The entire purpose of a belt is to hold someone's pants up, or in some more extreme fashion cases to support a night stick, hand cuffs, Taser and other party favors. And then there are fashion belts. Flying in the face of both common sense and anything practical, fashion belts are there to do nothing else except to look good. They're not load bearing structures. However, if someone is crafty, fashion belts can really make the difference between looking all right and blowing someone away.

How can something as basic as fashion belts do that? Well, it's pretty simple really. Fashion belts change the way someone's waist looks, and they can trick the eye into seeing proportions different than they are. Fashion belts use color, proportions and placement just above the hips to make the torse seem longer, the belly slimmer, or to create the illusion that the legs are longer. They're tricksy little things, those fashion belts.

Many people might want to know how these magician's assistants can distract the viewer so completely into believing something that isn't true. Well, it's really a matter of form, figure and design. For instance, if someone were to examine the elastic, corset style cinch belt, they'd find a lot of tricks up its non-existant sleeves. This particular model holds in the belly, but it also creates a wide, dark strip that, when placed against light colored clothes, makes someone look thinner than he or she might actually be. That's what fashion belts are for, after all; making the wearer look good. So whether they're worn with dresses or jeans, fashion belts serve no purpose aside from enhancing style and appeal.

However, it's important that wearers choose the fashion belts that work for them. For instance, broad fashion belts work to hide a belly, but on a skinny wearer they look ridiculous. By the same token, skinny fashion belts worn by bigger folks only draw attention to what a fashion belt is meant to hide. Fashion belts should be thought of as just one more piece of urban camouflage, creating the perfect pelt. While some fashion belts might be useful, such as the utility belts hung with pouches or purses to save weight on the shoulders, those are the exception rather than the rule. So, when choosing fashion belts, it's important that people remember that they're only there to enhance looks.