For so long, we ignored the belt. We let it become functional and minimal – a simple beaten-up number slipped through the loops of a favorite pair of jeans, a skinny red snake of a belt, slithering around the top of a pencil skirt, or maybe, a dramatic buckle on an otherwise mundane piece of leather.

Now, waist cinchers, hip huggers and ribcage ringers are standing in the spotlight. Belts are migrating all over the torso, finding themselves conveniently positioned under the girls for a little added oomph, pulling in waists to create the most feminine of figures, or slung haphazardly at hips to give shape to formless frocks.

Waist Cinching Belts

Sitting just above your bellybutton is where your belts are going to rack in the most mileage when it comes to enhancing a womanly figure. Ignore the talk of 80s flashbacks and tacky corsetry; this look is all about femininity. With a wide belt around the smallest part of your waist, you're slimming, emphasizing, and calling all eyes to your sexy curves.

The thicker the better for these sassy waist cinchers. Oversized, square buckles look best in the same tone as the band, or in clunky, muted metals. Mix it up with an equestrian flair or go classy with a leather-wrapped western piece. In materials, you're looking for a belt that can stand up to all your bending and sitting. Solid leathers, reinforced layers of satin, animal skins, and thick, wide elastic bands make for the best waist cinchers. Anything flimsy will fold and crease at your midsection, or hang with unpolished looseness from your body.

Oversized Belt? Keep Other Accessories Simple

When sporting a massive mid-waist belt, it's critical that you keep in mind the visual weight of this substantial accessory. Forget the piles of bangles and bobbles you usually drape from your various appendages: the belt is your focal point. Cinch in the clean lines of a pencil skirt or dress, show off your body in an airy tunic with a waist-loving belt, add flare to your button-down-and-trousers basics with a bold square buckle and a sophisticated strap, or pull in that roomy shirt dress or classic trench.

Try Unconventional Belt Closures & Materials

The waist-high belt has even sailed past conventions, trading buckles for bows, hooks and snaps, and typical leather straps for elastics, silky sashes, and bands of fabric. With these funky cinchers, kimonos meet burlesque, the 1980s meet the 1950s, and animal prints meet class, creating fusions of style that are always feminine.

Empire Waist Belts

Ah, the empire waist. Was there ever a waistline more bust-enhancing or age reducing than thee?
Belts just below the bust line require very few rules: keep it small, keep it simple, keep it subtle and keep it sexy. Opt for thin belts in colors that contrast but work with your outfit, and chose posh patent, chic alligator, soft suede or a simple, perfect bow-tied ribbon.

Stop Empire Waist Belts from Falling Down

Your belt is going to need a little assistance keeping up appearances, so either strap yourself in tightly, or loosely stitch subtle loops into your outer seams. Strips of ribbon can even be sewn directly onto the garment, becoming a permanently polished finish to your fashion-forward ensemble.

Hip-Slung Belts

There's something positively satisfying about piecing together a relatively pleasing outfit only to sling a belt around your hips and bring your tunic-wearing, shift-dressed, denim clad, or layered self to a whole new level of style savviness.

Give Loose Garments Shape with a Belt

Much like the waist-cincher, this hip hugging belt draws attention to more of our beloved curves. Give shape to a droopy sack of a shirt, pull in a shapeless dress, or simply add a ring of color to any hip-skimming top.

Stock up your belt collection and give that tired denim-topper a few friends to hang out with, and don't discriminate. Grab every thickness, every material and every style you can get your hands on (following the above guidelines), and start pairing a belt with everything.