Beach Accessories

The beach was the place to go whenever I went home for summer vacations when I was a little girl. The funny thing was that I still could remember that in the province we never wore bathing suits. Shorts and t-shirts (don’t gasp) were our swimwear. It was only when I was living in the big city that I learned to use a bathing suit. And thus, the introduction to all the other beach accessories available. The beach accessories included beach wraps or sarong, sunglasses, beach hats, towels or blankets, beach bags and flip flops to match. It was such a complicated thing for a country girl like me. But then again, somewhere along the way, we learned much living in the colorful city life.

One of the beach accessories that I grew to love was the beach wrap. This fashionable swimwear accessory often called as the sarong or pareos are large pieces of fabric made of cotton or rayon or other sheer fabrics. What drew me to them were the prints that could be floral (orchids, hibiscus, and other flower design); or patterns that came in bold colors, tie-dye styles; some are scenery of the beach or the sunset and many more.

I have several sarongs—smaller pieces used as a wrap around skirt to bigger pieces that I could use as a dress. Whenever we have themed parties like the Hawaiian luau, the sarong comes in handy. I also love giving sarongs as a birthday present.

When it comes to health, my dad who is the health buff would never cease to remind us to protect ourselves against too much sun. You could also use your sarong as a shawl to protect your shoulders or upper body.

Never forget to bring your sunscreen. That is one beach accessory that is a must have. I don't know about you but I don't like having a sunburn. That is one ouchy ouch experience.

Coupled with sunscreen are of course, the sunglasses. The glare of the sun sometimes would give me a huge headache.To prevent that, better use sunglasses.

Now there are a lot of cheap sunglasses around for fashion purposes. But I propose you invest in a good brand with uv protection lenses. I’ve discovered the cheap sunglasses hurt my vision in the long run.

How to Choose the Right Sunblock

Going back to my childhood days, I would remember that we would just bring with us the towels we use to dry ourselves at home. It amused me so much to discover that there are beach towels that were oversized than the ordinary blankets. And there were so many beautiful colors and designs available too. So aside from toweling ourselves dry, I also discovered that other people use these beach towels or blankets to sit or lie on. I laughed again. I could imagine my dad prohibiting us from doing that so the towels will not get dirty.

I'm guilty! When my dad is not around; I would spread the beach towel or beach blanket and lie contentedly on the beach. Sssh, that is just our little secret okay? Don’t tell my dad.

You can’t possibly go to the beach without a bag of sort to put all your things and beach accessories.  Okay let me see.  Well, we use to just bring any bag that we could find in the house like the promotional bags given during Christmas.  Later on, we girls fell in love with the different beach bag or totes.  I even remember selling canvas totes that had cute designs.  The most important thing to consider, aside from the design or type of material that is being used, is the size of your beach bag.  It should be large enough to put all your beach accessories.

Personally, I don’t like wearing hats to the beach. In fact, even if I end up bringing a hat, I recall never wearing it. So I stopped bringing one to the beach.

But for protection against too much sun, it could come in really handy. There are many hats available and you can choose what type of hat you would like to wear.

From the head to the body, now we move on to our feet. This is one of the best things I like to do--choosing a flip flop or sandals and not having to wear closed shoes or high heels for the day. It just feels so darn comfortable. Flip flops are my favorites! What’s yours?

If you want to see more designs:

Sandals-Comfortable, Stylish, Cool and More

In the beach in the province, we normally have cottages so if we wanted to rest, we would sleep—sitting up!  Ok, maybe recline a bit on the cottage seat. I couldn’t recall ever bringing beach chairs. Later on I understood why people would be bringing beach chairs because all they had was a long strip of sand. Aaaaahhhh! Definitely, one option is to lie down on the beach on your towel or blanket… or a beach chair! Definitely, you can lounge around comfortably all through out the day under the sun.

The foldable chairs can also be used for other events like picnics or having a barbeque party in your backyard or going to parks or a pool party. So buying one can be a good investment.

I’ve had a wonderful time looking for photos for this beach accessories hub. It brought a smile as I recalled how different it was when I was younger. Today there are so many stuff that we can now acquire and use when we go to the beach.

I guess some habits are hard to break though. When I do go home to the province, I still find myself grabbing a shirt and shorts just like everyone else; use the worn out towels, and at the beach, making sure we don’t dirty our towels with sand, sleep sitting up and eat the fresh fruits and food, feel the cool breeze, basking in the warmth of the sun and company of the family and having the best time ever.

That is what is important after all, right? Enjoy your day at the beach!

By: Michelle Simtoco