Croc Reversible Belt

Measure a belt you already wear and like, from the fold at the buckle to the hole you actually use, and that number is your belt size. It is far more reliable than going off your pants size, which assumes the belt sits at your hips. If you are buying it to wear at your natural waist or over a dress instead of through loops, measure yourself where the belt will really sit, because that can be several inches smaller. A narrow leather belt like this one, just under an inch wide, works either way, so it is worth knowing both numbers before you choose.

No, that rule went away a long time ago, and matching your belt to your bag, or to nothing in particular, looks just as considered. What still helps is keeping your metals consistent, so whatever finish is on the buckle, echo it in your jewelry. The easy version is to pick a belt in a color that already appears somewhere else in the outfit. A reversible belt sidesteps the question altogether, and this one has black on one face and pecan brown on the other, so you turn it to whichever way the rest of what you are wearing is going.

It is 0.95 inch wide, so just under an inch, with black on one face and pecan brown on the other. The width is the part worth paying attention to: at under an inch it still threads through standard jean belt loops, but it is slim enough to cinch over a dress or a long cardigan without taking over the outfit the way a wide belt does. And because it reverses, it covers both the black and the brown side of your closet without you owning two belts.