boots, also great. And, as with the Quinn above, white loafers or squared mary janes go with all five of what’s featured here.

I’d had this belt on my wish list for weeks. I’m a size 24 in jeans and I got a size 70 in this belt. Allude sweater and vintage Levi’s Big E 501s. Sherman Field, Pippa Small, and Marlo Laz charms.

I’m wearing the same sweater three times in this letter because it has a great shape and takes well to tucking in. It is worth mentioning that I tried a season-right lariat-style belt and couldn’t figure out how to make it work with jeans. The heft of it didn’t hold up. It made me feel too loose-ended. In a belt, I want heavy hardware and thick skin; caps on the free end that make noise when threaded through a metal keeper. With jeans, a belt is the collar, not a leash. If that makes sense.

Like jewelry for jeans: Isabel Marant belt. Vintage Levi’s. Bode sweater. All of my favorite white tees can be found here.

Writing about belts is not the same for me as writing about jeans. Jeans I can swirl words around and bring to life, as if by waving a magic wand. Belts, I simply describe: Look how this one, so buttery and wide, becomes the waistband. It is black and elegant, with a C-shaped loop, pegged fastener, and blunt finish. Honestly, what else is there to say, but that Jane on Belts would be a flop?

The splurge: Saint Laurent belt. Camisole. The same vintage Levi’s pictured above with the Isabel Marant belt. Theory blazer, similar here.

Let me show you how to wear this Saint Laurent belt two ways (as it is most certainly the priciest piece in this post, and wearing it with lots of things can maybe help us gulp that down). I’m not someone who dissects the anatomy of an outfit in order to understand how it survives and thrives beyond our basic need to not be nudists, but I can see why the combination below – so basic – is so not basic: Because the belt is extremely elegant and the sweater (100% cashmere) has a nice drape and distinctly broad V neck. This could be the most boring outfit ever, but proportions and luxurious materials make it not so (even with GAP jeans; hello, high/low). I would wear this out to dinner with my husband and feel sexy. (Wait, are date night jeans for married, middle-aged moms a story I need to do?)

I will justify the price of the Saint Laurent belt by showing it two ways. With GAP jeans and the Allude sweater.

Because there is only so much I can say about belts, let’s talk about bras for a minute. I’m suddenly very hot or cold on them. Like, if I’m going to wear a bra, I want it to be a piece, or else, why bother? I was small-chested even before I breastfed two babies. Making what I have into something more isn’t the goal, so these days I either skip the bra entirely, or wear one that is beautiful and maybe ill-fitting, but that doesn’t need to be hidden away and is, in fact, intended to be seen.

Mother’s trend-right khaki-colored cargo jeans. Jenni Kayne belt. Bode bralette. Babaa cardigan.

Yes, I know that underwear is in fashion, that our eyes have all grown accustomed to seeing it on runways and red carpets, and that my interest/willingness to wear a lace bralette as a top is probably a result of the mysterious forces that influence (cultural, not personal) can have on how we dress for, say, a school pick-up. I know. I’ve been doing this long enough to get that I am not outside fashion’s gravitational pull. But I’ve been thinking a lot about why I now enjoy bras and letting them show, and I believe it has more to do with aging than trending. Look, I spent much of my teens and twenties worried that how I dress might “give someone the wrong idea.” (Anyone else hear their mother’s voice upon reading that?) Yes, it’s messed up – and thankfully, the young women I know today are not being programmed to believe that their clothing choices are responsible for inciting other people’s salacious thoughts – but it was a different era, those 80s. And it made me a very modest person. Time and motherhood’s messiness have only recently allowed me let go of some of my fearful thinking around exposure. (Honestly, a slipped boob is the very least of my worries these days.) And thus, I’m feeling more free to wear this Bode tank peeking out from under cardigans and blazers; free to play with the combination of lace and a wooly knit; free to be a visible body showing up in beautiful things. It’s really about time.

Georgia jeans – I sized up to get a good cinch (This is a 25, I’m usually a 24). Déhanche belt. Allude sweater (again).

Last thought on belts before I go: I do not believe that the impulse we have to buy new shoes and bags every season applies to belts. I’m still wearing the belts I wrote about more than a year ago. So splurge if you can because chances are you’ll wear these things for years and years to come.

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As always, thank you for reading. Quick reminder that the newly-edited Jean Bar has my favorite fall jeans, all in one place. I love feedback and welcome it in the comments below. Wishing you a happy weekend. Denim forever and ever.

Jane

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More to click on…

The ultimate fall denim guide, from Substack’s top-notch style writers.

All the best underwear to wear with jeans. (It’s game-changing.)

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