Belts and Suspenders

Get the right belts and suspenders for your customer's essential accessory needs

Owners of clothing stores often forget the little things like belts and suspenders. However, belts, suspenders and other more functional pieces are essential to most customers, and, for many, hard to track down.

Your store will benefit from a large range of suspenders (work suspenders, leather suspenders, women's suspenders, men's suspender belts, fashion suspenders) and good belts (the leather belt, the name-brand belt, the work belt, the leather work belt, the reversible belt, even the tool belt). You probably didn't realize how many options are available and often coveted.

So, ask yourself:

1. Do I have a wide range of accessories that help keep the clothes I sell on the customer I sell them to?

2. Do these belts and suspenders go with the clothing I sell?

3. Do I have a wide range of sizes in each accessory?

 

Belts and suspenders: decide on an extreme

Pick out a pair of suspenders or a belt that you would sell, but that you'd want to be the strangest accessory of that type in your store. These can be sparkly, skinny, or extremely functional: This item could be a huge, bulky, but handy work belt. If you can sell this, you can sell anything that is less crazy, so now get some of everything that falls under your store's more accessible styles.
Try: Hot Topic has many attention-grabbing styles of suspenders, and Occidental Leather has some extremely handy work belts (and even "belt-free systems"). SuperStoreSupply has a big variety of medical belts at discount prices. 

Flesh out the accessories aisle for belts and suspenders

Belts and suspenders come in all shapes and sizes with "women's suspenders" usually thinner and stretchier, while "men's suspenders" more often leather, or functioning as work suspenders or suspender belts. Belts and suspenders worn together is supposedly going against a cardinal rule of fashion, like wearing socks with sandals, but I wouldn't push this or any other rule or category when it comes to functional wardrobe choices. Consider selling the button-end suspender, the clip-end suspender, the high-rise reversible belt, the skinny braided leather belt, the children's suspender, and even the suspender that attaches to the belt.
Try: Gempler's has a nice range of durable, affordable and attractive wholesale belts and wholesale suspenders. Holdup Suspender  Co. takes their business very seriously. Learn about and purchase every type of suspender, from formal silk double ups to the extra-thin Patti-Smith popularized youth hold ups. Bluefly has the latest designer belts, marked down considerably. 

Accessorize your accessories with belts and suspenders

Belts and suspenders often complete a look instead of starting one. Make sure you have a few matching items: leather belts and shoes, checkered suspenders and handbags, etc. Keep belt buckles, leather maintenance products, and hole-punching services in mind, too.
Try: The Belt Buckle Shop has wholesale prices and custom buckles, and All-Leather Maintenance most likely has all the cleaning and care for leather products you'll need. Yourtack.com even has personalized leather belts. 

 

• Keep the belts and suspenders subtle while dressing mannequins or models, unless they are the focus.
• Having all the extras says: You care about how your customer looks. Make sure the rest of your store reflects this, too, by keeping staff aware of sizing in all of your products, not just your clothing.
• Sometimes belts and suspenders are just used for function, and not meant as a fashion statement. Make sure to keep classic, minimal, and affordable styles available for the guy who just wants to keep his pants up.

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