Even though she's mom to kids, ages 8, 10 and 12, Target's Amanda Corbin said she wouldn't mind being a kid again.
"Are you kidding?" she asked while looking at shelves of pencils, notebooks and backpacks. "I don't remember having cool back-to-school stuff like this when I was growing up."
That's a sentiment shared by Corbin's colleague Brenda Nelson, who is busily restocking merchandise days before the start of the school year.
"Years ago, every kid had the same pencils, erasers, book bag or whatever," Nelson, the mom of kids, ages 10, 12 and 20, explained. "It wasn't fun and it became boring quickly."
This has all changed since today's student want to express his or her individuality through school supplies.
"Judging form my own kids, this need for individuality begins toward the end of elementary school," Corbin noted.
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"And this need to showcase your personality doesn't even end in college," Nelson interjected. "I'm still buying school supplies for my daughter in college and her tastes are very specific."
Yet one things most student will agree on is that color is in, the brighter the better.
"One of the newest brand names is a company called Yoobi," Nelson said, showing off a large supply of kid-friendly pencil cases, composition books and assorted supplies. "All of their stuff is festive and bling-y and in pinks, blues, greens and aquas."
"I love their fuzzy pencil cases as well as the binder that come with googly eyes," Corbin said, pointing out some of her favorites. "Kids will go crazy over this kind of stuff.
"So might some adults," she added, checking the price tags of some polka-dotted office supplies. "This must be new."
Nelson walked over to the shelves containing notebooks.
"Notebooks are a great and inexpensive ways for kids to show off a bit of personality," she said. "Many notebooks have sports teams, musical acts and movie characters on their covers."
Indeed, some of this year's most popular notebooks are the movie-related ones, with characters from "Finding Dory" and "The Secret Life of Pets" becoming best sellers.
"Any parents know that a child's interests can change overnight," Nelson admitted. "Notebooks can reflect that short attention span."
Still, it probably won't make as drastic a statement as a book bag.
"Book bags are hot right now," Corbin said. "And the bags that have bright colors and big designs have been flying off the shelves."
Showing off book bags bearing large geometrical circles, chevrons or smiling whales got Corbin to thinking.
"Who said grown-ups can use book bags?" she asked. "These are just really cute."
