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Often when I think about belts I think of David Sedaris. In one of his stories he describes getting hooked on crossword puzzles, and how he had to start with easy ones in order to get the hang of it. A sample clue he related was “It holds up your pants” — the answer had four letters. I’m guessing it was “B-E-L-T.”

It’s easy to forget about belts. They seem utilitarian, and, overly simple crosswords or not, they really do hold up your pants. But that doesn’t mean you should just pick up the first one you find in your size*. Here are some good options if you’re in the market for a new belt.

First up is a ring buckle (also known as an “O-ring” or “D-ring”) from Oak Street Bootmakers. Oak Street has a reputation for its hand-sewn footwear, but they also offer three different belts. The other two have the more typical prong-type buckle, but I like the look of this one the best:

Oak Street Brown Ring belt

Here is a similar option from Grown & Sewn, shown in saddle, chocolate brown, and black. I like either the saddle or the chocolate brown:

Grown & Sewn O-Ring belt

Here is a more traditional offering from Bonobos, the Fourth Degree brown belt:

Bonobos Fourth Degree brown belt

There are many more belts out there.  Don’t worry too much about getting them to match your shoes exactly, somewhere in the same color range will do. And some will say to never buy a black belt, since you should also not buy black shoes, but if you want black, who am I to judge? Whatever you do, find a belt that has nice leather and solid hardware, and you can’t go wrong.

*Why are belt sizes almost always 2″ bigger than your waist size? Why not make them the same?

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