Belt up, girls: How a belt can take your accessories game to the next level

My mum used to wear belts. Over dresses, with jeans, with dungaree shorts (short overalls, if you’re the other side of the pond). Along with a fear of fairground rides, a penchant for a belt is something I’ve inherited from her.

Belts are brilliant. They’re the ultimate accessory - functional and fashionable. They hold your trousers up. They provide a sense of security and containment. They keep everything from spewing out. They create an outfit in an instant.

I’m guessing anyone reading this will own a pair of jeans and a white or black top of some description. Add a belt and…ta da! You’ll go from looking like you haven’t much thought about your clothes to looking like you know what you’re doing. It’s a subtle shift that makes a big impact. When it comes to dressing, confidence is everything and there’s nothing that says confidence more than a belt.

Don’t restrict your belt-wearing to a garment that has belt loops. It really doesn’t matter. It also doesn’t matter what your budget is. A Gucci belt will go in and out of fashion, well, forever (now is good). My personal favourite is my Yves Saint Laurent belt from the days when Loulou de la Falaise was his muse, which will only go up in value, but I get just as excited by a scruffy secondhand store find, where £6 can buy you a little bit of magic.

So next time you look in your wardrobe and feel jaded, instead of trawling online through pages of new ‘must have’ clothes that might end up as landfill, head to your nearest charity shop with a tenner, buy a belt and see how many different ways you can wear it, then tell me that wasn’t fun. Or maybe it’s just my idea of fun.