Three Piece Buckle Sets in Fashion
In 1990 the three piece buckle sterling silver set started to become a fashion item. It was inspired on the three piece ranger sets used by cowboys in the western world. Pat Areias emerged quickly as one of the leading fashion designers in this field. In the mid 90's more than 20 companies designing sterling silver buckles. Pat Areias Belts had more than three hundred fashion accounts spread across the U.S.A. including Nordstroms, Neiman Marcus, Barneys and the best fashion boutiques in most cities. The major design houses thwarted this trend, by showing their latest creations with absolutely no accessories of any kind; belts or jewelry. As sales diminished, Pat Areias began to make the move from completely wholesale to a mostly retail business with great success.