As well as being a sure-fire way to get arrested, the trousers-around-the-ankles-look can be fatal when running for buses or trying to ascend a staircase. The answer? A decent belt of course.
Trading since ’66, if there’s a brand you can trust to keep your trousers firmly hoiked, it’s Anderson’s. Made in Parma, of Parma ham fame, Anderson’s take their not-very-Italian sounding name from the founder Carlo Valenti’s love of English tailoring — in particular, the Saville Row maestros, Anderson and Sheppard.
Crafted by what Anderson’s like to refer to as ‘Parma leather artisans’, the amount of blood, sweat and premium leather that goes in to these gems is nothing short of jaw dropping (but importantly not trouser dropping). Using such materials as calfskin, lizard skin and — perhaps the animal-skin Holy Grail — ostrich skin, Anderson’s spare no expense when to it comes to leathers. A rigorous list of processes goes into each one, slow tannage, drum dyeing and pure aniline finishing before being hand polished in beeswax.
Oi Polloi have stocked Anderson’s since the early days, and we’re yet to find a selection of belts as good for the money. Whether you’re after something simple and subtle, or a multi-coloured show-stopper, an Anderson’s belt is the perfect addition to any deck-out.