Boys' Accessories
Buy and sell boys’ accessories in Panama.
In a country where boys grow up on the baseball diamond, the cap is the accessory that matters most, and a Yankees cap or one from his province’s team in a youth size often reaches a second owner long before it is worn out. Sunglasses and watches follow close behind, and a clip-on bow tie for a family wedding is the classic piece worn once. New or pre-owned, they run from toddler sizes up to adult fits. The front of a cap or a watch looks the same new or worn; the wear shows on the inside, which is where a good listing points the camera.
Fitted caps against snapbacks in youth sizes:
the choice decides how long the cap lasts him. A fitted cap comes in exact sizes, and youth fitted caps from New Era run from 6 to 6 3/4. A boy who grows a size between one Little League season and the next simply cannot wear it. Snapbacks and strap-backs are sold by age band instead, child or youth, which buys a couple of years. Measure round the head about a finger’s width above the eyebrows. MLB teams are the usual picks, but a cap from a provincial side such as Herrera or Chiriquí is worn just as proudly in Chitré or David. A licensed youth cap costs around $30 to $45 new. A used cap with its visor sticker and a clean sweatband sells near that; once the sweatband has gone yellow and the crown has lost its shape, the logo alone does not hold the price.
Children’s sunglasses and watches, read from the label:
with sunglasses, the darkness of the lens says nothing about protection. Look for UV400 printed on the inside of the arm or on the tag. Polarised lenses go further and cut the glare off water, on a boat or at the beach. Rubber or flexible frames survive being sat on, and Ray-Ban and Oakley both make junior lines. Boys’ watches are mostly digital, from Casio and Timex, and the water rating on the case is the figure to read: the lowest ratings cover splashes and handwashing, and a watch that goes in the pool needs a higher one.
Belts, bow ties and backpacks:
an elastic stretch belt with a buckle suits a boy still learning to dress himself, while a leather belt is sized by the waist and should have spare holes for growth. Clip-on ties and bow ties rarely see more than a wedding or a christening, so they tend to turn up almost new. A backpack takes the hardest wear of the lot, and its value lives in the zips and in the stitching where the straps meet the body. The trousers those belts hold up are in boys’ clothing, the shoes in boys’ shoes, and hair clips, bags and caps for a sister in girls’ accessories.
The sweatband test on a used cap:
turn it over first. A sweatband stained dark or yellow has soaked up a season of sun and sweat; it cleans up but rarely comes back white. A visor creased down the middle or a crown pushed in will not hold its shape again. New Era caps are copied heavily, so check the details a copier gets wrong: the tape over the inside seams should carry crisp New Era printing rather than blurred letters, the embroidery should be dense with no loose threads, and licensed MLB caps carry a hologram sticker. On used sunglasses, look for scratches in the centre of the lens and hinges that wobble. On a watch, ask whether the back has been opened for a battery, and unless the seal was replaced, treat it as splash-proof only.
A cap he outgrew after one season, listed properly:
give the size from the inside label, either the fitted number or the age band on an adjustable cap. Photograph the front, the underside of the visor, the sweatband and the inside tags in daylight, stain included, because a parent will see it the moment the cap is in hand. For sunglasses, photograph the UV400 marking; for a watch, say whether it still runs on its original battery. Most youth caps come up for sale when a boy moves into adult sizes, so a seller often has several from different seasons; listing them together with each size written out lets a parent take the two that fit and leave the rest.