Stinson R. Ely Intros "Watch Strap" Alligator Belts In 12 Colors. Touts ‘40s-Er

May 3, 2012 - PRLog -- San Diego, CA. April 27, 2013. Freshman style meister, Andy Stinson, famed for his dandy-ish but contrarian collection of trend-setting Hollywood Waistband trousers has been born again. Leather goods designer, his latest incarnation.

Polishing the patina of his "rebel-designer" rep, Stinson announced the intro of an ultra-luxe collection of American alligator belts that includes an avant garde line-up of super-thin, 3/4" and 1" belts designed to partner with his trend-setting line-up of Hollywood Waistband trousers.

Although Stinson’s newly debuted collection touts dress styles in traditional, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" widths, it’s his slim, 3/4" and 1" retro-inspired styles – all artisan hand-crafted from rare, "watch strap" alligator – that again T-bones current trends and inspires his second, contrarian fashion prediction: "Thin-is-in."

Stinson’s first divination – a real doozie, claim some fashion pros – is that the now-voguish look of men’s slim-cut, plain-front slacks is near DOA and fashion’s next flat-liner. Jury is still out on this. It’s verdict, however, will render Stinson either a soothsaying trend genius or fashion’s court jester. But just leaked peeks from Tom Ford’s next men’s show could deliver Stinson’s salvation. Full of high-waisted, pleat front dress and formal slacks, it backs-up Stinson’s own "pleats-are-back" prediction.

A minimalist who marches-to-his-own-drummer, Stinson’s design ethos, like Ford’s, routinely cuts cross-grain – and usually skewers – prevailing trends. Dubbed the "Hollywood Legends Collection," thanks to its ‘40s-era nod to Hollywood’s famed Age of Glamour, Stinson’s visually dramatic collection of 3/4" and 1" belts touts 12 mild-to-wild colors, including five basic shades and seven fashion colors. To the usual cognac, mahogony and black, Stinson boosted his basics to five by adding bone and pearl-gray, then topped off his beefed-up basics with another seven, eye-popping fashion colors, from Lipstick Red, Hot Pink and Tangerine to Eggplant, Electric Blue and Grape. All 12 colors are available in a classic matte, a new and proprietary semi-gloss "Millennium" finish, and a high-gloss.

Two interchangeable buckles – one silver and one gold tone – accompany each belt.

Stinson’s thin-belt thinking is backed-up by logic and aesthetics: Wide belts draw the eye’s focus to the waist. They thicken the torso and create the illusion of an bigger-than-life waistline. Thin belts, on the other hand, slim the waist, narrow the hips and flatter the physique

At 3/4" and 1" widths, Stinson’s belts measure half the span of today’s most popular widths and counter the trend to chunkier widths. Stinson, however, is targeting a handful of risk takers marketers call "fashion innovators," a tiny clan of hip adventurers who are first to dabble in fresh new fashion ideas. These trendsetting hipsters, tells Stinson, have the social juice to sway fashion trends and anoint a new style with gotta-have appeal and chi chi cachet.

Beside his 3/4" and 1" widths, Stinson’s also betting his "covered," or "cloaked" buckles – buckles wrapped in matching alligator – ignites its own fashionista feeding frenzy. Dubbed his "signature buckle," a matching alligator belt and buckle, tells Stinson, was once all the rage among Hollywood’s top matinee idols of the ‘30s and ‘40s.
Stinson R. Ely’s alligator belts – thin and wide, alike – are all artisan hand-made in America.

Stinson is co-branding his belts with Henry Slaughter, their artisan maker. Officially, the collection’s name is Stinson R. Ely by Henry Slaughter. Though Slaughter ranks an obscure unknown among consumers, he’s a highly respected pro whose artisan talents make him one of the most sought after makers of ladies hand bags, here and abroad.

Stinson pegged the retail price of his 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" widths at $495. Hollywood Legends Collection trafficks slightly higher at $525 for the 3/4" width and $545 for the 1" width. Thank watch-strap alligator – the rarest and costliest part of the hide – for the surprisingly higher cost of the narrower widths, explained Stinson. Cloaked, or covered, buckles add another $45 to each belt’s retail.

About Stinson R. Ely Bespoke: A dandy’s collection, exclusively, Stinson R. Ely Bespoke is dedicated to the design genius of co-founder, Robbi Ely, an ardent minimalist who time and again, proved the ageless saw that the most visually dramatic designs are those reduced to their simplest elements.

Anchored by its revival of the iconic Hollywood Waistband slack, Stinson R. Ely Bespoke is a luxury niched collection of dress and formal slacks that touts custom-bespoke, made-to-measure and ready-to-wear collections . Daringly colored and boasting bold and adventurous pattern motifs, each pair is artisan hand-sewn by Rochester, New York-based, Adrian Jules.