…but did you think that it might make you make one? We tend to say some version of: “oooh” and “ahhh.”
At bare minimum, a belt should hold up your pants. We think that it should also be vegan, recycled and made in the U.S. And now, if we are imagining my dream belt it would also be, in a word, bitchin’.
English Retreads has two awesome belts that fit that criteria: the Fan belt and the Seat belt. The Fan belt is dark, understated, classic, and hands down the most deliciously comfortable belt I’ve ever sucked my gut in for. The Seat belt is cool and colorful and a great design equally worthy of sporting your prize rodeo buckle. But don’t take my word for it, check out what Erika over at Fancy Green has to say about it.
The Fan Belt
The Fan Belt is definitely my favorite. I like to think of it as a boyfriend belt. Sort of like the slouchy jeans that crossed gender lines last season because they are so effortlessly cool. This belt looks like it could be your brother’s but it is made to fit you. The belts are made of recycled rubber inner tubes from trucks which is a sturdy but flexible material that has some give. Which as it turns out, is a fantastic thing in a belt. Mine hugs my hips but never pinches as other belts do when I bust out one of my informal daily yoga moves like streeeeetching to grab the sheet of paper from the printer or reeeeaeaching to grab my phone out of my bag, which always seems meander five feet away from my office chair.
The back panel of the belt is almost always cut from a piece of the tube that has markings, to guarantee a one-of-a-kind belt sure to get you some attention. Mine has a mysterious sequence of numbers and in the corner, which I find awesome.
The belts are sold with a classic buckle or a choice of some great specialty buckles. Any buckles can be swapped by unsnapping the two snaps near the buckle end and replacing the buckle with another of your choice. Over the years we have been contacted by some terrific artists who make belt buckles and many of them sell our belts as their vegan belt option. Which is pretty cool.
Here are some of my favorite buckles out there in the universe of online shopping.
Fosterweld: recycled and very industrial chic
Mukkee Designs: recycled skateboard decks made locally here in Colorado
Swear Jar Design: made by an occasionally profane local artist from Nederland, just up the canyon from us
