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I don't know about you, but when I go on vacation, one of the things I look forward to the most is buying souvenirs. Yes, sightseeing and eating new foods are high on the list, too. But I love shopping so much that nothing else can compete. So it's really no wonder that when I went to Italy I came home with a pair of shoes, or that I went to Japan and came home with a kimono. Those kinds of locally-inspired clothing items are wonderful souvenirs that bring back lots of memories and are great conversation pieces as well. Even domestic travel here in the United States can afford many opportunities to buy some unique clothing items. Here are some ideas on what to look for during your next vacation.

If you want a great souvenir item that you'll actually wear and that is relatively cheap, then I suggest purchasing t-shirts from the places that you visit. For example, if you go to New York City, why not get one of those famous "I [heart] NY" t-shirts? You can also get t-shirts from famous places, or even from bars. When I was in college, I had a friend whose mission was to collect a bar t-shirt from all 50 states. He also had a couple of rules in place that made the task a bit harder. First, the bars had to be local establishments. No national chains allowed, which ruled out places like Hooters and Hard Rock Cafe. Second, the t-shirt had to have the name of the bar, plus the city and state printed on it. This was difficult because a lot of places would just have the bar name and not bother with the location. I have to admit that his collection was pretty cool. The last I heard, he had 31 t-shirts.

You can also get other souvenirs that have more of a regional flavor. For example, if you're traveling through the Southwestern United States, you'll find a lot of authentic Native American clothing items for sale. What would be a better memento of your trip than a pair of hand-made moccasins or a buckskin shirt? Or, you can also buy fabulous accessories such as beaded belts or coonskin caps for the kiddies. If you travel to Hawaii, you just can't leave without an aloha shirt. They are available everywhere on all the islands, and many couples even go so far as to buy the same shirt in order to pull off a matching look. In Hawaii, you'll also find their one-of-a-kind "red dirt" shirts that are made from real dirt (actually more of a clay). These shirts have a very cool coloring and even come with special washing instructions to help you preserve the color (and to make sure you don't turn the rest of your clothes into the same hue!

So with a little bit of checking around, you can come home from your next vacation with some great clothes that you'll actually be able to wear. That's much better than simply accumulating a bunch of souvenirs that you will just end up stuffing into a drawer!