The Evolution of

BELTS
- POSHITHA
- MOUNIKA
-MAHIMA
- VANSHIKA
- SAHITHI
 Index
Evolution of belts a

Proposal of a future belt.

Evolution of Belts
The Bronze Age ( 3000 BC - 1200 BC )
There are references to these early belts all throughout the ancient world, typically in
Europe and parts of Asia.
While certain belts may have been made of leather, most were more akin to lengths of
cord or string tied at the waist to secure the trousers.
Other than keeping your pants on, though, these belts were also used purely for
fashion or for hanging pouches off.

Girdles
Men primarily wore these girdles to keep their tunics in place and to provide areas to hold
weapons or equipment near the hips while women would often fasten them below the torso as
a means of accentuating their breasts.
For the sake of fashion, some people would even wear two girdles at once on different areas of
the body to make a sort of pucker in between them.
The girdle eventually began to gain significance in the Christian faith, symbolizing things like
protection, chastity, and readiness to serve God.
The Dark Ages and Renaissance
In Medieval Europe, belts and girdles were used largely the same as the ages following up to
them.
One of the key differences between this and other time periods was that, leading up to it,
women largely stopped wearing belts but rediscovered both their usefulness and fashionability
around this time.

Military Girdles
Military girdles also started to gain prominence, with some armies adopting different
colored belts to denote the ranks of their forces as well as an easy indicator of
allegiance while on the battlefield.

Additionally, belts became somewhat of a status symbol in a way.

Depending on the city, a decorative or well-made belt could be seen as a sign of being higher class, with some
people (particularly women) even being forbidden from wearing belts at all despite their everyday utility.
17 TH century and beyond

The use of belts for military ID grew more prominent, with the Thirty Years War in the early 1600s
being one major example.
Belts were primarily worn by men during this time period and the 1700s, women’s fashion largely
doing away with the belt for some time.

1800s

In the 1800s, the invention of suspenders largely started to phase out the belt due to the
high-cut waists of trousers at the time making them difficult to wear comfortably.
Once exception to this came in the form of military officers, who would often
intentionally buckle their belts extremely tightly to give the impression of a slim,
triangular figure to be more imposing.

Women around this time began to wear belts and sashes once more, though primarily in
conjunction with dresses to help define the waist.
The Swiss belt

Typically a black and laced in the back for maximum visibility to make the upper and lower portions
of the dress appear distinct from one another.

1900s and Present Day

One of the first major changes to belts came in the 20’s, with the flapper movement
largely rejecting belts for women in favor of the iconic long dresses, a stark reversal from
just 10 years prior.

1920s
During the 1920s, belts were usually made from the same material
as the dress they were intended to be worn with. As the waistline
dropped to the hips, women wore loose belts on the new low
waistline.

Belts could be fashioned from fabric, ribbon, cloth, suede, patent

leather, metal or were decorated with elaborate beading. Buckles
were small and could be made from various materials, including
early plastics, glass, and paste. Most belts were skinny- 3/8 inches
or a bit wider at 1 1/2 inches.
The chain medallion belt fad around 1992-194 had ladies wearing
loose metal belts over long slip dresses.
The Swiss belt

In the 1920s, belts were normally reserved for more casual occasions or styles of dress, such as sportswear
and morning attire. When the two piece skirt and tunic blouse set became fashionable, a leather belt or
skinny patent leather belt was the perfect accessory circling the mid hip.

1930s
In the 1930s, belts were included with almost every dress- day or night. The belt accented the new
waistline that sat just above the naval. “Belt effects” such as darts, gores, button tabs and surplices
sewn into dresses and coats also created the nipped waist, making a perfect canvas for the hang.

During the early 1930s, belt widths were slim. They were often made of the same fabric as the
dress but could also be contrasting in bright red, blue or white for sporty outfits. Shiny patent
leather with silver buckles was still popular in the early years.
During the 1930s, belts may feature feminine design
details such as the pom-pom trim on this belt from
1937.
Textured belts such as braided leather, nailhead,
reptile skin, sculpted metal, cords, raffia and woven
yarn added dimension over a plain colored dress.

Wider belts in the corset shape, pull through, and long

sashes were at least 3 to 5 inches wide.

Belt styles of the 1930s began to become more

utilitarian towards the end of the decade. This example
is from Stitchcraft magazine, 1937.

The key component of the simple belt was the buckle,

which was frequently used as a decorative feature.
Buckles came in many shapes and sizes, from diamond
shapes to two-part rectangular clasps. The round circle
buckle was also incredibly popular.
1936 with 1936 with 1938- with
texture initials florals and leaf
designs
1900s

By the 1940s, belts became more utilitarian in style. L-85 restrictions reduced the
width to only 2 inches. While day dresses often featured matching fabric belts,
increasingly tougher materials such as leather and suede were employed. Due to
leather shortages due to WWII, alternative materials were sought to create a similar
effect.
Wide petersham ribbon was a durable substitute. Belts were also made from
tough canvas material, covered either with decorative fabric or
crocheted/knitted designs. In summer they could be woven from straw or
molded plastic.
The wide belt was nothing new in the 1940s but the designs continued to expand. The corselette style belt with one to three mini
buckles across the front was very trendy. So was the lace front belt that looked like a corset back. The shirred belt would later
become the Cinch belt in the 1950s was introduced in the early 1940s.

The other unique style of belt was called a ladies suspenders, modeled
after lederhosen outfits. They were paired with dirndl skirts and
sometimes pants. Red felt, brown leather, gold studded straps were
decorated with embordered flowers on white tape. Teens wore them
more often than women.
 1950s
The function of the 1950s belt was to nip-
in the silhouette like a corset, in order to
enhance the hips. Belts were worn with
practically any outfit – day dresses, suits,
pants, over long sweaters… Even outwear
echoed the nipped-in waist line of
fashion
.
Colors could match the outfit, but often
contrasted in white, black, or another House dresses and informal summer dresses
bright color or pattern in order to draw had the most comfortable belt, which was a
attention to the small waist. If a woman matching strip of fabric tied around to the
did not have a small waist, she was front in a bow. It was the least restrictive and
advised against wearing belts (although most flexible of the belt style and remained
this rule is ignored today and for good common throughout the decade. Some party
reason — belts are a wonderful figure dresses as had this style of a belt, but the
enhancing accessory fabric was more rope like and simply
ornamental, not waist cinching.
 1954 white
cummerbund 1958 skinny and sash belts 1959 metal squares chain
1952 belts- leather or metal
belt belts, cummerbund, and silk
sash
1961 Belt styles were quite diverse 1966 hip hugger belts

1967 drop waist with a green suede belt 1968 chain metal belt boho/hippie belts
Moodboard Vansikha

Mahima
MAGNET BELT

Made of Sport Lycra, stretchable,

strong. A three layered belt with
neodymium or ceramic magnets.

For pants with no belt hoops, have

a magnet stitched into the waist
band and the belt could be worn
on the inside to provide shape and
its not seen.
 Bibliography
https://vintagedancer.com/vintage/history-of-belts-1920-1960/

https://joojoobs.com/history-belts/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/girdle-clothing

http://theebonswan.blogspot.com/2016/12/sashes-belts-and-headpieces-etc-
der.html?view=magazine

https://in.pinterest.com/robinottowest/1860s-waist-sash/

https://batikindonesia.com/how-to-attach-magnets-to-
fabric/#:~:text=The%20stronger%20the%20magnet%2C%20the,to%20avoid%20
damaging%20the%20fabric.

https://www.lycra.com/en/business/search-technologies/lycra-sport-
technology