Danger, action, excitement, fun: Bull riding is one of the great celebrations of the cowboy lifestyle. Men’s belt buckles featuring bull riding also celebrate the cowboy. Click here to buy your own and join the celebration.

With what easily identifiable group of people do we most associate men’s belt buckles? Would you answer, Cowboys? I think of cowboys when I think of interchangeable men’s belt buckles. To me, the wide leather belt and sculpted metal buckle are every bit a part of the cowboy image as a wide-brimmed hat and holstered six-shooters.

The mere mention of cowboys can spark a reverie for most Americans: The high plains, the old corral, the mesas, the canyons, the chaparral. Riding the range, roping a cow, gentling a horse, driving cattle. A cook fire, the chuck wagon, the bedroll, sleeping under the stars… so many romantic images come to mind.

Modern Cowboys

Cowboys today aren’t all that different from historical cowboys, though the tools have changed and mending fences has grown in importance. And, whether a cowboy is wearing it, out west you find fashion heavily influenced by the cowboy heritage: boots, blue jeans, button shirts, bolo ties, wide-brimmed hats, and, of course, the tooled leather belt with interchangeable buckle are almost mandatory at pubs, honky-tonks, and pool halls where folks meet after work.

This is one of my favorite cowboy belt buckles: there are thousands of cowboys named Dad. Heck, I’ve answered to Dad for seventeen years and hope to do so for another fifty or so. Click here to get your dad a belt buckle with his name on it.

There’s at least a little cowboy in nearly every American. Heck, pull on jeans, and you become a link in a lineage that goes back to the 1870s when Levi Straus financed production of the first modern denim work pants. These, along with interchangeable belt buckles became emblems of the American west in the early part of the 1900s.

Do you wear blue jeans? How about cotton duck or other work pants? Dress them they way they were meant to dress: get them a wide, tooled leather belt and a handsome cowboy men’s belt buckle that celebrates the American icon.

If the designs on this page don’t satisfy, please visit our Amazon.com astore where you’ll find a section devoted to cowboy-themed belt buckles. Or, visit the vendors whose logos appear in the right margin; most feature at least some cowboy-themed buckles.

Good hunting, and thanks for visiting!

Technorati Tags: belt buckles, country buckles, cowboy, cowboy buckles, western, western buckles

On-line jewelry store Hip-Hop Bling offers a small collection of men’s belt buckles that double as cigarette lighters.

The holidays are upon us, and there is obviously a rising interest in men’s belt buckles. Why not? Belt buckles make terrific gifts. I’ve been cleaning things up on the Men’s Belt Buckles blog to make it easier for you to find exactly the right buckle for your man.

As I explained in an earlier post, I added links to several online belt buckle stores. I also weeded out-of-stock items from my own a-Store—that’s a customized online store offering specific selected products from amazon.com.

My a-Store lets me create collections of men’s belt buckles representing specific themes, and I’ve included shopping pages for horse-lovers, for silver-enthusiasts, for gamblers, and for football fans. I’ve also added a section for cowboy belt buckles, though this is the first time I’ve mentioned it in my blog. Find the link to my buckle a-Store in the right margin of this page. Yes, I’ll add more categories over time.

Design your own Men’s Belt Buckles

Today I added links to two other online belt buckle stores. These links introduce categories of men’s belt buckles I haven’t yet talked about: Belt buckles with built-in cigarette lighters, and extremely customizable buckles.

Body Candy, an on-line jewelry store, has an extensive selection of men’s belt buckles, with emphasis on customizable. On the left: you supply the photograph; they put it on the buckle! In the center: one of many buckles designed for engraving. On the right: scrolling lights reveal whatever message your man wants to convey. Click here to visit Body Candy.

A belt buckle with a built-in cigarette lighter found at Hip-Hop Bling is very practical. Even if you don’t smoke, having a lighter in your belt buckle comes in handy: light campfires, charcoal grills, candles for romantic dinners, chafing dishes, Bunsen burners, gas stoves… no need to carry a separate device.

In another vein: check out the huge collection of customizable men’s belt buckles at Body Candy. You’ll find buckles to which you can add several initials, and even buckles that display messages of your choice in lights! Links to these added belt buckle dealers appear in the right margin of this page.

I hope you find what you’re looking for, and thanks for visiting!

Technorati Tags: belt buckle stores, buy belt buckles, custom belt buckles, custom buckles, mens belt buckles stores

While I like to discuss a particular belt buckle theme and present many examples of buckles within the category, I also want my readers to find just the right belt buckles.

To that end, I long ago created the Men’s Belt Buckles aStore: an on-line store that offers belt buckles from Amazon.com and the vendors who sell there. You can visit the Men’s Belt Buckles aStore by clicking the image under the title in the right margin of this page (scroll down if you don’t see it there).

More Sources of Men’s Belt Buckles

Of course, there are far more sources for men’s belt buckles on the Internet than Amazon.com. So, I’ve tracked down a few belt buckle stores and added links to them in the sidebar. So far, I’ve included The Belt Buckle Shop, Hot Buckles, eBlade Store, and Belt Buckle Knife, but I plan to add even more in the near future.

If you haven’t found what moves you in any of my posts—or in my aStore—I hope you’ll visit these other vendors; maybe they have what you’re looking for.

Technorati Tags: belt buckle stores, buy belt buckles, buy mens belt buckles, mens belt buckle stores

Do you have any men’s belt buckles featuring horses? Why not? If you sport a belt with interchangeable buckles, you really should have a horse-themed buckle in your collection. Consider:

Country, country-western, western… if none of these words describes your lifestyle, they may at least touch a romantic chord. You can listen to country music radio nearly everywhere in the United States, and in many other parts of the world as well.

Speed, power, grace, and form all come together in a running horse. A fitting accent to any country-western outfit. Click here to get one for yourself.

The old west threads its way through our culture, and in many places it lives large. Even in the stodgy northeastern state of Rhode Island you can find a honky tonk. There, patrons wearing jeans, button shirts, cowboy hats, bolos, and matching belt buckles roll up in pickup trucks for fine steaks, beer, and evenings of jitterbugging.

Horses made it Possible

The unadorned profile of a horse’s head makes a clear statement: Horses rule! Click here to buy your own buckle.

The culture of the old west might not have arisen at all if not for horses. These amazing animals carried our ancestors across our great country. They moved freight, plowed our fields, and covered hundreds of miles where people on foot might have covered only tens of miles. Even when most of society traded horses in exchange for gas-powered machines, the horsepower was the standard measure of power—and it remains so today.

But as horses fell from favor, they remained a symbol of rugged outdoorsmen; of the working class who keep our country running. It’s appropriate that the western-style buckle actually originated during this industrial revolution—just about one hundred years ago, this style emerged, letting craftsmen design distinctive images that cowboys wore with pride.

A trophy buckle is usually quite large. This six-inch by four-inch beauty (featuring a horse, of course), resembles buckles awarded to champions of such rodeo events as barrel racing and calf roping. Click here to buy your own.

Horses on Men’s Belt Buckles

You can find, perhaps, hundreds of belt buckles in production featuring images of horses. There are very simple designs with nothing more than the profile of a horse’s head raised against an etched pattern. Other buckles hold sculpted images of one or more horses grazing, running, or jumping.

If you like horses—or if you just want an authentic western-styled buckle, you’re bound to find at least one that tickles your fancy. Start with the ones on this page, and follow this link to find other horse-themed belt buckles.

Technorati Tags: country, cowboy, horse, horses, trophy, western

This buckle made from German silver would complete the outfit of any long-haul trucker.

While men’s belt buckles are jewelry that even the manliest man might be willing to wear, few buckles are made out of precious materials. The vast majority of men’s belt buckles are brass, steel, pewter or German silver.

German silver? While it sounds impressive, German silver is an inexpensive alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc. If you were around in the 1960s, you might remember the word copper-nickel in common use as the United States eliminated silver from coins, and started making copper-nickel dimes and quarters. German silver looks a lot like real silver, and the term often appears in belt buckle ads as a misleading marketing gimmick. Men’s belt buckles made of German silver have no silver in them unless they are also silver-plated.

One manufacturer offers a series of belt buckles with single-letter initials. There is gold plating on the letter and raised border of each buckle, while there is silver plating on the embossed background. These make attractive personalized gifts when you know which letters to order.

Men’s Silver Belt Buckles

There is not a huge market for mass-produced men’s belt buckles made entirely of silver. In fact, many of the most desirable silver belt buckles come from silversmiths who make their creations one-at-a-time. For these hand-made accessories, you can spend two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, and even more dollars, and be confident that you’re getting a rare creation indeed.

As you might guess, handmade silver belt buckles often have western themes, but with diligence you can find many other designs as well. If you can’t find a design that appeals to you, you can probably find a silversmith willing to do a custom job—but be prepared to pay extra for the service. Here’s a link to the web site of Randall Moore, who offers a modest selection of very nice hand-made buckles.

This smooth, polished sterling silver belt buckle works on belts that accept interchangeable buckles up to an inch wide (it’s not for web-style belts that require clamp-on buckles). The belt’s face could hold a characters, should you want to have it engraved.

This sterling silver belt buckle looks sharp as it is, but the design features a smooth rectangle on a textured feild. Find an engraver, and that rectangle could hold your initials or the initials of a loved one for whom you want a personalized gift.

Silver-Plated Men’s Belt Buckles

To satisfy customer demand for silver, seriously commercial manufacturers turn to silver plating. A silver-plated buckle might start out as a copper-nickel one (German silver), but then it goes through a chemical process that makes real silver stick to it. The outer surface of a silver-plated buckle (also called layered silver, silver clad, and electroplated) is pure silver, but that’s a thin layer of silver. With normal wear, the silver plating may, eventually, rub off… but it takes a lot of rubbing; many silver-plated items survive several generations without losing their silver shine.

Go Silver!

Many gorgeous silver men’s belt buckles originate from the west. These buckles tend to be hand-made, so they’re hard to find, and generally quite a bit pricier than buckles made for the masses.

The good news is that you can find silver men’s belt buckles in many price ranges. Occasionally, you can find a high-production commercial silver buckle for under $100, but that’s a rare find. Of course, hand made buckles can be much more expensive. Silver-plated buckles cost as little as $30, but might cost much more depending on the craftsmanship. German silver buckles (no silver at all) can cost $30 and up—German silver may not be the real thing, but it’s still a high-quality metal.

Follow our links to our affiliates to buy your silver buckles today. Or, check out our e-store where we’ve recently added silver-plated, German silver, and a few pure silver belt buckles to our selections.

• Collecting Western Belt Buckles – As Porterfleischner popularity of Western style grows, so does the fashion and accessories of that style. Western Estelleradvany Buckles are currently going through a fashion revival. Today Western Belt Buckles are worn proudly by our …

• XXL Dollar Sign Fully Iced Out Hip Hop Bling Belt Buckle – TONS of stuff added daily, keeping checking back for LOADS of new stuff! TONS of stuff added daily, keeping checking back for LOADS of. TANG CLAN OVAL Belt Buckle Bling: XXL Iced Out. XXL Dollar Sign Fully Iced Out Hip Hop Bling Belt …

• unique personalized gift – Offers a variety of western saddles, silver belt buckles and sets, money clips, and bracelets. Custom work available.Manufacturer of graphical leather belts and buckles. From patterns of chimps to a western showdown. …

Technorati Tags: custom, german silver, silver, silver-plate

Set off your Halloween costume with a men’s belt buckle. This is the only time of year that completely legitimizes wearing something a little crazy. Whether you’re going trick-or-treating with the kids (or you are a trick-or-treating kid), you’re attending Halloween parties, or you just want to fit in at work, a belt buckle can be just the touch.

Halloween Men’s Belt Buckles at Work?

At least in the United States—even in very stuffy corporations—it’s common for people to acknowledge Halloween by wearing at least an element of a costume. Some folks might wear entire costumes, while others (most who bother at all) wear an item or two to celebrate the holiday in their workplaces.

The Not So Subtle Accent

I’ve seen people at work wearing wigs, face paint makeup, latex costume noses, masks, fake glasses, hats, and costume shirts. Nearly all of these touches were in-your-face costumes that were clearly out of place, but still acceptable for the one holiday that legitimizes dress-up.

Of all the costumes and costume elements I’ve seen at work, my favorite was a set of latex pointy ear tips much like the ones sported by Star Trek’s Vulcans. While in the spirit of the holiday, the ear tips were subtle—I’m sure many people didn’t notice them at all—but they clearly expressed some of the personality of the person wearing them.

Men’s Belt Buckles for Subtlety

A belt buckle also can be in the spirit of the holiday. There are many designs that fit the general Halloween theme of dead spirits affecting the living, and as many more of images people associate with Halloween: skulls, skeletons, demons, bats, cats, and more. There are also buckles fitting broader themes that inevitably arise around Halloween: fantasy and science fiction.

What makes a themed men’s belt buckle so appealing is that it adds an accent to a costume where most costumes simply make do. If you’re dressing like the undead, why not include a belt buckle whose design celebrates the undead?

But for many, a themed belt buckle has a different appeal: Because it’s subtle, you can wear it to celebrate in almost any setting. When you show up to work one day with a vampire bat holding up your pants, you may get a few inquiries, but you’re not likely to be chastised for dressing down.

Examples of Halloween Buckles

Among the many Halloween-themed men’s belt buckles available are a Grim Reaper, a skeleton hand, and a vampire bat. There are many more featuring skeletons or skulls, though most aren’t specifically about Halloween; skulls have become symbols of bikers, rock bands, and pirates, so belt buckles designed for one of these audiences often play well for all of them.

Men’s belt buckles with fantasy themes abound. While designers might create original buckles that express their own fascination with traditional sword & sorcery motifs, there are far more buckle designs related to science fiction and fantasy movies and comic books. Two of the buckles shown here represent classic fantasy themes, while the third represents one of the most recognizable villains in the history of cinema.

Follow this link to check out these and other men’s belt buckles at our on-line store.

Technorati Tags: costume, halloween

What does football have to do with men’s belt buckles? Well… with football season underway here in the United States, many of us look forward to three or four successive days each week of spectatorship: Friday evenings, we gather for games at our local high schools; Saturdays, we watch college ball; and on Sundays and Mondays we watch pro football. Diehard fans hold season tickets to home games, and you’ll find them tailgating in the parking lot and cheering in the stadium.

These dedicated fans usually wear their teams’ colors. They have tee shirts, sweat shirts, hats, jackets, stadium blankets, and coolers sporting team logos. Some paint their faces, and some strip down and paint their chests—even when temperatures dip below freezing.

As decked out as a fan may be, he (or she) often overlooks his (or her) belt buckle. The typical fan simply isn’t aware that there is at least one style of officially-licensed belt buckle bearing the team logo… and for the particular fan, there are usually several styles from which to choose.

NFL Men’s Belt Buckles

A local high school could have promotional belt buckles made, but these would be sold locally as fundraisers. Many college teams have promotional belt buckles, typically sold in college stores—though some are available through other commercial channels. Of course, NFL belt buckles have broad distribution. To boot, there is a variety of styles of officially-licensed NFL buckles with team logos. Oddly, team logo men’s belt buckles of each style aren’t available for all NFL teams. In fact, in certain styles, only a handful of teams are represented. Here are descriptions and examples of the styles of licensed NFL belt buckles:

The simplest of the men’s belt buckles for NFL fans is no more than a team’s official logo with a bale and a hook on the back. Most of these have the same shape as the logo itself. These vary in size considerably as a logo’s design dictates a buckle’s proportions—a wide logo works well as a relatively small belt buckle, but a narrow logo results in a taller buckle—otherwise the buckle simply wouldn’t be wide enough. Consider these from New England, Dallas, and Minnesota:

A second style of NFL buckle is a medallion that has a standardized look: a football player on the buckle’s right side, and a team logo on the buckle’s left… these are, perhaps, the most subtle of the designs; it takes a close look to see what the buckle represents. These buckles are each 2.5 inches high by 3.5 inches wide:

Perhaps the most ambitious of the NFL team logo belt buckle designs are the “limited edition” series. These designs combine the logo with several related elements in striking relief. For example, the NY Jets buckle in this series shows a bit of the NYC skyline and the Statue of Liberty, while the St Louis Rams buckle shows some city skyline and the Gateway Arch. Running about 2 and 3/8 inches high and 3 inches across, this series of NFL men’s belt buckles offers the greatest variety of designs:

The NFL team logo men’s belt buckle most clearly designed with the tailgating fan in mind is more than just a means to hold up your pants; it’s also a bottle opener. These are surprisingly low-profile; one isn’t likely to draw attention until you use it to open a beer:

There is a line of “oversized” NFL team logo buckles. These have a standardized design with the team name on raised borders around an oval that holds the team logo. The oversized buckles are quite large—3 and 3/8 inches tall by 4 inches wide—and they look very sharp; people will know which team you favor when you wear one of these big boys.

Perhaps the flashiest of the licensed NFL men’s belt buckles are in the Gold and Silver series. These are large oval buckles with a standardized, formal design in a gold tone raised against a silver background; the team logo appears centered in the oval:

Classic NFL Men’s Belt Buckles

The belt buckles I’ve described are licensed product lines that are available now. There have been other officially-licensed NFL belt buckles that are no longer available except from private owners and collectors. If you frequent yard sales and flea markets, you might stumble across some of these older buckles from time-to-time—and many are available through on-line auction sites and belt buckle stores. Here are examples of vintage NFL men’s belt buckles:

Follow this link, or click the Buckle Store link in the margin of this page to see more men’s belt buckles officially licensed by the NFL.

Other NFL Gear

If a team belt buckle isn’t enough, check out the web sites listed below for other NFL-branded items to express your team affiliation:

Technorati Tags: football, NFL, sports

On the other hand, do you express any of these behaviors?

• you find yourself examining belts and their attached buckles at yard sales
• you admire the belts and buckles on display in your local army-surplus store
• you always check out the belts and accessories when you go clothes shopping
• you sometimes dig through belts at your local salvation army store
• you visit flea markets and antique stores, and dig around looking for belt buckles
• you search the web using phrases such as “men’s belt buckles” or “mens belt buckles”

Just In Case…

If you’re starting to amass a collection of men’s belt buckles—especially if you’re not buying all of them factory-fresh—then do yourself a favor and invest in a book to help put those buckles in perspective. One such book, Collecting Men’s Belt Buckles, was published in the year 2000 and remains the most accessible authority on the subject.

The author of Men’s Belt Buckles, Joseph Saitta, has created a lavishly-illustrated book with hundreds of photographs and descriptions of men’s belt buckles. But Saitta doesn’t stop there. He includes tips for collecting interesting buckles, and he helps you understand the monetary value of the buckles you collect.

Collecting Men’s Belt Buckles is the essential guide for any collector. Increase the value of your collection by learning to identify quality buckles whose worth will continue to increase. Don’t collect blind; click the illustration at right to get your own copy today.

Technorati Tags: collecting, collection, guide, guidebook

Do you collect men’s belt buckles? Even if you don’t, without knowing it, you might be perfectly poised to start a collection. A belt you bought off-the-rack at a department store might be designed to accept interchangeable buckles: a military-style belt, a wide leather belt with a pressed pattern for casual wear, or a polished leather belt for formal attire.

Belts for Interchangeable Men’s Belt Buckles

There are two very common schemes for belts that handle interchangeable men’s belt buckles. In most cases, the buckle end of the belt folds back on itself, and two or three snaps hold it around a bale on the back of the buckle. You might buy one of these without knowing it because they often hang on racks along with belts whose buckles are sewn or riveted onto the belt strap.

Alternatively, buckles made for web-style belt straps (common for military uniforms) clamp onto the belt strap anywhere you wish to place them. These come off the strap easily, and you can replace them with other clamp-on belt buckles.

Swap a Snap-on Buckle

If you don’t know whether you can swap buckles on your leather belt, look at the buckle end where the belt folds back on itself. If you see only stitching holding the belt together, that one isn’t a candidate. If, on the other hand, you see two or three rivet heads, these might be the back sides of snaps. Try to pull the folded-over flap away from the back of the belt. You may need to pull hard… but it’s not likely to require a lot of effort. If those rivet heads are riveted through, again: the belt isn’t a candidate for change. However, it’s likely that flap will pop free, revealing that it’s snapped against the belt. You can replace the buckle. The photo sequence below shows the simple procedure.

Swap a Clip-on Buckle

If you have belts that resemble straps of tightly-woven threads, chances are the buckles are simply clamped onto those straps. Typically, the buckle end of the strap is unfinished, and maybe even frayed. The other end of the strap has leather or some other material stitched on, or a piece of metal folded around it and crimped into place.

Because you can slide as much of the belt as you want through the clamp of a clip-on buckle, you can easily adjust a belt strap made of webbing to any length. It’s an ingenious design that lets the wearer create the “brass-on-brass” look expected by the military brass. The photo sequence below shows how to insert a belt strap into a clamp-on buckle.

Your Collection of Men’s Belt Buckles

If you have at least one belt that can accommodate interchangeable buckles, you’ve already started a buckle collection (that belt must have a buckle, no?) Now, think about your interests, your hobbies, your affiliations. Are you a sports fan? An audiophile? A brand-enthusiast? Find some buckles that represent your preferences, and swap them onto your belt as your mood or situation dictates.

Technorati Tags: belt, belts, buckles, collect, collection

The good news is: men’s belt buckles are one type of jewelry that men aren’t self-conscious about wearing. It’s easy to find a belt designed to let you switch buckles in seconds, so you can effortlessly change from one look to another depending on the clothes you’re wearing or the crowd you’ll be hanging with.

Men’s Belt Buckles with Commercial Themes

There are men’s belt buckles to appeal to every taste. Many companies sell buckles designed around their company brands or logos—enthusiasts of these companies might enjoy collecting the buckles. You can find buckles that celebrate your favorite sports teams and other buckles that promote (or reflect) Hollywood icons—Batman, Superman, Darth Vader, you name it and there’s probably a belt buckle designed around it.

Men’s Belt Buckles for any Attire

Of course, you can find attractive men’s belt buckles that are no more than accessories to nice outfits. You’ll find pewter belt buckles, brass belt buckles, silver belt buckles, gold belt buckles, and even wooden belt buckles. And by nice outfits, I mean outfits for any occasion. You can find belt buckles for high-society events, for the rodeo set, for maritime settings, for alpine climbing expeditions, and for bushwhacking in the jungle.

Men’s Belt Buckles as Art

Do you have a favorite pet? Are you enthusiastic about a particular kind of animal? There are almost certainly men’s belt buckles that feature these animals. And, if no one has already made exactly what you want, there are artists who will design and make custom buckles for you.

A belt buckle can depict a realistic scene, or an abstract form. Whatever its shape, wearing the right belt buckle is like carrying around a piece of sculpture to share with the world. And, as with any art form, there are avid collectors who buy, swap, and sell buckles that they intend only to display, but never to wear.

Men’s Belt Buckles for You or Yours

This blog is about men’s belt buckles. With each blog post, I’ll try to find interesting buckles to show you, to tell you something about who’s making belt buckles, or help track down buckles with specific themes or subjects. Please let me know what you want to see, and I’ll do my best to find it for you.

To get things started, here are a few men’s belt buckles that have to do with good luck. Follow this link or click buckle store link in the right margin to review and purchase these and other men’s belt buckles for luck.

Men’s Belt Buckles for Luck

This four-leaf clover belt buckle (left) was obviously designed for luck. Perfect for casual attire, it adds a bit ‘o the green for the leprauchan in each of us. Get yours from Amazon.com by following the link in the margin on the right of this page.

A horseshoe, a star, and bird wings… or is it a mustache? This buckle looks for luck with a design out of America’s old west. The aged metal look goes well with denim and boots.

A horseshoe, a lucky seven, two shamrocks, and a set of dice. This would go well with any outfit you’d wear to a charity fund-raising casino night. Get in the spirit with a lucky belt buckle to complete your outfit.

The ace of spades is a lucky card for many players–and it makes an attractive belt buckle. Wear it with almost any outfit, and especially at poker games. In fact, don’t wear it to poker games, but take it along: it’ll make a great marker to protect your cards from mucking during a hand.

Check out these web sites. One is an article that provides guidance for selecting the right outfits to go with Geeky belt buckles, the other is a blog for a store that sells vintage belt buckles:

• Geek Chic: How to wear geeky belt buckles revisited – iPod belt buckle from Beat Buckle I’ve been hearing from a lot of readers who want more information about wearing belt buckles, so let’s take the time to explore this fashion forward practice a little further. This advice can be used by …

• Vintage Belt Buckles – The above belt buckles are just two of many that we carry. Most are reasonably priced & western themed. They definitely make for good conversation starters. Posted in accessories Tagged: belt buckles.

Technorati Tags: belt, buckle, buckles, mens belt buckles