Trend Transition

Recently, a style that has been seen often is wrapping a “wide belt” around to mark the waist, over coats and one-pieces. Although the wide belt is a revival item that was popular about 10 years ago, at the time the design was a braided, ethnic style. The types that are popular now are of a rubber material and are fastened at the front. After that, momentum declined and casual chain belts and thin belts became mainstream. Looking back at style-arena’s past snaps, there were a lot of colorful thin belts, and the impression was that clothes were being coordinating in complementary colors (opposite colors). Although the wide belt has accomplished a comeback, this year a simple, stylish belt version has garnered popularity. In the midst of this, the wearing of the “sash belt” is rising gradually.

Origin of the Name

The sash belt is a wide and soft belt that you wrap around. After the 16th century, it became popular as a room decoration, and if you look at how was also used in women’s formal dress after the 18th century, you can see that it is an item specialized for decoration rather than practicality. Coming from a place of matching the continuing vintage boom, the degree to which sash belts have been paid attention has increased. By the way, the word “sash” comes from the nickname of the decorative band wrapped around the waist, in the national costume of Turkey.

Other Usages of the Sash Belt

The knotted way of wrapping it is in fashion, the point being to drop the remnant of the stylishly tied belt. Wrapped around above a coat as an accent, or aiming for a styled-up result by matching it with a long one-piece, it has various uses. The woman in the picture below is using a sash belt above her outer-coat for an advanced style. Using a black belt to tighten up a navy top and brown vest worked to sharpen up the style. By matching the bag, boots, and also belt color, the outfit has a sense of unity.

The Appearance of the Corset Belt

Not only the sash belt, in terms of the next boom, attention is also being garnered towards the corset belt. Originally, the corset was worn as an undergarment used to make the waist appear thinner. However, currently it has risen as a fashion item. Like the sash belt, you can increase the style of your look by using it to mark the waist. Rather than the casual impression of the sash belt, the corset belt is an item that can emphasize femininity.

This year, since loose bottoms are in trend, belts are not felt to be much of a necessity. As a result mostly rubber or string is being worn around the waist. However, although it is in a different way from before, it is true that belts began to take the limelight. There are also signs that the “gacha belt”, or fabric belt with a buckle and an end that hangs long from the waist, will become a trend. The year of 2017 is about where the momentum of the belt was found.