The Amarillo Launch
Amarillo started as nothing more than a personal itch. Since we released our three Studded Western belts, I have worn them almost every day. The one thing that bothered me was that all three are black. I wanted to wear a heavily decorated belt with brown boots, and there was simply no belt in the same color as the boots.
I own plenty of brown belts, of course, but none of them carried studs or jewels. Around that time I came across a vintage belt, and I liked its design and its construction so much that I decided to build it myself.
That is how Amarillo came to be. It is a belt that began with a purely personal want. Honestly, it broke the pattern Brake House has followed for every release so far. Which piece is truly essential in the heritage wardrobe? Which of those pieces do people find hard to get their hands on? Or, without overthinking it, what are our existing customers asking for? Amarillo did not come out of any of those questions. It came out of a vague wish to make the belt I would want to wear every day.
After talking it through with Qingyang, we swapped the snakeskin used on the original vintage piece for lizard, for durability, and kept the vintage feel with an antique brass buckle. The jewels are the same ones we use on the Studded Western belts. They feel nothing like acrylic, and every facet catches the light differently as the angle changes, which gives the belt a depth you can see from across the room.
For a belt we released with no announcement and no lead-up, a surprising number of you have already found it, and I am genuinely grateful. We are heading to Japan soon with Simon for Leathers Day, and I plan to wear this belt there and show it to you along the way.
The Garrison Tea-core Belt Is Getting a Renewal
Of all our Garrison belts, the Tea-core is the most popular. We are about to renew it, and once again Qingyang and I are in the middle of sample work. The focus this time is on bringing out as much vintage texture as we can. The current belt has nothing to apologize for, but we saw a few places where it could be better, and this renewal is the chance to make those changes.
Beyond the buckle and the choice of leather, we plan to attach the buckle to the strap the way classic garrison belts were built. If you have ever worn a garrison belt from that legendary American heritage brand everyone knows, you will recognize this detail right away.
Here are a few photos from the sample work. Keep an eye out for the renewed belt, it is not far off.
