Belt it out!

The belt is one of the necessary accessories that brings together your entire look. The belt has the power to transform your look from chic to bold to sexy. Statement belts are here since last year and they are here to continue making noise, be it OTT versions with big buckles to minimal styles that bring in just a touch of structure to your outfit and many more that can help you make an impact as long as you style them well. Take inspiration from the leading ladies in Bollywood, they have taken the belt everywhere from casual to the red carpet in ways some cannot imagine. Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, and other A-listers are all wearing belts this season. Just remember a quote "You get a belt! And you get a belt! And you get a belt!" —Oprah. Sharing some of my favorite ways to master the belt trends in style.

Office ensemble

Waist belts work well with more formal attire, which makes them great for updating your office wear. If you want to add more of an edge, go for a thicker corset-style belt to accentuate your waist. Pair with a delicate dress and boots to toughen up your look or, for a softer approach, add a pretty pastel belt to a ladylike suit like Keira Knightley in Chanel.

Patterned look

Some printed styles out there today have a little too much going on. Wrapping a belt around the middle breaks up particularly loud ones and makes outfits that incorporate them a bit more polished. Sonam Kapoor Ahuja likes to bring her flair for experimentation to her belt collection as well—she once wore a thin black belt with a printed sari and flaunted an unusual design in brown with a navy-blue ensemble on another occasion.

Casual ensemble

Pair a top and jeans with a belt, when you know the feeling when you're wearing a cute outfit just doesn't have the wow-factor you want. Just like Kareena Kapoor Khan, who often relies on belts to elevate her outfits and you will often spot her wearing a slender Gucci number with her jeans.

Solid-colored dress

Sometimes you're wearing a killer dress and it looks great, but it's just, IDK, missing something. That's when you swoop in with a huge effing belt and steal the show. Priyanka Chopra uses her belts to emphasise her waist. Cases in point: the nude belt she wrapped over her dress and cape, and the red number she wore with her bright yellow floral dress and matching red shoes.

Evening gown

There are evening gowns, and then there are belted evening gowns. I know, it kinda sounds weird to add one to a formal floor-length design. Adding a larger accessory at the waist makes an already statement-making gown even more dramatic when done the right way. Deepika Padukone prefers thick metallic belts for her red carpet showcases and pairs her thinner versions with maxi dresses to cinch in voluminous casual dresses.

Vintage chain belt

Of course, the powerful combo that continues to reign in the fashion world is a statement belt paired with a blazer. This waist-accentuating, menswear-inspired look commands attention and prowess, thus it needs a belt equally as commanding. This is where the chain belt comes into play. Like everything else in fashion, these are cyclical and were huge in the early 2000s. However, chain belts are back in a much more modern way. I love the ones with dangling medallions when paired with sweater or dresses!

Fashion has embraced body-positivity and belts are no longer marketed as devices to "nip in" waists to give wearers that elusive "hourglass" shape. On top of that, tailoring is in and we wear pants that hold their own, stay up on their own and sit where they're told, leaving belts free to just be what they are - accessories providing finishing touches to bring an ensemble to the next level, fun, experimental, superfluous-but-welcome add-ons.