Leather Belts
Handmade Braided Leather Belt for Men | Brass Buckle
The leather belts here are made the way the jackets are, cut by hand and started once the order comes in. The hand-braided belt in tan cowhide runs about an inch and a half wide, with an antique brass buckle and a solid leather tab at the buckle end. On a braided belt the prong passes through the weave rather than into a punched hole, which is the practical reason to own one: it adjusts in very small steps, and it keeps fitting as your waist moves over the years.
Cowhide and brass
Cowhide is the right weight for a belt. The tan cowhide strap is stiff for the first few weeks, then it softens and darkens where your hand pulls it through. A braid is the part that changes most: it settles flat with wear, takes on a curve and stops fighting the loops on your pants. Antique brass dulls rather than shines, so the buckle ages at about the same rate as the leather beside it.
Picking a size
Measure around your waist over the pants you will wear the belt with, not around your hips, and use that figure rather than your pants size. If you land between sizes, the weave takes up the difference, which is the advantage a braided strap has over a punched one.
How it is made
Nothing here is pulled off a shelf. The strap is cut and woven by hand once the order is placed, which takes five to seven days, then ships worldwide at no charge. Returns are open for 30 days from delivery.
Wearing it with a jacket
Tan braid and antique brass read best next to brown leather, so they sit well under the brown and tan pieces in men’s leather jackets. Against black the contrast is deliberate, which works as long as the rest of the outfit stays quiet. A cafe racer sits short and close to the body, which leaves the waist in view, so the buckle reads as part of the outfit with the men’s cafe racer jackets. Under a men’s biker jacket only the brass shows, so that is the piece to match to the jacket’s hardware.