Reddit mentions: The best belts for women

Hopefully I'm not one of those weirdos with two posts in a row, but I need opinions!

Women (or dudes who like fashion): I'm looking for a black waist belt. I own a couple dresses and tops that look awesome with a waist belt, but I lost my old one. I like looking awesome, so I need a new one.

Cheap is good, so I looked on Amazon. And I found three options that I'm having trouble deciding between, so I need you to help me choose!

Option 1 with a nice sparkly flower.

Option 2 with a sort of bow detail.

And Option 3, a nice sequined number.

All 3 are similarly priced, have similar reviews, and seem to be from the same company. It's just a matter of style, and I can't choose. I'd wear it with a couple patterned tops, and primarily my plain black maxi dress (it looks quite awesome with a snazzy belt).

Girl you’ll be surprised what thrift stores have! Found a black sheer kimono, and some super cute fun silky slip dresses from the intimates section! Look for belts/scarfs to accessorize with too! We are so close to the fest that it might be the best chance. Plus when you get something thrifted it’s a good chance nobody is going to have what u are wearing !!

Amazon might have some good last minute ideas for ya. If you search “mesh dress” you can find some cute oversized dresses that’d be cute with a bra/high waisted bottoms

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0796RS53Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JmdRCbPPT5SBP

They have some cute belts too

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076HJXPWN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_dndRCb0TV88Q5

And if you want more fringe stuff - id suggest paring an outfit with a fringe kimono something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074J5RHV3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_WpdRCb5WZVJS8

Or a skirt like this that you could wrap
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072MDLJ6F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_NqdRCbPXGD687


And it’s Coachella so make it fun and go crazy with your style! Wear prints! Cheetah/Zebra/Snake/Tiger prints are super cute!

And if you don’t wanna spend a lot you can always work with what you have and just add some cool accessories! Like this belt would be perfect to wear with a dress you’ve got to the next level
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7781T5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_0tdRCbY6G16XT

Just make sure you’re wearing comfy shoes - your outfits can be new and fun and crazy but make sure you’ve got comfy shoes. I usually rock my doc martens that are broken in and hella comfy! Perfect with each outfit!

Hope you find some fun stuff and have a blast!! Xx

Working on this tomorrow and Friday... ok finished early... just couldn't stop...

Historical Figure: Hatshepsut

Alter Ego: the Architect

Super Hero Outfit: She would wear a skin tight suit that swirls like the desert sand with flecks of gold dusting the muted fabric. She will wear her headdress with a golden mask covering only her eyes. She will carry a beautifully detailed glass sand timer attached to a belt very similar to this one but in a bright gold instead of silver. Her only other possession will be a staff carved from exotic wood and similar to this one, only again with gold detailing.

Ability: The Architect can build anything with her mind out of sand. She need merely raise her hand and dream of it and the sand begins to swirl into place and transform into her vision.

If I win, surprise me! Bridget's First Contest. This was a really fun contest. Thanks for hosting it!

Hey, thanks for the feedback. So here's the deal/fuller story. The wedding I was thinking of wearing this for is labor day weekend, and I have another wedding the following week with pretty much the exact same friend group. Both weddings are on the fancy/expensive end, but the first one that I was thinking of this dress for is more "uptight" for lack of a better word, not conservative just uptight.


I actually already have this dress for the second wedding, I've shown a picture to the bride and she loved it so I'm not worried about it for that. I had intended to wear it to both because it seriously annoys me that my SO can wear the same dark suit to both, but I feel like I need to have two different dresses especially since it is the same group of friends. I'm also just generally feeling self conscious/unsure. Neither wedding is actually strictly black tie, the groom is helping my SO buy a suit (today) and he said a dark suit would be 100% fine because it's black tie optional, but they said invited because they wanted people to err on the side of fancy. I'm a grown ass woman in my late 20s and I know how to dress myself, but I've never been to this kind of wedding before so I'm just feeling nervous about picking a long dress that I feel comfortable in and is appropriate, I want to look good, but I also don't want to spend a lot of money because I will literally never wear these dresses ever again.


So basically I've already bought one dress, and wedding gifts, and I saw this one on ebay and thought for the price I could afford to get two dresses. I'm 5'9" and while I'm not model skinny I'm in decent shape with an hour glass figure, and I thought I could put a belt like this one but nicer quality around it to define my waist.


Ugh sorry that's a pretty long explanation, but I'd seriously appreciate any advice you have.

> Super minimalist and comfortable, but just enough structure to look casually elegant, especially with a nice pedi.

Maybe, but it depends on the exact style of the sandal and the rest of your outfit.

> ...tell me of this item. Do you mean a Spanx-esque garment, or an actual belt that goes through belt loops?

Belt. Not something I want to be seen wearing, but definitely something I want to be wearing all of the time :).

> Do you have any examples to point me towards of ankle boots worn with skirts?

Search this subreddit (e.g.), or google images, or google (e.g.). As for the leg shape, I would imagine it would depend on the height of the rise, the style of the heel/sole/toebox and the color of the boots/tights, but why not order a few different styles, play around and see what your eye tells you, instead of following the guides. Rules of thumb can be useful, but they can be unnecessarily restrictive too, since we come in so many shapes and sizes, and we may have different ideal silhouettes.

> If you know of a brand that caters to that sort of foot shape and ankle stability (or lack thereof), please share! Otherwise I'm afraid they're just not for me.

I don't have that problem, so I don't know, but I can tell you that there are more brands and shoe styles and fashion hacks out there than I had even imagined before I started reading this sub. So keep your eyes and ears open, and maybe ask in the Simple Questions thread.

Sure! I am happy to! I'll add a link if the item is new enough that you could still potentially buy it, too.

• one black tee- Ann Taylor
  
• one pink tank- Old Navy
  
• black sunglasses- these from Target
  
• red scarf- bought in Morocco, so unfortunately not linkable
  
• orange pashmina scarf- this is very similar
  
• pink floral scarf- bought at a museum in Denver lol, so random
  
• black cameo gold chain belt- vintage
  
• one solid gold snap belt- this gem on amazon
  
• black hat- this is my exact hat, and it is THE BEST
  
• green maxi dress- amazon again for the win! In Light Green
  
• long sleeve black & pink jumpsuits- here you go!
  
• black sleeveless cotton jumpsuit- by far the coolest garment I owned, like wearing nothing. It was a lifesaver in the heat
  
• pink sweater- Target, last season
  
• 8 thongs- these
  
• soft cotton bras- THESE, so amazing!!!
  
• black wide leg linen pants- from urban outfitters, three years ago. brand was ecote
  
• black floral kimono- wet seal, yeeeeears ago haha
  
• workout leggings with removable waterproof olive panels- also years old, don't remember where :/
  
• two pairs of sanuk sandals
  
• vibram tennis shoes- my fave workout shoes ever
  
• one turkish towel that doubles as a scarf if need be- this one
  
  I hope this helps!!

I'd sit down and figure out your budget before doing any research on anything. Do you know how much money you have to allot toward things?

Plus, I wonder where you are looking. The "cheapest options" for a wedding dress, assuming that you are defining "wedding dress" as " a "formal white dress' can be pretty cheap. For instance, here's a trumpet dress on Amazon that gets great reviews and is under $50. You could glam it up with a wedding sash for $16, a veil for $20, and white heels for $30.

So that's basically an entire ensemble for a bit over $100. And all of those items get good reviews.

I mean, yes, it would be nice to have the cash flow that would allow you to buy a $10k dress, but most of us don't have that. And if you don't have $1000 on hand for a dress, that's OK, too. There are other options, and they can still be beautiful.

Okay, here goes. Some of these are not 'free delivery', but all are under £10 including delivery:

• Cute, super cheap black ballet flats - or if you're looking for something a bit flashier, these are only a few pounds more and have the red detailing that would fit well with your look.
  
  
• Someone else here mentioned a belt being a good idea - I agree that something under the bust would jazz things up a bit. Here's a belt available in up to size 22 that'd work. Or perhaps use some red ribbon instead, a steal at £1.95 inc. delivery?
  
  
• I'd go with nude tights personally, as black tights with a black dress would be a bit 'much', in my opinion.
  
  
• Here's a little red bag.
  
  
• Sweet red fascinator for your hair - £3.99 and free delivery!
  
  
• Here are some nice costume jewellery pieces that would work.
  
  
• Finally, some killer red nail polish!
  
  I hope that helps. Oh, and... thriftyfifty :)
  
  

Those are SO CUTE!!!

I like this belt, but this belt looks more vintage. I picture you with these shoes, but these ones are a little cheaper.

As for accessories, this, or this, or this.

Thanks for the contest! Good luck assembling your outfit :)

I find a smartphone or wifi tablet is really useful while traveling. Information, contact, entertainment are all useful features of a device. I really like having ebooks. You don't really need a data plan, wifi is pretty widespread.

That said, I often bring a single paperback book too. You might not always want to pull out your device everywhere, you don't have to worry about water or dust or pickpockets with a paperback. (But your paperback can't send email or check news or weather or take photos.) Plus travelers often swap books. Lots of hostels and hotels and coffee shops have book swap shelves. So you can trade off your book for another when its done.

I also find a money belt like this very useful. I keep some emergency cash, a photocopy of my passport, credit card, and itinerary in it. You might also consider hidden passport pockets like these to sew into your pants.

Well, loose fitting pants works this character, so i'd recommend thai fisherman pants. Loose to kind of convey that messy practice. Affordable so you can get different pairs in varying color schemes as well.

A long hooded blouse might be good, like this one. Sort of form fitting to make it easier to grab things on the ground without getting caught on brambles too much, but stylish enough, also available in several color schemes.

A good sash to help keep it together would be good, with a leather belt and pouches or a good small satchel on top of that.

Sorry if it isn't to your liking, I was just kind of spitballing ideas and themes that were more affordable. If money is not an issue you can certainly go pricier.

Edit:

A belt around your waist or just under your bust is a great way to add colour and also make your figure look amazing. Something [like this]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stunning-Leather-Womens-around-Corset/dp/B00AA7D2CG) or this.

Flowers are always beautiful accessories.

Low heeled shoes but they only go to a size 6. Or flat shoes if you prefer. They go up to 8.

This bag is a little over your budget but it's nice!

This necklace is pretty and understated.

You can obviously mix and match with any of the above, but if the picture you posted is any indication, you'll look beautiful with or without accessories <3

I'm all for overdressing, but I think I would personally be a little self-conscious if I were the only one in a gown, and a sparkly gold one at that 😅 That said, if you think you can rock it, GO FOR IT, because it looks bangin on you.

The first dress is REALLY pretty too (love that pale-on-pale color scheme), but I feel like it's just overall a little big on you. The waist is a little low, the sleeves are a little wide, the skirt is a little long. If you want to make it work, have you tried a belt? I feel like a nice metallic belt could make a HUGE difference in pulling it in, putting the waist in the right place, and maybe pulling up the length a little bit. (This belt is not quite as cute, but it's on Prime, so you could get it by Saturday.) You could let the top blouse over the belt a little bit and let the neckline open up to show off that cleavage, you know?

I would be happy to share!! I love talking about crafting lol.

I drafted a pattern which you can download here. I used paper to figure out the proper shapes, and the bodice design is directly taken from the blog Columbia’s Closet. For reference, I’m about 5’6” and Riff Raff is about 6’1”.

Bodice:

The gold material is called Aluminor and it comes pre-quilted (THANK GOODNESS). It’s some kind of weird thermal material that I believe is used for lunchboxes? I lined it with black cotton to make it more comfortable. Then I topstitched around the edges. The side panels are held closed with snaps.

Shoulders:

This was probably the most time consuming part. I cut the pieces out of 1/4” foam, and repeated the process with 4-way stretch vinyl (leaving a good 1-2” seam allowance on the vinyl). The vinyl was also the most expensive part, at about $30/yard!

I used Weldwood contact cement to attach the vinyl to the foam, stretching and smoothing it over the surface.

I folded over the excess vinyl and topstitched through all the layers. My cheapo sewing machine barely handled it, and I broke a lot of needles. Be sure to use THICK needles because it’s a lot of layers! The vinyl is also kind of “sticky” which makes it hard to feed through the sewing machine. I solved this by adding yet another layer at the very bottom: tracing paper. I sewed right through the paper and ripped it away when I was done. It allowed everything to slide more smoothly through the machine.

I sewed the shoulders on with thick embroidery floss. I had to trim mine down a bit because I’m shorter than Riff Raff.

Gauntlets:

Exactly the same as making the shoulders. When topstitching, I added some gold bias tape to the top edges. I used some little clasps to hold them together.

Belt buckle:

These are just wooden dowels painted silver and attached to craft foam. I bought elastic belts from Amazon and threaded them through the slits I put in the craft foam rectangle.

I could go into WAY more detail but this is already a novel. Just ask if you want more info :)

I agree, it needs "something" - are you an amazon prime member? There's a ton of gorgeous belt + veil options. I would order like 5 and return whatever you don't like. In terms of style, I like the last one you posted the best. What do you think about something like this?

listen, if he really really feels like he must have a fair amount of cash on him to do his business properly, then encourage him to get a money belt.

It's discrete and is not easily lost.

So if he finds a deal on the phone, and he knows he's going to meet a client, he can go in the bathroom transfer some of the cash From the money belt to his wallet, and then go make the deal. You could even do it in the car.

It's just an all-around easier, safer way to do things.

http://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Creek-Travel-Terrain-Money/dp/B0054IGU7U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1456937849&sr=8-3&keywords=hidden+travel+money+belt

Amazon has a lot of belts at great prices. I actually found the belt I bought for 1/4 of the price after I'd bought it. here's a shiny one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY0P3D6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_SR-EAbRZ55W1E

I would either stay with fingertip or go super long like cathedral length because of the (what looks like) court/chapel train on your dress. I made my own veil to pair with my chapel train ball gown and the first go was a waltz length but I'm now making a new one because it just looked too short, so that's my preference. You could always take the dress to David's bridal and play around with the veils to see what you like for length and then go buy them somewhere else. (i know you didn't ask this but... They're also ridiculously easy to make - especially for something without lace or beading. If you can sew a button and cut a straight line, you can make a veil!)

:ZOMG We Need this!

This box of gluten-free delicious awesomeness. It gives us nutrients on the go, and it's so, sooooo yummy. We need this.

Mine is in my "Help/Needs" list.

Thanks for the contest, and I totally swiped your belt for my wish list!

Money belt - doesn't have to look like a money belt.

Eagle Creek makes a pretty basic/boring one:
http://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Creek-Travel-Terrain-Money/dp/B0054IGU7U/

and Wilderness Tactical makes a more, well, tactical version:

http://www.thewilderness.com/tactical-belts/the-wilderness-money-belt/

or there's the old school dress belt kind:

http://www.amazon.com/Mens-Leather-Money-Belt-Size/dp/B007EHN9EG/

I have used the Eagle Creek ones for probably approaching 20 years now. They're OK, but the plastic in the buckles wears out after 1-2 years and they die. They used to come in many colors/patterns.

The Wilderness Tactical belts are basically indestructible. I'm pretty sure you could tow a car with one if you needed to.

Gains result from use with only single-tension, without the rod/plunger.

With a should strap method wearing two shirts. Glans free of compression.

​

Will the belt show, or will your shirts usually cover it up? I've lost a bunch of weight in the ~16 months and found an elastic belt like this super useful.

No buckle belt

If you don’t have to tuck in your shirt these are ok. Not as good as a regular belt but the no buckle part is great!

I have one of these belts and have been pretty happy with it so far. It's not totally invisible, unfortunately, but it's much less noticeable than a regular belt buckle.

Do you need it to be the exact same belt?
If not, Amazon has a surprising amount of belts for really good prices:
Like this

Or this

some more

ZOMG We Need this!

Citizen's watch because we've got to stay classy and be able to tell time, right??

Just kidding. :P

Serious entry: This belt, because it's cute and belts are always good to have! (Plus my brown, thick belt broke today through no fault of my own)

I think a belt would also work. They make stretchy belts, too, that are more comfortable than normal ones. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Stretch-Belt-Non-Slip-Belt-Loops/dp/B010NW06F8/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1524783366&sr=8-10&keywords=stretch+belt

I wore one at the beginning of pregnancy when my maternity pants didn't fit quite right, but my regular pants wouldn't button.

Etsy: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.


David's Bridal: 1, 2, 3, or 4.


BHLDN: 1, 2, 3, or 4.


Azazie: 1, 2, 3, or 4.


Amazon: 1, 2, 3, or 4.

u/knittinginspaceships

They have a thing you two might be interested in! I haven't bought one of these myself, but I'm awfully tempted to. I have the same issues. Larger thighs, bootylicious, and a smaller waist.

I just want the drafts to stop...

Christmas in April

This belt

Thank you for the contest

think it's this one

Money Belt

Is this it?

Edit: Another similar one

IMHO waist alterations for jean-like pants are basically the worst. Especially if you're already having tension issues. I'd say call it a loss. On the other hand... my trick with slightly gappy waist pants is to use an elastic tuxedo belt if I'm not tucking in. It just keeps the waist from going anywhere and doesn't give me a muffin top or intestinal cramps.