Empty belt loops on trousers, jeans and chinos just dont look right. Even smart shorts look better with a belt. So, a smart belt should finish the look? If you've bought a bonded leather belt then you may not agree. At least, not after a while.
A belt manufactured today is often made of multiple layers glued together. Most of those layers might be manmade with just one thin layer actually made of leather. The technical term is bonded leather.
You may well have seen the the words "real leather" or the leather symbol stamped on the inside of the belt. Unfortunately that is no guarantee that the whole of the belt strap is made of leather. Technically, the label is correct. But it just refers to the thin layer of the belt mentioned earlier. So what about the rest of the belt?
After a bit of wear and tear (literally) the glue that keeps the layers together can begin to fail. The belt may break down into its separate layers as the belt flexes under various tensions and pressures. Holding a belt up that has really suffered and you may see thin layers made up of cloth or webbing, padding (that helps to give the belt its thickness) and maybe a vinyl top layer that looks like leather. One of the names for this last piece is leatherette, which is a pseudonym for fake leather.
If you look at a pair of shoes, you'll see symbols to explain what they are made of. For example, you may see a leather upper indicated by a leather hide symbol and a man-made sole, usually beside a diamond shaped symbol. Unfortunately this hasn't been adopted by the belt industry, at least not yet. So without this same construction information on a belt, the words "real leather" help make the impression that the whole belt is made of leather. A simple mistake that the purchaser is almost expected to make. Those manufacturers should know better, but perhaps they get away with it because nobody bothers to make a fuss.
Moving on from this "passing off" of a bonded leather belt as real leather, what about the belt itself, rather than the labelling?
You would expect man-made materials to be long lasting. How long do they last in a belt? Unfortunately anecdotal evidence doesn't provide enough information. What we do know is that a significant number of belt buyers complain that their synthetic belts "fall apart" and those in the know will ask "is this bonded leather". Paying more for one of these bonded leather belts doesn't appear to help as it seems even the expensive versions can disintegrate.
So where do the belts begin to fail? The answer is usually in one of two places. The first is where the prong fits through the strap. If you think about it, this is the point where all the tension in the belt is pulling on that little metal stick. The other place to look is round the wearer's back. When the wearer sits down, the belt will pull against the belt loops. Because it is being crushed regularly (each time the wearer sits) this is where the belt can pull apart into its multiple layers.
Eventually some of these bonded belts are no longer the smart accessory that they started out as. Maybe not all bonded leather belts and maybe not all the time. It's enough though for customers not to want to repeat the experience.
So, how do you avoid the problem?
Look for solid leather. Rather than split, it will give. Being solid, it cant break into layers and so it stays in one piece. (Don't let the dog chew on it though). Eventually it will get tired and when that happens it relegated to second best and gardening duty or for working on the car, rather than thrown in the bin.
Leather belts are often handmade in specialist, tourist and craft shops and may be expertly patterned with motifs (like the endless Celtic knot). You might want to choose a patterned finish for casual wear and a plainer finish for smart or more formal occasions.
So how do you tell what a belt is made of? At the buckle end of the belt, look for the cut edge where the strap has been folded around the buckle. Examine the cross-section and it will be obvious. Multiple layers of different shades and thicknesses tell you what is in the belt. If the cut edge has been sealed then again it is probably synthetic.
The choice of course is yours. You can decide to buy mens leather belts whatever they are made of. They will all look great in the shop. We think you have the right to know what the product is made of and what may happen if it is synthetic. So, please take care to see what the belt is made of and think of the use the belt is going to be put to (infrequent or every day, formal or informal). Then make that informed decision.
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David Eagle writes articles for Worldbelts Ltd, a UK based retailer & manufacturer of ladies & studded belt range as well as a huge choice of jeans belts & buckles, including the highly popular skull belt buckle.
