Need Belt Suggestions

**pastorsteve** · 11th December 21, 08:38 AM

Hello. I've been away a while and need advice. There are no more Scottish stores in the Denver area and I need a new black belt. I'm heading out to Va. in a few weeks to do a wedding and my old black belt was worn and too big. Ordering online doesn't give me the ability to touch and I don't want a cheap stiff belt. I'm looking for a nice black kilt belt for after I remove my formal (Prince Charlie) kit. I also need it to be shipped from the U.S. or Canada so I'm sure it will arrive soon.

If you have any suggestions for a good shop with great product, please post up.

**OC Richard** · 11th December 21, 09:29 AM

You have a good point, many of the belts available are rather thick and stiff.

Be aware that there are two quite different sorts of belts, both of which have been in widespread production since the 1920s.

There's the traditional Victorian 2.5 inch wide waistbelt/dirk belt, nowadays thought of as a "piper's belt". These tend to be thick smooth leather.

Then there's the dedicated Evening Dress belt, 2.25 inches wide, which was introduced specifically for wear with the Montrose jacket around 1920. This belt has always generally been made from leather given a textured finish, and traditionally made in two layers, the textured black outside and the red inside, stitched together. In spite of being two layers the Evening Dress belt tends to be more flexible.

Each of these two styles has always had dedicated buckles in a range of motifs.

BTW the Evening Dress belt is also seen in imitation pigskin leather, with the traditional silverplate Evening buckle done up in brass.

Since you will be wearing the belt specifically with the Prince Charlie I think the Evening Dress belt would be far more suitable than the so-called piper's belt.

This is the most common buckle seen with the Evening Dress belt. There's also one with a large plain rectangle with a narrow border of thistles.

About the quality of the leather, I'm pretty picky about that, and I nearly always make my own belts out of nice soft flexible belt blanks.

The cheap stiff belts you mention are made in Pakistan. If you order a made by L&M Highland Outfitters or one of the Scottish sporran makers the leather will be high quality.

**McMurdo** · 11th December 21, 09:56 AM

I'd say don't worry about a belt at all. If I read correctly you want to wear it after you take off the Prince Charlie jacket and waistcoat. I have always thought that there is no need for a belt under a waistcoat it just messes everything up.

**OC Richard** · 12th December 21, 05:47 AM

Yes I had wondered about that.

I had the impression that the OP wasn't wearing a waistcoat under his Prince Charlie, or if he was, he intended to remove both jacket and waistcoat.

For sure Prince Charlie coatees are nearly always worn with a waistcoat, and thus without a belt.

The Evening Dress belt is intended only for the Montrose shell jacket, for which it was introduced, and the Kenmore doublet, etc which are worn with a belt over the jacket.

On the right the so-called Kenmore doublet introduced in the 1920s by Andersons. In reality there was little new about it, though Victorian doublets did usually have open collars.

**Kriegbert** · 20th December 21, 11:19 PM

What do you think of using patent leather for the evening dress belt? Thought it would be good to match the shininess of my black patent brogues

**OC Richard** · 28th December 21, 05:54 AM

I've never been a fan of Patent Leather for anything.

At least it's better than the nasty Courlene that the British Army switched to, what, around 1970, for waistbelts, piper's crossbelts, sporran straps, Full Dress bayonet frogs, etc.

**RichardtheLarge** · 28th December 21, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by Kriegbert

What do you think of using patent leather for the evening dress belt? Thought it would be good to match the shininess of my black patent brogues

I might suggest ordering an evening belt from McRostie—they made me one to fit a standard kilt belt buckle in black bridle leather. This looks more “formal” to me than the pebble grain variety (and isn’t as stiff, as there is only one layer of leather) and it doesn’t look like plastic as the patent leather stuff does. They would be shipping from the UK but they got mine to my door in 2-3 weeks. You might ask if they could accommodate your date.