Product Review: MangoBay Design Belt + GIVEAWAY!

Oscar De La Renta said, “A woman makes an outfit her own with her accessories.” In the world of conservative colored breeches, black boots, and attire aimed to make everyone look alike, equestrians can find it difficult to stand out. Enter MangoBay Design to the equation and VOILÀ! It isn’t hard to stand out when you’re wearing a colorful, hand-printed, patterned belt on your breeches! Their hand-screened belts and hand-dyed scarves are all made in Connecticut, super affordable, and absolutely gorgeous.

I first heard about MangoBay Designs belts on social media and soon after I read Amanda from the $900 Facebook Pony’s spotlight with the creator, Pam. As soon as I saw the photos of the belts and read the story behind the business, I knew that I was going to need a MangoBay belt in my closet.

After spending an hour forcing myself to choose just one belt from the website, I settled on the Orléans Hunter/Jumper belt in Ebony on Warm Grey Webbing, the perfect color for schooling AND showing! A few days later it arrived on my doorstep wrapped up like a present with a ribbon and a MangoBay sticker.

The first thing I noticed was the quality of the belt. I have found that a lot of printed canvas belts can be thin and flimsy with the printing being more like a flaking painting. This is absolutely not the case with MangoBay. The webbing is thick, sturdy, and durable, while the printing looks like it was inked into the canvas and is there to stay. The jumping horse and fleur-de-lis pattern is fun, classy, and contrasts to the grey webbing enough to be seen but still be show appropriate.

Easily one of my favorite parts is the anti-slip rings. The belt has flat rings to prevent the belt from slipping through and becoming looser, a common flaw in ring-closure belts. Once you pull the end through to your desired tightness, it will stay put until you take it off, no matter how stubborn your breeches are. I tested this with one pair of my favorite breeches that I am constantly having to hike back up and I am happy to report that the belt didn’t budge.

Perhaps the best feature of the belt is that it is entirely hand made from start to finish in New England. I will absolutely be ordering more belts from MangoBay in the future!

And now for the even more exciting part, MangoBay Designs has graciously allowed me to choose a belt to give away to my readers! It was a tough decision, but I chose the Equestrian Collage belt in Indigo on Teal webbing in a size long (fits sizes 8 – 10, total strap length 45″). You can find the giveaway entry form here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2a8b190f1/?

The rules of the giveaway are as follows:
– Begins Wednesday, January 7th
– Ends Friday, January 16th
– Entries must be submitted using the form in the link above
– Open to residents of the United States ONLY (sorry international readers!)

Good luck to everyone entering and a HUGE thank you to Pam at MangoBay for the donation of the belt!

-TC