Test Blog Post
Have you ever wondered about the history of those fabulous leather straps around your waists? Wonder no more for I, Nathaniel -- Belts Maker and SlideBelts "Criosader" -- have come to bestow this knowledge to you fine readers!
For a thousand generations the belts were the guardians of peace, and dignity, holding our weapons and pouches; before the dark times...before the pocket. Now the belt is all but a fashion accessory, holding only our pants up, or even simpler, making an outfit look complete. It makes one wonder where it really began. What man decided he really needed a random strip of leather awkwardly wrapped around his waist? Let's travel back in history. Jump into my Delorean, and get this baby up to 88 mph so we can find out!
Boom! Suddenly you find yourself in the bronze age. The first person you come across is wearing a leather strap around his waist. Jump forward 200 years, and boom, we see a roman soldier, carrying a dagger and a sword on his waist. For a thousand more years, this is how things were. The belt holding the sword, dagger, and the pouch, and in later years, the marble handled revolver.
In the first world war and the Crimean wars, belts were used primarily for decoration, and showing how trim the soldiers and their commanding officers were. In fact, belt loops are under a hundred years old! Isn't that crazy? Actually, the first instance of belt loops took place in the 1920's when a jean company, most likely Levi's, added them to their trousers. Boy were they a hit! Now 99% of pants, and all jeans have belt loops.
Sometimes, belts are used to display rank! Remember when your parents signed you up for Taekwondo, or Karate when you were a kid in grade school and middle school? Well, those belts were your rank. Certain colors displayed how high up you were on the martial art ladder.
In ancient Greece, belts, or "girdles" were associated with power. Girdles worn by the gods were granted with incredible powers, magic sometimes. When worn by men, it granted strength and power. When worn by women, protection and security, and eventually purity and virginity. When removed, the belts' powers would go along with them, akin to that of a closed electric circuit. Without a connection between the two ends, creating the celestial circle, power cannot flow. One such girdle, the Girdle of Aphrodite, was one of these magic belts of mythos.
Even in the stories of our pop culture, belts are a necessary commodity for our heroes. The belt of Batman, famous for it's pouches upon pouches of useful tools is a fine example. Another is the famed belts of the Jedi, holding their ceremonial robes together stylishly, while holding their lightsabers and other useful tools.
Fast forward a couple thousand years, and in 2007, the company, SlideBelts, was created, come to save the world of mediocre belts and bring class and utility to the belt world. But SlideBelts is not alone in its innovation, when the the art of holding up pants and staying on our waist was created thousands of years ago.