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Chances are you haven’t heard of Billy Moore and his belt line, Cause and Effect – yet. Through a chance encounter at Self Edge NY a few months ago, I met Billy during one of his sales trips; he was in town to meet with some accounts and we got to chat for a bit. Though his collection is still new, he’s already done custom runs for Rogues Gallery and By Robert James, and will be at Steven Alan and Jack Spade this fall. His belts also got written up in UrbanDaddy’s national newsletter recently.

His belts don’t resemble most of the ones we carry at the shop or the Tanner Goods belts that frequent my waist in that they’re made to look distressed and weathered from the get-go. He sources both new and old leathers: some are from Horween, while others are salvaged reins from Amish harness makers. Some belts are soaked in a stream for a few days and left out to tan naturally in the sun; others are painted and then sanded down. As for the buckles, they’re individually fashioned out of copper wire and thus no two are alike.

Billy offered to make a belt for me and I accepted; what arrived in the mail a month later could only be described as a beast…

The belt buckle is almost 5″ wide which makes it the largest one I own. It’s heavy, too; when I take my jeans off at night, they hit the floor with a resounding thud.  I am looking forward to seeing how the copper oxidizes over time.

The leather, while having a bit of aging work done to it already, still has lots of life left in it to change and darken with wear.

After receiving my first belt, I was a believer. I asked Billy to make something for my wife and he gladly obliged:

Come the fall, Cause and Effect will be available in several retail stores across the US, but if you want to purchase one in the meantime, there’s no website or catalog to order off of. The only way to do it is to email Billy and ask him to make one especially for you (which makes the entire process more charming, in my book).

Cause and Effect
billy.causeandeffect@gmail.com