A belt over a dress is the cheapest outfit change available. The same dress worn loose on Tuesday and belted on Thursday reads as two different things in photographs, and the belt weighs nothing and takes no space in a case. That is the entire argument, and it holds for almost every dress that is not already fitted at the waist.

Midi length is where it works best, because a belt shortens the visual line and a midi has length to spare. On a mini the same belt makes the proportion top heavy.

The eight midis here run $198 to $548. Negative's Whipped Henley at $198 is the plainest and the most beltable. Ay Que Calor's Solana mesh is $295, Akoia Swim's crochet cotton is $325, and STAUD's Margi cotton is $395. MISA's Avri floral satin at $380 and ALICE + OLIVIA's Delora at $395 are the printed options. Ungaro's ruched one-shoulder is $447 and Veronica Beard's Elthea knit at $548 is the most structured, which is also the one that needs a belt least.

A short dress takes a belt differently. The waist has to sit higher and the belt has to be narrower, or the whole thing turns into a tunic. Width is the variable people get wrong. A wide belt on a short dress eats the length. A narrow one defines the waist and leaves the proportion alone.

Fabric matters too. Anything stiff resists being gathered and bunches at the sides rather than draping, which is why a soft knit or a mesh belts better than poplin.

The eight here run $240 to $595. Ay Que Calor's Amaya mesh at $240 and Zulu & Zephyr's striped knit at $250 are the softest and easiest to belt. With Nothing Underneath's Sloane linen at $270 and STAUD's Laura linen at $295 both crease in the way linen does, which reads as intentional once belted. Significant Other's Luka draped satin at $295 and Posse's Darya lace-trimmed linen cotton at $330 are the dressier pair. ALICE + OLIVIA's tiered shirtdress is $465 and LoveShackFancy's lace-trim mini at $595 is the most decorated.

The belt is the part worth buying properly, because it is the item in this edit most likely to still be in use in ten years. Leather and suede age well and a good buckle outlasts several dresses. Width, again, is the decision. Something in the two to three centimetre range works over almost anything. Anything wider is a statement that only suits a handful of shapes.

All eight here run $200 to $375, which is a narrow band because this is a category with a genuine floor. Below a certain point the leather is usually bonded rather than full grain, and bonded leather cracks at the fold.

Black Suede Studio's oval leather at $200 and CHIS STUDIO's Capri at $235 are the plainest. PARDOhats' Marea cotton belt at $260 is the only fabric option and the one for linen. St. Agni's suede asymmetric is $290 and Déhanche's Hollyhock leather is $325. Le Sundial's tassel at $330 and Jasmin Sparrow's spiral at $350 are the decorative pair, and Lemaire's minimal western at $375 is the one to keep.