Friday, July 23, 2010

uǝɯ ɹoɟ uoıʇsǝnb ɐ

In recent months I've noticed something.

It's about belts, the ones we wear on our trousers, or on a trouser, for the Sri Lankans among you. I'm right handed, one of the eighty five to ninety two per cent of people according the Wikipedia.

The way I prefer to wear a belt, actually the way I must wear one, is to have the long piece on the left side of my body, my left that is, and the buckle or fastener piece on my right side. Sadly I thought about this for some time before writing this post and figured out why this is.

It's because the easier skill involved in doing up a belt is to grasp hold of the long bit, while the more complicated part of the process is to hold the buckle, putting the pin through the hole and what have you, not that it's up there as a particularly complex set of skills of course.

But whenever I buy a belt, one with a logo or some writing on it, I find that it's made the "wrong" way round. The result of this is that I have to wear the thing with the writing upside down, which somewhat negates the point of a logo, or face a big struggle to do up the thing each time, making both my hands do things that each of them thinks the other one ought to be doing.

As an example right now I'm wearing a nice brown leather Ted Baker belt. On the straight bit it's got "Ted Baker" embossed in the leather. It's quite subtle and tasteful in my opinion, as branding should be.

However, it you were standing in front of me you'd actually see "ɹǝʞɐq pǝʇ" on my belt as I have to wear it upside down.

So I want to know if this is a problem that affects all of us men or if the rest of you are more dexterous with the left hand than myself. I want to know if it's only me that's noticed this, or if the beltmakers are conspiring against right handed people.

Why have I addressed the question to men?

Simple. Because only men will understand the importance of issues like this. Women just won't care.

9 comments:

David Blacker said...

I am right-handed too, but I hold the buckle bit with my left hand and run the tongue (heh heh) with my right hand through it across to the left. So does my Dad, and I think everyone else.

More importantly, how do you type upside down?

Rhythmic Diaspora said...

So this may just be me then DB?

Top secret about the writing, can't reveal it to you I'm afraid.

thekillromeoproject said...

Have to agree with David. Belt buckle in the left hand works just fine.

Anonymous said...

¡ʇı ɹɐǝʍ oʇ ǝɯ ʎɐd ʎǝɥʇ ssǝlun 'ƃuıʍoɥs soƃol ɥʇıʍ ƃuıɥʇʎuɐ ʎnq ʇou op ı sı ƃuıɥʇ ɹǝɥʇouɐ ˙sʎɐʍ ɥʇoq ʇlǝq ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝʍ puɐ snoɹʇxǝpıqɯɐ ɯɐ ı
Ha gotcha

Rhythmic Diaspora said...

TKRP - I blame the father!

Magerata - You clearly have an interesting approach to fashion. I like a logo or a label myself, providing it's tasteful and not too big or loud and the right sort.

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

thekillromeoproject said...

(: ¡¡˙˙˙ʇno sı ƃuıdʎʇ uʍop ǝpısdn oʇ ʇǝɹɔǝs ɹnoʎ ʞuıɥʇ ı ˙s˙d

Anonymous said...

Hey RD, you have managed send us all upside down! Thank you for making me spill my drink seeing all these upside down comments.
Best way to be ambidextrous is actually to break your right arm! a few times, OK, many times, forcing you to use the left hand. At least that is how I became to be using both my hands. Don't ask me how to break right hand only, it just happens, mostly together with your left leg. :)

Marc said...

I was once told that buckle on the left is the way men wear a belt and the buckle on the right is the way women wear a belt....anyone else heard of this ?
By the way as an aside, Odel sells some good leather belts :)

Bimmy said...

I'm with DB on this. Maybe because I have to pull the long end of the belt firmly (with my right hand) before you insert the metal thingy in the hole.

I go to great lengths to find belts without any sort of marking or stitching on it too - how boring