Tie One On

Come summer, even the most serious-minded patrician undoes a few buttons. He suns his ankles. He changes belts. For a certain breed, that means a laid-back ribbon belt. Like the popped polo-shirt collar, Nantucket reds and its sibling the needlepoint belt, the ribbon belt is an unabashedly preppy identifier. It sends a message. “It’s a casual, I’m-just-having-a-leisurely-life way of dressing,” said Denis Black, manager of the Cambridge and New Haven J. Press shops.

Some five years ago, everyone from Tommy Hilfiger to prep-obsessed start-up labels were turning out a different variation; now, however, the ribbon belt has pretty much gone back to the rarefied realm from which it came. The few novelties out there include two-sided versions with reversible returns (two belts in one!) and using sailing canvas in lieu of standard synthetic fabrics—at which point, strictly speaking, it’s no longer a ribbon belt. Times do change, slightly: According to Paul Stuart spokesperson Mona Reilly, “deep jewel tones dominate our assortment” more than the sherbet colors that were once pre-eminent. But overall, Ms. Reilly said, the company’s ribbon belts “have not radically changed from their initial configuration.” Nor have the rules about how to wear them. “You just sort of get it and wear it,” said Kevin McLaughlin, co-founder of the New York-based clothier J. McLaughlin. “It’s for the fashion-secure person with a sense of humor.” Mr. McLaughlin and his brother, Jay, began making and selling ribbon belts in 1977, a year after Tom Wolfe memorably documented the “go-to-hell” style (read: red pants, madras blazer) of the Martha’s Vineyard WASP elite.

But ribbon belts were around well before that. Mr. Black says that J. Press has probably been carrying them since the early ’60s. Perhaps inspired by Fred Astaire’s habit of slipping a necktie through his belt loops, the ribbon belt began as a clever re-purposing of the narrow fabrics used in hatbands and other garment trimmings. “It was a very easy business to get into,” Mr. McLaughlin said. For housewives and other enterprising amateurs, it’s as easy as attaching a strip of fabric to a brass d-ring. The style started gaining traction in the mid-’60s, when privileged East Coasters started having more fun with the way they dressed. “It was the kind of thing everyone wore when they were wearing no socks and penny loafers,” Mr. Black said. The ribbon is usually some combination of polyester, rayon and nylon although some manufacturers (including J. McLaughlin) prefer harder-to-find acetate for its silky hand and superior drape. But there’s nothing luxurious about a ribbon belt; in fact, its affordability is a major selling point among thrifty old-money types who wear the same one every summer.

SOURCE