Men's Belt Guide

The journey of being an Image Consultant has brought me opportunities leaps and bounds in the areas where I always wanted to explore . One of these areas is penning down the information that I have and make it accessible to everyone who has a flair to know more. 

So, friends today I would talk about another very important aspect in men's clothing-- BELTS.

Before we actually discuss about the various kinds of belts and related stuff, lets begin with something very very basic.

Belts are not the clothing pieces that are to be used for holding your pants up. Remember your pants should be well fitted and should sit nicely on your waist, without the support of the belt. Belts are to be used to enhance the look of your attire nothing more than that.

The next thumb rule is, a belt should be matching your shoes. Brown belt, Brown shoes, Black belt Black shoes. It is also recommended that if your belts have sheen in their look, then your shoes should have it too. Matte shoes go with matte belt and so on.

 

Next comes the size -- The length of your belt should be approximately 1 to 2 inches more than your waist size i.e for a waist of 36 inches, a belt would be of 38-40  inches long(measuring without including the buckle).

Lets look at the various kinds of Belts --

1) Belts with Tongue- These belts are most commonly used and loved by everyone. They can be recognized with a metal loop, metal tongue and holes in the belt to hold the belt in place. Most accepted in a formal setting.

2) Belts with Hook- These belts have a hook shaped buckles.

3) Belts with Sliding latch - A latch arrangement is used as a buckle to hold the belt in place. 

4) Braided belt - While the other belts use a flat piece of leather, this belt is made of woven leather strands to form a braid with usually a tongue buckle.

Storage - Store your belts hanging straight vertically away from sunlight, instead of rolling them around their buckles. They may develop cracks if its pure leather. Avoid leaving them in the pants , as it may damage their seams with time.

Formal belts - Bigger the belt buckle, less formal it is. A formal belt should be small and simple in design, should be more angular in shape. Rounded shapes in belts give them a casual look.

Lets look at some of the Image Breakers-

Avoid punching holes in the belt yourself. It shows up and destroys the look of the belt. 

Also, a cracked belt is a big Image breaker.

Belt straps should not extend beyond the first loop of the pants after being tucked at the buckle.

I hope this information helped you. Do write your comments/suggestions below. 

The Verve Image Consulting: Men's Shoes--Basic Types and Occasions to Wear the...

The Verve Image Consulting: Men's Shoes--Basic Types and Occasions to Wear the...: Having read about the art of choosing the right socks in my last blog, lets talk about shoes this time. Let me build your interest by quoti...

Men's Shoes--Basic Types and Occasions to Wear them

Having read about the art of choosing the right socks in my last blog, lets talk about shoes this time. Let me build your interest by quoting the famous saying 

"A Man is Known by the Shoes He Wears"

Even if you are spic and span in your dressing from top to bottom, your shoes would speak out if you actually hit the mark of a perfectionist. So, lets look into the intricacies of Men's shoes and the occasions where you can wear them.

The Classic Dress Shoe

Two shoe types come under this category -Oxford and Derby.

Oxford - Sleek in design, usually available in black and Brown, classic looking shoe, elegant and formal. they are mostly sleek in design,

Derby - Similar to Oxford shoe except that its lacing is more noticeable which makes it less formal than the Oxford shoe.

As the name suggests, these shoes can be worn to any classic dressy occasion. You can pair them with dress suits/pants or even with Dark jeans to give your attire a dressier look. Derby shoes can be worn with jeans and sport coats to give a smart casual look. Don't forget to match your belt with the shoe- Black belt-black shoe, brown belt -brown shoe.

The Brogue

These are the shoes with dot size holes in the shoe cap and seams. This shoe type can be paired with Suits, pants and jeans and define the personal style of a person.

 Loafers

These are the most comfortable lots from all the shoes without any laces.You can easily slip them on and off and are thus recommended for business travelling purposes. They are the best partners for casual wear paired with jeans but can also be paired with dress suits and pants if the color and design of the loafer is chosen carefully. You must note here that less the design detail on this shoe, it makes it more formal. Also, darker colors like black are more formal than brown. One more interesting fact is, less the socks peeping out of the shoe, more it tends to look formal and dressier. 

Avoid wearing a necktie with loafers.

Follow this guide and you are sure to make a mark wherever you go!!

The Verve Image Consulting: Choosing the right socks for your shoes

The Verve Image Consulting: Choosing the right socks for your shoes: Socks..the most ignored part of your dressing. There are a majority of people in the world who dress themselves pick and spine from top...

Choosing the #right socks for your #shoes

#Socks..the most ignored part of your dressing. There are a majority of people in the world who #dress themselves immaculately from top to bottom with sharp suits, crisp shirts and trousers , but when it comes to socks they pick up the #wrong pair and unknowingly create a big #Image Breaker.

The thumb rule is wherever there is maximum color contrast in our attire, our attention tends to move there. Lets  assume a situation which many of us must have come across. A man dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a sharp look on face, sitting in front of you talking. While making himself comfortable he puts his legs one over the other in a crossing position. He is wearing a stark white sports socks with black shoes. Where does your eyes set immediately? Obviously at his socks. This is natural because of the contrast.  Michael Jackson, the legend always wore sharp contrast in his socks and shoes(Eg white socks and black shoes). He did it deliberately to pull the attention of his audience at his feet, to showcase his brilliant foot work while dancing. Lets take  a look at some rules for choosing the right socks.

Rule 1- Your socks should always match your trousers and not shoes. Black pant- black socks, grey pants-grey socks, denims- blue socks most nearly matching your denims. The socks need not be exact matches of the trouser colors but near match also is acceptable.

Rule2- #Dress socks (Fine and thin material) always to be worn with dress shoes. Wearing athletic socks(with heavy cotton and bulky material) is a total ‘No No’ with dress shoes.

Rule3- White socks are only meant for sports .

Rule4- Avoid wearing socks with shorts. Logically speaking, wearing full length socks with shorts visually cuts your length, making you look shorter  in addition to being a fashion Faux Pas. If you are wearing shorts with shoes, you can go for ankle socks that would not be overly seen. Never wear socks with sandals.  

Follow these rules and you are sure to create an impeccable image for yourself. 

The Verve Image Consulting: Wonders of Cleansing, Toning and Moisturizing

The Verve Image Consulting: Wonders of Cleansing, Toning and Moisturizing: The market today is flooded with beauty creams. The plethora of choices available, puzzles us to make the right choice. One offers w...

Wonders of Cleansing, Toning and Moisturizing

The market today is flooded with beauty creams. The plethora of choices available, puzzles us to make the right choice. One offers wrinkle free skin, the other sunscreen protection and yet another one boasts of a combination of both, making us freak out as to what to choose and what not to. To make our life simpler we will talk about a healthy skin regime that would promise us an everlasting glowing skin with just a few beauty products based on our skin type.

We are here referring to Cleansing, Toning and Moisturizing (CTM) that does not take more than 10 minutes in a go and brings with it the benefits that you would cherish for your entire life. It makes your skin glow with radiance, reduces skin blemishes and marks, and reduces wrinkle lines. If followed regularly it postpones skin aging too. A well done makeup can always give you a beautiful look for the day but CTM done on a regular basis gives you a beautiful skin that would last for your life

What is CTM- Cleansing, Toning and Moisturizing is a three step process to clean the skin, tone it and then moisturize it to give the skin back its essential oils, lost in the process. Let’s talk about the steps in detail.

Makeup Removal - If you are wearing any makeup then first we would need to clean the superficial layer of the products stuck on your face and neck. The best makeup remover is a baby oil. Pour a drop or two on a cotton swab and remove the makeup gently from the face. Everything including the eye-makeup that otherwise is very difficult to remove, comes off easily with baby oil.

Cleansing – Now that we have a skin free from any products, we are ready for cleansing which would further extract the residual makeup if any.  Also, it removes dirt particles, clears the pores of the skin, and removes the outer layer of dead skin cells. Dab a little cleanser on your face and massage in circular and outward direction, not leaving the under eye area and nose, for a few minutes to let the cleanser absorb well on the skin. Use a wet wipe or wet cotton swab or simply wash your face to remove the cleanser. Cleansers are available in the market according to skin types, grab only those. For example dry skin people should go for cleansers that say “For dry skin” and so on. Avoid using face washes to clean the face which definitely do the cleaning well as promised by the product but in addition take away essential oils of the skin leaving it dry and tight. Very oily skin people might use mild face washes if required.

Toning- During the cleansing process the Ph level of the skin gets disturbed. To retain that natural PH level and not to let any dirt in, we need to close the pores. Toner comes for the rescue here. Spray toner on your face uniformly or take a few drops on your palm and pat it on your face. Use toners that say “maintains skin ph level to 5.5” depending on your skin type or use Rose water which is the best natural toner suiting all skins. Stay away from alcohol based toners.

Moisturizing- Moisturizing is yet another step which can never be missed. It helps skin replace natural oils which were lost during the cleansing process, creates a film to restrict dust from getting inside, gives a glow to the skin, leaves the skin soft and supple, reduces skin aging. Makeup done after a CTM would appear natural and stay fresh longer. Dab a little moisturizer on the face and massage uniformly in circular and outward direction, in upward direction on the neck. Again use the products based on your skin type. In addition do note that your moisturizer should be at least SPF 15.

Follow this regime religiously twice a day (after/during bath and before going to bed) and look for the results in just 15 days. You would be astonished to see the improvement in the texture of your skin and the glow that would radiate and bring compliments for you to feel proud and pleased.