New belt smells like fish.

Free trouser belts might as well be the electrical cord Nelson's friend uses in The Simpsons.
 
Maybe a read of this style forum's thread from styleforums.net

Seems this guy was in a similar position..


"I recently purchased a leather belt, and when I took it out of the suitcase upon arrival last night, I noticed it had a strong "fishy smell" which I hadn't noticed before. Any explanation to this, and more importantly, will it dissipate? Should I do anything? It was a cheap belt, but it fits (a miracle) and I like it."

"FISH BELT! I've had this before, and it isn't fun. I don't know why some belts smell like fish, but it's very strong. It does dissipate a little, but perhaps you could speed it along by polishing the belt."

"Here's the answer from a friend of mine :( :

Fabienne, my guess is that the smell comes from the quality of the tanning process. The tannery uses chemicals, including salt, to remove hair, etc. and then extracts of tree bark (tannin) are used to strengthen and color the leather. If this process isn't done well, the leather still maintains some of its flesh-like characteristics and can slowly rot, just like flesh (yuk!) It may also be that the chemicals were not well removed at the end of the process. I suppose that you could try baking it in a low temperature oven (say 200F) a few hours to kill any microbes, (or drive off any remaining volatile chemicals) and then give it a good coat of mink or neatsfoot oil.

I think that your friend's explanation is most unlikely, and a fishy smell is not characteristic of rotting leather/flesh. Rawhide is untanned leather, and it does not produce these smells.

Oil tanning was the traditional technique to produce chamois and other soft leathers, but I suspect that the odour has been produced by one of the oils used in finishing the leather after it was dyed. I think that putting the belt in an oven would be rather drastic. I would wash it with a good quality leather soap, and use a beeswax leather finish to disguise the smell. Many people find the smell of neatsfoot oil unpleasant."

In hindsight, I don't think this is down to an STI.
 
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Wanted to wear said belt to work today, so I sprayed it with some lynx but it turned a funny colour so had to give it a miss.

Do you actually reckon rubbing a lemon on it will work?
 
i cant believe people think £20 for a belt is cheap :S

are you the same people who buy those polo shirts with the small crocodile icon on for £50 like someone did a few weeks ago?
 
arknor said:
i cant believe people think £20 for a belt is cheap :S

are you the same people who buy those polo shirts with the small crocodile icon on for £50 like someone did a few weeks ago?
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It is for a leather belt. I guess you are the type of person who thinks £100 isn;t cheap for a leather jacket?
 
big difference between a belt and a leather jacket :S you cant even compare them one is a simple peice of leather with a buckle the other is quite intricate and needs to fit well which usally = money

i guess it comes down to
1, you just want a nice quality leather belt
2, you want a leather belt with a brand name plastered on it and a 200% markup
 
Take it back and tell them their belt gave you an STI. Record the conversation and host on YouTube.
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Please do this. Just call customer services and record the conversation.
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If theres enough demand, I will do this (ringing up not going into the shop saying I have an STI)

EDIT: I don't have an STI btw
 
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