To belt or not to belt

That is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous styling, or to take arms against a sea of fashion rules, and by opposing end them...

In short, am I a bad stylist if I don't insist on belting each of my clients at all times? And by belting, I am of course referring to the cinching of one's waist, rather than slapping a black eye on every unsuspecting shopper to grace my path. You see, in your early days' training in Personal Styling Lore, the Belt is King. No outfit can be considered complete until it is pulled together in the middle, deterred from any slouchy appearance, given more shape and/or 'finished off' with a glossy width of waist-restricting leather.

Now, do not assume this pondering to be an anti-belt backlash, far from it. In fact, the benefits of these shape-creating beauties is manifold. For a start, by referring to them as 'shape-creating beauties', I am of course indicating how a belt can indeed create a waist, cinch you in, add curves, define your shape. Certain outfits look plain wrong without one, and others can literally be transformed by the addition of that single item, as it sculpts the wearer and makes the fabric move in all sorts of fabulous ways.

Belts can have a mathematical quality, dividing an outfit into interesting parts, making the created sections do different things, making them work with each other to flatter each other. They give the wearer proportion and balance out their body shape. They add interest, personality, difference. They draw the eye to a particular point. Oh yes, do not conclude that I am oblivious to the finer points of beltage.

However, it is not the case that every outfit, nor every body shape, necessarily benefits from a good belting. Some garments have their own contouring, which gives shape enough without being divided firmly in two. Some looks - for instance, elements of summer's slouchy sports luxe affair - can be ruined with a belt. Put a statement belt alongside a statement necklace and it can be accessory overload (and often a hardworking necklace can have more elongating, body-slimming properties that any belt could ever hope for). Moreover, put the wrong belt in the wrong place on an apple-shaped body and you're on your way to the Santa Claus effect which, although perfectly befitting to the jolly vermilion-wearing, fluffy-beard sporting Christmas present delivery guy, should never be attempted by a woman hoping to draw attention away from her middle.

So, OK, maybe I'm committing the Original Sin of Styling, but when it comes to finishing off an outfit, I feel I have to let it be known that I will not instinctively be seeking to cinch it in. For in that choice of accessories, what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal belt must give us pause. Ay, there's the rub...