15 Best Belts for Men 2026, According to GQ Style Editors

The best belts for men keep your slacks from going south, but they also make them sing, in the most stylish way possible. Other than saving you from an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction, belts can be the difference between a fine outfit to a divine ensemble, injecting your getups with a jolt of cowboy swagger or disheveled-heartthrob cool.

That's not to say you should ditch your low-key leather joint for a garish WWE Championship Belt—unless you are, in fact, worthy of the title. But you definitely should apply the same care and attention to your belts that you do every other piece of clothing in your closet—especially given how, when styled correctly, they're typically the first thing someone hones in on when they look at you. To help you invest in some leather that'll last, we went deep on the best belts for men to keep you looking sharp—and your pants right where they belong.

Best Belt Overall: Maximum Henry Oval Standard Belt

When Maximum Henry Cohen launched his eponymous label in 2012, I doubt he pictured himself outfitting style icons like Robert Pattinson and Timothée Chalamet—but here we are. Fourteen years later, his brand has crossed into Hollywood, collaborated with leading Internet menswear personalities, and also notably partnered with the most discerning boutiques, who proudly display his handmade belts right on their shelves.

They do it because the belts are true pieces of craftsmanship. They’re cut, dyed, stitched, and waxed to order in their Long Island City studio, and made from 100% Belgian vegetable-tanned leather with sturdy hardware. Take this one: At 1.5” wide, it’s the perfect daily driver, whether you’re pairing it with raw denim jeans or paper-thin chinos. The additional beauty of this brand? No two pieces are exactly alike, so each belt is already unique, though you’ll make it even more so as the patina builds with every wear. With Maximum Henry, you’re getting a piece that’s truly yours—not some cookie-cutter belt from the nearest outlet store.

Best Budget Belt: Journeyman Full Grain Leather Belt

For a little over $50, you can snag both black and brown belts from Journeyman. And don’t let the price fool you: Made in the U.S. from full-grain leather at a sturdy 1.5” width, this belt gets all the fundamentals right. It’s an ideal pick if you’re just dipping your toes into the belt game—not only does it keep your wallet happy, but the classic color options and silver single-prong buckle make it as versatile as they come. More good news? The brand backs it with a lifetime warranty, making it a stress-free investment. And here’s the kicker: the buckle is removable, so you can swap it out someday for that vintage one you scored at the flea market.

Best Dress Belt: Morjas Leather Belt

Belts tend to distract from a suit, especially if you went to great lengths to tailor your suit to perfection. That isn't to say you can't wear a belt with a suit, but your belt should match the energy of the suit. Ideally, that means leather with a sheen that matches the suit fabric, about 1.25" thick, and with a buckle that's elegant without stealing the show. Hence, this Morjas belt.

Morjas might be better known for its shoes, but its belts have also quietly become a stylish guy-favorite for their upscale look and their approachable price point. The leather is a supple, full-grain calf leather that has just enough texture to pair with most suit fabrics, from a classic gabardine to twills and tweeds. The stitching adds an element of depth, while the gently curved brass buckle is handsome, but not showy. At $150, it's certainly an upgrade from most belts in the mall, but it's definitely worth the splurge.

Best Braided Belt: Anderson's Woven Suede Leather Belt

Family-owned Italian accessory brand Anderson’s has been turning out some of the world’s finest belts for nearly 65 years—and they’re still doing it all from a workshop in Parma, Italy. Their secret sauce? A mastery of Italian leather, a playful approach to design, and a commitment to a rigorous 100-step production process that guarantees every belt shipped out meets its high standards. (Yes, that’s 100 steps for a single belt. Quality, my friend, doesn’t come easy.) All of this is also why retailers like Mr. Porter don't just buy two or three Anderson's styles—they buy twenty or thirty.

Best Suede Belt: J.Crew Italian Suede Buckle Belt

With more warm-weather outfits, a smooth, shiny, dark leather belt can feel a little… sweaty. Suede is the solution. To help, J.Crew chose to produce their suede belt in what some say are the two best varieties—Chocolate brown or snuff. We’re all winners for it, especially when the result comes in at sub-$100. And while that lower price point might be cause for quality concerns with a dressier style, for a belt you'll ideally be wearing to and from a park picnic, the more you rough it up the better.

Best Belt for Fashion Guys: Our Legacy Leather Belt

Honestly, Our Legacy’s belts are one of the main reasons menswear guys started paying closer attention to belts again. Just as their Camion series managed to perfect the kind of shoes every guy wants to wear right now, their semi-braided Western belt has an unmistakable presence at most fashion gatherings and has spawned a series of imitations.

But the original remains the strongest. OL’s belt is a neat 2cm wide, with a metal pin, Western buckle closure, metal keeper, and metal hardware tips that all combine for a sort of punk, sort of rodeo vibe. Simply put, this belt takes any outfit in a number of complimentary directions—and don’t worry, it won’t bite.

Best Belt for GQ Cover Stars: Artemas Quibble Roebling Belt

What do Steven Yeun, Sergio Pérez, and Paul Mescal all have in common? Well, aside from rocking the cover of GQ, they’ve also each been spotted wearing belts from Artemas Quibble. The masterminds behind the label are husband-and-wife duo Natasha Chekoudjian and Jason Ross, who have also designed belts for some of fashion’s biggest names: Calvin Klein, Helmut Lang, and Rick Owens.

Each belt is handmade, and you, the buyer, get to choose the hardware and leather color. The belts feature materials like reclaimed leather, repurposed brass, and antique textiles, combining for a perfect blend of raw materials and avant-garde aesthetics. The strap itself is 1.25” wide, but the buckles? Unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Seriously, if "presence" had a dictionary image, this would be it. It’s the kind of belt that could easily work for A-listers today, cowboys of yesteryear, and maybe even a Spartan or two before that.

More Belts We Love

What to Look for in a Great Belt

What, exactly, differentiates a so-so belt from a truly superlative one? It’s more than just enough holes (though that’s a good place to start). Homing in on the materials at play is especially key. Are you looking for full-grain leather that’s durable and business-ready? Or maybe a braided suede for a relaxed, just swung-off-the-horse vibe?

Once you've got that figured out, it’s time to choose between widths (casual belts usually clock in at around 1.5 inches wide; formal belts 1.25 inches), and buckle types (clean and classic buckles skew formal; rugged, D-ring buckles skew casual).

Finally, and perhaps most importantly: figure out your proper waist size. Pros tend to go about 1 or 2 inches up for a fit that’s snug but not restrictive, which also leaves a little room for any winter weight anybody reading this definitely won’t gain.

How We Make These Picks

We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.

To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.

We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price.

Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs.

Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there's bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ's testing process here.)

How We Test and Review Products

Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.

Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.