A Beaded Belt to be Admired

My father in law was never very good at buying me Christmas presents. Every year he would hand over a parcel which I would leave until the last minute hoping that people would forget I hadn't opened it. Last Christmas was no different, the parcel was handed over and I dawdled opening it. But then, inevitably I had to. It was what I thought at the time, the usual weird present. A huge belt made of wooden beads with a strange ornately carved wooden clasp. I said thanks, took it home and put it in a draw.

Three months later I bought a white dress which was lovely but needed some sort of accessory. I got the belt out and had another look – still weird but I put it on all the same. I spent the rest of the day receiving compliments, not about my dress, but about my belt. My husband noticed it (amazing!) my very fussy little sister liked it, my friends at work liked it and even a total stranger stopped me while I was getting petrol to ask where I had got it from.

I now look at this belt in a total new light. The beads are dark brown and straw coloured and interwoven together on stretchy cord to form waves of dark and brown. It is about 10 inches wide and sits on my waist and the clasp is carved in dark wood and clips together to form a half moon shape. I like it because it can liven up a boring outfit and is a good focal point. It also does a great job of nipping in my waist and giving me the coveted hour glass figure that us women crave. And most importantly I like it because every time I wear it I get someone asking where it is from, or how nice they think it is. Which, obviously, makes me feel good!

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