Cute back-to-school looks on the cheap? It's possible.

It may feel like summer vacation just began, but millions of you on-top-of-things shoppers are already doing your back-to-school shopping. I say, if you're contributing to the $7.9 billion going to K-12 clothing alone, at the very least spend wisely and shop stylishly.

Tots: Gone are the days when the elementary set was happy wearing hand-me-downs. For better or worse, today's kids are more fashion-forward than ever. To strike a happy medium where the kids are content with the style and you're happy with the money outlay, consider stores like kohls.com, where I found a Hannah Montana shirt for $11.20 and adorable jeans in the under-$15 range. For boys, there are similarly priced graphic tops and jeans. If you're on a trend watch, plaids, leggings sets and graphic anything-but-subtle tops are in.

Tweens: Ah, the fickle tween set, known best for changing minds faster than you can change a dollar bill. This year, we'll be seeing a lot of '80s, layered looks, rocker tees in bold-statement colors, cropped pants and hoodies. Jcpenney.com has a nice broad selection at solid prices. If your boy is into the preppy look, there are polos and khakis to be had for well under $20. I also found some pleasantly affordable prices at Nordstrom.com -- chic leggings for $14 and a $24 striped tunic.

Teens: And for the fiercely independent -- though so rarely financially independent -- teens in your life, expect all manner of stylish duds to appear in the hallways. Spurred on by the salacious "Gossip Girl," we'll see ultra-collegiate looks, from plaids to crested blazers to patterned tights. For the guys, expect super-snug jeans, brightly colored tops, stripes and argyles. It's hard to beat Forever 21 and American Apparel for of-the-moment back-to-school looks.

If you're among those who will be spending an average of $234.51 on clothing this back-to-school season -- as the National Retail Federation says you probably are -- just remember the light at the end of the tunnel. The kids will, after all, be going back to school.

(Helen Malani is the Chief Shopping Expert for Shopzilla.com, a Scripps Networks Interactive company, and the largest comparison shopping search engine on the Web. Email Helen at askhelen(at)shopzilla.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.net.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)