Men's Dress Belt: What to Look For

A good men's dress belt is a smooth leather strap in one solid color, usually black or dark brown, with a simple buckle and a shade close to your shoes. I make mine 1-1/2 inches wide. Beyond that, what separates a good one from a bad one is how it's made, and that's most of what this post is about.

What makes a belt a dress belt

A dress belt is the one you wear with dress pants, a suit, or a shirt and tie. Its job is to not get noticed. Three things decide that.

• The leather is smooth and one color, with clean, even edges. No heavy texture and no contrast stitching down the length of the strap.
• The buckle is simple. A heel bar buckle, with the prong on a bar at one end, sits flat and stays quiet. A roller buckle, which has a small roller where the strap slides through, reads more casual.
• The width is 1-1/2 inches, the same as my casual belts.

None of this is a law. It's just what people expect to see at an office or a wedding, so following it keeps the belt in the background.

How wide a dress belt should be

I go with 1-1/2 inches (38 mm). At that width the belt fills the loops, so it stays put instead of sliding around and leaving a gap. Before you buy, run an old belt through your dress pants. If a 1-1/2 inch strap bunches in the loops, those pants want something narrower.

Black or brown, and how to match your shoes

If you're only buying one, buy the color of the shoes you wear most. Black with black, brown with brown. It doesn't have to be exact. A dark brown belt with slightly lighter brown shoes looks fine. A black belt with brown shoes is the one combination that looks like a mistake.

The buckle is the other small match. A silver watch goes with a nickel or chrome buckle, and a gold-toned watch goes with brass. Most people never look that closely.

What to check in the leather and the build

A dress belt gets judged the same way as any other belt I'd make.

• A tannery you can look up. Labels like full grain, top grain and genuine tell you less than the name of the tannery does. I go into that in Full Grain Leather Belt: What to Look For.
• One solid strap. With no layers glued together, there's no seam to come apart.
• Edges that are burnished, not painted over.
• A brass buckle core. Brass is best, then stainless, then everything else. Plating over brass is fine, since the core is what holds up.
• Chicago screws instead of rivets, so you can swap the buckle or fix the belt later instead of throwing it out.

How a dress belt should fit

The tail should go past the first belt loop and stop before the second. Ideally you fasten it on the middle hole, which leaves room to go tighter or looser. Sitting down, it should feel snug but not tight. To find your size, measure a belt that already fits from the fold at the buckle to the hole you use most. I cover the other ways to measure in Belt Sizes: How to Measure and Pick the Right One.

A belt is a tool, so own more than one

Two or three belts for different jobs makes sense: one for work, one for the office, one for the weekend. A dress belt is for a desk, a wedding or a dinner. Wear it on a job site and you'll wear it out.

My dress belts are a single strap of bridle leather, made to order in New Jersey. If you know your color, start with black dress belts or brown dress belts, or see all belts.

Straight answers

What width should a men's dress belt be? I make mine 1-1/2 inches (38 mm). If that bunches in your belt loops, go narrower.

Should a dress belt match my shoes? Close is enough. Black with black, brown with brown, in a similar shade.

Black or brown first? Whichever matches the shoes you wear most. One of each covers almost every dress outfit.

What kind of buckle goes on a dress belt? A plain heel bar buckle in brass, nickel or chrome. Skip big logos and heavy texture.

How do I know my dress belt size? Measure a belt that already fits, from the fold at the buckle to the hole you use most. If you don't have one, add 2 inches to your pant waist size as a rough guide.