Which direction do you wear a belt?

[RSC]

For a regular belt with holes for the buckle, I thread the belt through the belt loops starting with the left loop and proceed counterclockwise, then insert the tail into the buckle, tug on the tail with my right hand while I insert the buckle into the hole, then tuck the remainder into the loop on the left. For other types of belts such as web belts, although I don't have as much muscle memory for those, I've also been in the habit of going counterclockwise, leaving the free end on the left. Nobody's ever said anything to me, so I suppose that's not wrong.

However, this week I bought a Bison Designs Last Chance belt. I think that this is sometimes referred to as a smokejumper belt. It's similar to a D ring belt in that the webbing reverses direction at the buckle, and if I start out counterclockwise at the left belt loop, I end up with the free end on my right. I'm inclined to start out clockwise so that the tail of the belt ends up on the left and out of the way for reaching into my right pocket. Would this be correct? Does it matter?

 

[bberg100]

I wear mine horizontally. I tried vertical and it was rather uncomfortable.

 

[Dave-the-rave]

There was a time, certainly in the UK, when there were male and female ways of doing things. Buckle on the left and tail on the right was male. Reverse was female. Mens jeans have the button or stud on the right, button hole on the left. Jacket zips for men were male half with zipper puller on the right. Female jackets are the reverse.

I once had a M65 jacket that had the zip reversed. Maybe that's standard in the US. No idea why these things were/are manufactured different for male and female. Nonsense if you ask me.

 

[WetShavingRules]

I thread mine to the left as well, but that’s because it’s mandated by the DoD. :-D

 

[chibi]

Thread it left

 

[Rudy Vey]

Around my waist...but, are there any more than one way to wear a belt?? I feed mine to the belt loops on my pants starting to the left, so the buckle is on the left side. But, I am also right handed, so a left hander might wear his belt the other way round.

 

[emwolf]

Both standards and d loop I start.on the left. I find it too much trouble to do otherwise as my hands can't think any other way.

 

[PA Woodsman]

Yup, thread left. Counterclockwise for me.

 

[FarmerTan]

I hate this thread!

Now I'm gonna be looking at everybody's belt threading technique to see if they do it "wrong" lol!

Of course, all civilized folk start it on the left.

 

[Natsoi]

I thread mine to the right, mainly because I’m left-handed. I also wear my watch on my right wrist too.

 

[lak611]

There was a time, certainly in the UK, when there were male and female ways of doing things. Buckle on the left and tail on the right was male. Reverse was female. Mens jeans have the button or stud on the right, button hole on the left. Jacket zips for men were male half with zipper puller on the right. Female jackets are the reverse.

I once had a M65 jacket that had the zip reversed. Maybe that's standard in the US. No idea why these things were/are manufactured different for male and female. Nonsense if you ask me.

The reason for the opposite direction of buttons on women's garments at one time was actually practical. Women of upper class didn't dress themselves but had servants to dress them. Upper class men still dressed themselves. The designs were meant to be easiest for right handed people doing the dressing. Here’s Why Men’s and Women’s Clothes Button on Opposite Sides - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/heres-why-mens-and-womens-clothes-button-opposite-sides-1-180957361/

So the belt should be opened with the same hand that opens the fly. So if the fly opens to the right, then the belt should be threaded on the left (and vice versa on the very few women's trousers that still have a fly that opens to the left).

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[Raissermesser]

There was a time, certainly in the UK, when there were male and female ways of doing things. Buckle on the left and tail on the right was male. Reverse was female. Mens jeans have the button or stud on the right, button hole on the left. Jacket zips for men were male half with zipper puller on the right. Female jackets are the reverse.

I once had a M65 jacket that had the zip reversed. Maybe that's standard in the US. No idea why these things were/are manufactured different for male and female. Nonsense if you ask me.

In days of old, when knights were bold, a man's sword usually hung on his left side, since most were right handed. Drawing one's sword was easier when the garment seam stayed flat, which is why today men's shirts have the button on the right and button hole on the left. But belts...don't know. Belt loops in men's trousers seem to be less than two centuries old, and and some point in medieval times the tops of the trousers were rolled over the belt in some manner. But 19th Century holsters have the belt with the buckle on the left end threaded through from the right.

 

[Omarz]

I find it depend on witch hand is dominant I’m a right handed ani wear the tail to the left My friends who a left wears the tail to the right

 

[lak611]

In days of old, when knights were bold, a man's sword usually hung on his left side, since most were right handed. Drawing one's sword was easier when the garment seam stayed flat, which is why today men's shirts have the button on the right and button hole on the left. But belts...don't know. Belt loops in men's trousers seem to be less than two centuries old, and and some point in medieval times the tops of the trousers were rolled over the belt in some manner. But 19th Century holsters have the belt with the buckle on the left end threaded through from the right.

That's why horses are still trained for riders to mount on the left. Anyone who rides a horse still mounts on the left even though few carry swords these days. The horse wouldn't need to be trained to be accustomed to a rider mounting on the left nowadays, but that's still the practice.

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[2Vu5_T]

CCW. To get a good gig line.

 

[BradWorld]

When I went to the Winter Olympics in South Korea, they gave me a super nice north face parka. The zip was on the opposite side. Definitely a men’s jacket. It’s really warm so I do enjoy it very much. But that zipper is awkward to operate.

I wear my belt with the buckle on the left... including D ring belts.

 

[Granite.Glasser]

Always (threaded) to the LEFT (so that the tail ends up to the right)!

 

[Doc4]

Being left-handed, I have discovered that belts work just fine upside down. Wearing a jacket upside down ... not so much.

 

[blantyre]

I didn’t think about this until I started buying higher end belts, some of which like Lucchese have logos. Now I thread left otherwise the logo is upside down and looks like a T. I would do the same with a d-ring belt. I used to sometimes reverse direction to even out the bowing of the belt but no longer.

 

[StillShaving]

Like most other responders I have always thread towards the left. I thought everyone did.

Your smoke jumpers belt is interesting, in that it seems like the defining characteristic should be the belt material being extra strong, made from parachute harness webbing (at least in the "authentic ones) and not the buckle, but the style/fashion based on internet search seems to be more synonymous with the V-ring buckle.