Bold textA belt is a flexible band, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. ... It has been suggested that Textile be merged into this article or section. ... Waistline The waist is the part of the abdomen between the ribcage and hips. ...

A modern day belt buckle.

A belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing, and it serves for style and decoration. Download high resolution version (1856x1392, 565 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1856x1392, 565 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Germanic trousers of the 4th century found in the Thorsberg moor, Germany Early use of trousers in France: a sans-culotte by Louis-Léopold Boilly. ... Clothing protects the vulnerable nude human body from the extremes of weather, other features of our environment, and for safety reasons. ...

Historically, a belt was also used for spanking children, and by masters for spanking servants. This use has somewhat declined in the Western world, as it is viewed as too barbaric and uncontrollable a form of corporal punishment by certain people.

History

Belts have been documented both for male and female clothing since the Bronze Age. Both sexes used them off and on, depending on the current fashion, but it was a rarity in female fashion with the exception of the early Middle Ages, late 17th century Mantua and skirt/blouse combinations between 1900 and 1910. Art Nouveau belt buckles are nowadays collector's items. The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Vitebsk Railway Station one of the finest examples of Art Nouveau architecture. ...

In the military, belts have been worn for centuries; at times for utilitarian use, but in certain periods, particularly the latter half of the 19th century and up until the first World War, the belt was strictly a decorative part of the uniform, particularly among officers. In the armed forces of Prussia, Crimea, and other Eastern European nations, it was common for officers to wear extremely tight, wide belts around the waist, on the outside of the uniform. These tightly cinched belts served to draw in the waist and give the wearer a trim physique, emphasizing wide shoulders and a pouting chest. Oftentimes the belt served only to emphasize a waist made small by a corset worn under the uniform, a practice which was common especially during the Crimean Wars and was often noted by soldiers from the Western front. Political cartoonists of the day often portrayed the tight waist-cinching of soldiers to comedic effect, and some cartoons survive showing officers being corsetted by their inferiors, a practice which surely was uncomfortable but deemed to be necessary and imposing.

In modern times, men started wearing belts in the 1920s, as trouser waists fell to a lower, natural line. Before the 1920s, belts served mostly a decorative purpose, and were associated with the military. Today, most men wear a belt with their pants; women tend to wear them for more decorative functions.

Since the mid 1990s, the practice of sagging has been popular at times among young men and boys. This fashion trend consists of wearing the trousers very low on the hips, often exposing the underwear and buttocks of the wearer. This urban style, which has roots tracing to prison gangs (and the prohibition of belts in prison, due to their use as weapons and devices for suicide) has remained popular into the 21st century, particularly among pubescent boys. A belt may or may not be worn with this style - if a belt is used, it is cinched tightly at the mid-buttock region, with the effect that the trousers of the wearer are being held up by genitalia underneath. Many public schools now enforce belt-wearing, often only for the male population, and requiring the belts to be worn tightly at waist level with a tucked-in shirt. Sagging is a form of the verb to sag to drop, to droop; used as a substantivated adjective, it may mean: Sagging (fashion), a fashion trend for wearing pants below the waist to expose ones underwear, practiced by males. ...

Variants

A police officer's duty belt.

• One specialized type of belt is the utility belt or Police duty belt, which includes pockets for carrying items that the wearer needs for prompt use and loops to hang larger items. Police officers, soldiers, and repair personnel are typical roles which use this kind of belt. A famous fictional example is Batman's utility belt.
• The sash is another variant of the belt, generally decorative or even ceremonial.
• A cummerbund is a belt-like decorative garment worn about the waist.
• A common sight in fantasy and roleplaying characters is the excessive use of belts in all different sizes on one's person. Usually they are used either for securing clothing and armor, but others just have several belts around the arms, legs, neck, waist, hips, and across the chest for decoration. Sometimes they are used in place of eyepatches or to decorate weapons.
• A Studded Belt is typically made of leather or similar materials, and is decorated with metal studs. Studded Belts are often a part of punk, emo, skater and metal fashion.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The duty belt of a British police officer, with Hiatts Speedcuffs, handcuff keys and CS spray visible A police duty belt (known in the United States as gun belts[1]) is a nylon or leather belt designed for police officers to carry equipment which enables them to conduct their duties... A police officer is a warranted employee of a police service. ... This article is about a military rank. ... Batmans utility belt is the most characteristic portion of Batmans costume, much like Wonder Womans Lasso of Truth, or Green Lanterns power ring. ... For the German DJ/producer team, see Sash!. // A sash consists of a cloth belt used to hold a robe together, and usually tied about the waist. ... Orange cummerbund A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with black tie. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... In roleplaying, participants adopt and act out the role of characters, or parts, that may have personalities, motivations, and backgrounds different from their own. ... An eyepatch is a small patch, usually of black cloth, that is worn in front of one eye and usually attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string. ... Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. ...

References

See also

• Belting (beating)
• [Leather belts]
• [Studded belts]
• Branie belt
• Champion belt
• Chastity belt
• Conveyor belt
• Explosive belt
• Money belt
• Seat belt
• Obi (sash)
• Batman's utility belt
• St. Tropez Belt
• Zone (vestment)
• Suspenders