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A belt is a flexible band or strap, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. A belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing, and it serves for style and decoration.
History
Belts have been documented for male clothing since the Bronze Age. Both genders used them off and on, depending on the current fashion. In the western world, belts were more common for men, with the exception of the early Middle Ages, late 17th century Mantua, and skirt/blouse combinations between 1900 and 1910.
In the militarain periods, in the later 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. Often the belt served only to emphasize 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.
In modern times, men started wearing belts in the 1920s, as trouser waists fell to a lower line. Before the 1920s, belts served mostly a decorative purpose, and were associated with the military. Today it is common for men to wear a belt with their trousers.
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.
Variants
- 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. Duty belts are generally wider than dress belts, and are stiffer to better provide for the carry of heavy items such as pistols. It is common military practice for such a belt to be a symbol of authority or that one is 'on duty.' Such belts are worn even if no equipment is carried on them. A notable fictional example is Batman's utility belt.
- The obi is traditionally part of a Japanese kimono.
- A common sight in fantasy and role playing 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 breasts for decoration. Sometimes they are used in place of eye patches or to decorate weapons. This was also common in superhero costume design of the early 1990s.
- 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/scene, skater, Goth and metal fashion.
- Skateboarders often wear shoelaces in belt loops to hold pants up instead of a conventional belt. This is done for fashion and because of the buckle on a belt often digs into a skater's stomach when skating, whereas to the shoelace has no buckle. The other reason is if the skater falls they don't land on the belt causing more pain.
It is also used in judo, karate and other martial arts, where different colors may indicate rank or skill.
- A breast belt is a belt worn by women that holds their breasts up, making them appear larger or more prominent underneath clothing. It is worn generally above or on the stomach but just beneath the breasts.
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