FashBlog.com

By Christina VanGinkel

Accessories have always been an important part of what is fashionable, and what is not. Things that are stylin' one season may be old news by the next, and with accessories often rivaling the price of clothing itself, making informed decisions on what accessories to purchase can be quite important, especially if shopping within a budget. Read fashion magazines, check what is selling at the mall, look online, and consider what your friends are wearing.

Wanting to send my son off to school in gear that will help him blend in with the crowd may not be of maximum importance, but it is something I like to do. As an adult, I myself also like to fit in, so I realize that it can be an important issue to a teenager. While not for everyone, accessories are a way to bridge the gap when making sure your outfit blends with the crowd. Whether shopping for a belt, purse, tote, cap, or a mini accessory such as an MP3 cover, try to be as sensible as you are when shopping for your wardrobe's essentials, as they can be making just as big a fashion statement as your clothes themselves.

A good thing to keep in mind though, is that the most popular accessories can often be found as giveaways! Consider the MP3 player cover fashioned from denim material that I recently discovered at Macy's online. It is a freebie with any $35 purchase from the juniors or young men's department. So fashionable is it, I am tempted to make a purchase just to receive the denim cover! I am sure my son would flip for one if he saw it, and his birthday is fast approaching. A perfect fit for an iPod Mini, it has both a use (to protect your MP3 player from scratches and dirt), and it is cool looking. In addition, with nearly everybody I know near that junior age range, carrying an MP3 player around, I am sure it is something my son would be more than happy to use. That it is a freebie, made it even more appealing, at least to me, his mother, who will be paying for all accessories he heads off to school with this fall.

Caps are another accessory that I know he deems important, though I doubt I will be finding any under the category of free, at least not any that he will deem fashionable. This is also an area that I may foot the bill for, but I let him choose his own, as each cap can have a difference that means little to me, but can be significant to him. The design is as important here as any other accessory, but so is the fabric and the fabric weight. Caps must fit the wearer in a way that only the person wearing it can explain. In my son's words, 'some caps sit too low on the head, no matter how you adjust them'. Showing me what he meant, I realized a cap that I liked and tried to talk him into buying, would just flop on the top when he placed it on his head. Another one that he picked out held its shape when he wore it, so to each wearer his own preference must take priority, as accessories can make or break an outfit.