Case in point: you’ve probably got a belt like the ones we found at various stores on Newbury Street and its swanky environs. (Cross the Charles and hit Harvard Square’s J. Press or the Andover Shop for original, un-ironic prepster accessories.) They’re a revival of ’80s schoolgirl chic — you’d expect to see one holding up Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Sassoon jeans in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. One part Oak Bluffs, one part West Broadway, they are a modern combination of preppy and hip. And if you threw your old ones away, don’t worry. Whereas most decent-quality leather belts start at $30, these belts are generally cheap — most of the time you can find one for around $15.

Some of the styles have even been updated for this century. Take the Gap chartreuse stretch belt with lime-green stripes and a silver interlocking clasp ($16.50). It’s two inches thick, so it fits the big belt loops on jeans. Double-ring clasps are also back in style: Urban Outfitters has ’em on a wide white grosgrain-ribbon belt with pencil-thin red stripes ($14), and the Prince of Prep, Ralph Lauren, has come out with a more demure pale-blue version — with the navy polo-player logo given prominent placement ($30). It’s not the only big name, either: Neiman Marcus carries a stretchy black Miu Miu belt with a hook fastener (though it clocks in at a whopping $76). And if you’re really in the mood to camp it up, Urban Outfitters also has a green canvas belt with a cherry printed ribbon sewn onto it for $12.

Probably the best part of owning one of these belts is that some of them never really went out of style. Army Barracks of Boston, on Newbury Street, has three huge bins of thick canvas belts with silver- and gold-colored buckles. Our favorite is green camouflage with a silver buckle; like almost all the other belts in the bins, it sells for $3.49.