Buckle Up, 2.0

Buckle Up, 2.0

This July will mark fifteen - fifteen! - years since we sold our very first stretch belt. Here are some of the things that have happened in my life, and in Unbelts’, since then:

  • A move home to Edmonton after six years in Shanghai
  • Four new belt launches (Intrepid, Kids’, Hybrid, (Re)Mix)
  • Two babies, one of whom got cuddles from Oprah’s creative director while I pitched Unbelts
  • Appearances on Dragons’ Den, Good Morning America, and The View
  • Opening an Edmonton sewing studio and slowly moving all manufacturing here
  • Temporarily becoming a cloth mask supplier
  • A post-COVID reckoning caused by major mask overstock and elastic understock

 

Throughout this decade and a half, there’s one thing that’s never changed: the Classic Unbelts buckle.


The “three-dot” design was originally based on the nursing uniform belts of the 1940s and 1950s, and the “Jazzercise” lewks of the 1980s. It was familiar to many of our customers, and it was perfectly flat.

A collage of people from different time periods wearing belts similar to the Classic Unbelt
Top left: Claire's grandmother rocks her nursing uniform in the '50s
Top right: A "two-dot" design appears in this 1971 Eaton's catalogue - très chic
Bottom left: A Métis square dancer wears a dot-style buckle in Saskatchewan in 2003 - cinch belts have been popular with square dancers since at least the 1950s.
Bottom right: This design was the predecessor of the Classic Unbelt. It was sewn in Shanghai in the early 2010s.

 

Most importantly, it could be made by my favourite hardware supplier, who allowed us to visit their factory, meet their design and manufacturing team, and see the recycling process that allows Unbelts buckles to be made out of re-manufactured scrap materials.


Over time, we refined the design. We curved the corners,  added inner notches to help guide the three dots into just the right place, and we experimented with different colours and finishes. It was a big deal when we could afford to engrave our logo on the back.

A Chinese man with short hair works on a 3-D computer image of an Unbelts buckle.Both components of a Classic Unbelts' buckle with mould.
Top: "Handsome Guy," as nicknamed by his colleagues, finishes up a 3D rendering of a buckle 
Bottom: Classic buckle moulds in Lydia's factory (check out those nice curvy corners)

 

But - when we introduced the grippy, more rugged Intrepid Unbelt in 2018, we started to field what would become hundreds of requests for a Classic belt with a more Intrepid-like, minimalist buckle.

Then came last year’s deluge of online dupes featuring our Classic buckle, complete with the curved corners, wee notches, and the other details we’d spent months refining with our supplier. We took it as a clear sign from the universe that *now* was the right time to take a chance on the evolution of our core product.

2 similar looking blue stretch belts. On the left, the dupe has messy stitching and thin elastic. The Classic has thick elastic and a red "Suns' Up, Jeans Up" tag.
Dupes like the belt on the left inspired us to level up our Classic hardware
Introducing: The Classic 2.0 buckle. The new design is very slightly heavier than the "Three-Dot" buckle (22 grams vs. 17 grams), but significantly smaller and lighter than our Intrepid buckle (32 grams). The 2.0 has a satisfyingly solid feel in the hand, and a design that distributes tension across the full buckle for extra durability. Our test users told us the 2.0 feels more secure than the Classic 1.0, and we can confirm that our perfectionism was definitely at work when designing the 2.0’s *exact* closure angle.

3 black Unbelts on a white background. There's an Intrepid with a large slide together buckle, a Classic 2.0 with a slim slide together buckle, and a Classic 1.0 with a "three-dot" buckle. A handwritten note points to each design.

The Classic Unbelt 2.0 is so named because it is simply the next version of our bestselling product. The elastic hasn’t changed, and the Classic 2.0’s features and specs remain the same as the original: 

What’s exciting is that we’ve been able to make the 2.0 better in a few ways. It’s much easier to close, especially for individuals with limited dexterity (like my mom, who has arthritis in her hands). It curves with the body, and the smaller adjuster is more subtle, which is nice for those who like wearing their Unbelt over sweaters and dresses.

Skyla, a plus-sized model with light skin, long brown hair and glasses, poses in front of a yellow background with her hands on her hips. She's wearing a red flannel, white tank top, skinny jeans and white sneakers. Her Classic 2.0 is black with a pewter buckle.A close up on Claire's torso. She's wearing a black and white striped sweater and blue jeans. Her Classic 2.0 is navy with a pewter buckle. Her hand rests comfortably in her pocket.
Skyla and Claire showing off the Classic 2.0

Still made by Lydia’s team, the 2.0 buckle uses the same recycled alloy that doesn’t beep in (most) metal detectors.

The Classic 1.0 era won’t officially be over until we’ve sold through our last units, and there are still a few left for those who love an OG Unbelt. After that, you can expect the Classic 2.0 buckle to stay until we truly feel we’ve made an *even better* stretch belt.

Close up on a pewter 2.0 buckle on a black belt. The left side of the buckle is engraved with "do great". The right side is engraved with "things".

Send us your feedback, and your future colour requests - as always, we’re listening, and we’re so proud to help you feel great in your jeans.


- Team Unbelts

 

P.S. We found this video during our design history research. It's too grainy to make out the belts, but it's so cool that we simply must share it. "Steps in Time" - The Rabbit Dance.

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AUTHOR

Claire Theaker-Brown

Claire Theaker-Brown is a Canadian entrepreneur who founded Unbelts, a B Corp-certified sustainable accessories brand, in 2011. She is an expert in ethical supply chain management and purpose based business growth, helping triple bottom line companies achieve ambitious sustainability goals. She lives in Edmonton, Canada with her two kiddos, partner, and cat, all of whom patiently listen to her nerd out about circularity initiatives. www.linkedin.com/in/clairetheakerbrown

Email Claire