Belt clothing: Encyclopedia - Belt clothing

Belt (clothing)

A belt is a flexible band, made of either leather or a type of cloth, worn around the waist.

It generally serves the purpose of supporting clothing items that would otherwise become too loose, particularly trousers.

• A belt can also be for the purpose of style and decoration.
• Furthermore, belts made of strong materials (mostly leather) can also be used as a whip- or strap- like instrument for corporal punishment, such as spanking, as attested be the term a belting (see that article - from the verb to belt), which can also be used for a beating in general, regardless of the implement (e.g. tawse) or absence thereof.

Belt clothing - Description

At one end of the belt is a belt buckle that is fashioned onto the other end of the belt. The other end of the belt contains several holes, into which a prong (which is part of the buckle) is inserted into for the purpose of securing the belt. Sometimes, there is a clamp system so that no holes are needed. In Western civilizations, males usually insert the belt through the pant loops in a counter-clockwise manner (as if looking upon from above), while females tend to insert the belt through the pant loops in a clockwise direction.

Since belts must be drawn tightly around the waist in order to hold up the pants, they may be less comfortable than suspenders, which allow trousers to hang loosely about the body.

Belt clothing - 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.

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.

Belt clothing - Variants

• One specialized type of belt is the utility 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. The most 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.

See also

• Chastity belt
• Conveyor belt
• Explosive belt
• Money belt
• Seat belt
• Champion belt
• Obi

Categories: Clothing | Spanking implements

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Belt clothing", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki