Big Belts Are a Thing Again, Can You Handle It?
Have you noticed that belts are...changing? Until very recently we were all in on skinny ones, but now, that's over, and it's like, the bigger, the better. Celebs, influencers, and all your go-to online retailers are in on the situation, so if you are strongly opposed, IDK what you should do. BUT if you want to learn how to get back into the large belt groove (which you totally also rocked in middle school and high school), please scroll on ahead.
Wear one over your chunky winter coat.
Cold-weather coats are super warm, but they can be ridiculously shapeless. That's where your big-ass belt comes into play! Elsa Hosk and Bebe Rexha know what's up-check them out!
Make like these two and bring some shape to your MF-ing coat:
Cinch your evening gown with a statement piece.
There are evening gowns, and then there are belted evening gowns. I know, it kinda sounds weird to add one to a formal floor-length design, but hear me out, or rather, hear Kendall Jenner and Kat Graham out:
Adding a larger accessory at the waist makes an already statement-making gown even more dramatic, when done the right way.
Be the fanciest, most fashionable one at your next soiree:
Pull together a busy, patterned look.
Some printed styles out there today have a little too much going on. Wrapping a belt around the middle breaks up particularly loud ones and makes outfits that incorporate them a bit more polished. Lupita Nyong'o and Diane Kruger demonstrate here:
Cop these two's totally '80s realness right TF now:
Take a casual ensemble up a notch.
You know the feeling when you're wearing a cute (but admittedly plain) top and jeans and your outfit just doesn't have the wow-factor you want? That doesn't happen when you pair that sh*t with a mega belt.
See what I mean? Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski's looks are totally memorable here. Sans belt, it's like, wait, what were they wearing again?
Nail that low-key eye-poppin' belt sitch:
Add interest to a solid-colored dress.
Sometimes you're wearing a killer dress and it looks great, but it's just, IDK, missing something. That's when you swoop in with a huge effing belt and steal the show, fam.
See? These looks on Chrissy Teigen, Bella Hadid, and Devon Windsor, which are def already pretty on their own, just got leveled way TF up by these belts.
Join the off-duty model big belt-and-dress revolution:
Set off a skirt.
Wait, you didn't think belts were just for dresses and pants, did you? You're missing a whole genre. That's right, a belt can really add pizzazz to your next skirt outfit.
These street style stars know what's up. They've taken some pretty great styles and upped the ante by adding funky belts to take their fashion from "Damn!" to "Dayummmm!"
Learn to love the skirt-plus-belt combo:
Make an eye-catching outfit even more eye-catching.
Some lewks are already extra, so you may say, "What more could a large belt possibly add?" Lots. The answer is lots. Just take a look at these:
Somehow these OTT pieces don't get lost in these equally out-there styles and that's because belts go with everything. There's no getup that wouldn't be improved by a belt of some kind.
So...
"You get a belt! And you get a belt! And you get a belt!" -Oprah, probably
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