I'm not looking for code as much as I'm looking for a simple way to implement the following...

I'm wondering how everybody "gives" models different pieces of equipment. In a 3rd person environment where you want the model to display what they are carrying, how do you go about giving a model different things? Weapons, armor, hair, clothes, etc. Better still, what's the best way to manage them all? I'm assuming there has to be a parent/child relationship between most items, but how do you keep track of it all and what's the best way to approach it (both artistically and in the programming)?