BARGAINS : DISCOUNTED SUITS SWIM OUT THE DOOR.

Byline: Trisha King & Deborah Newmark

As one of the first genuine discount houses in Los Angeles, Kirkpatrick Sales always has been our store of choice for swimwear. We sadly report that Kirkpatrick Sales, in business since the late 1930s and in the same Culver City location since 1951, will be closing its doors forever at the end of the summer.

In the meantime, you still can take advantage of Kirkpatrick's unbelievable selection of more than 7,000 one- and two-piece bathing suits priced at about 30 percent to 50 percent below department store prices. For example, a bikini by Bare Assets, with embroidered flowers on black, runs $33 instead of $68 or more retail. The matching pullover, with cap sleeves that also can be worn as a snug-fitting top, runs $14.

With so many bathing suits in stock, Kirkpatrick Sales has something suitable for just about everyone. One-piece suits in prints and solids sell for $33 to $38, instead of as much as $70 retail. The suits are available with regular, high, skirted or boy-cut legs, and with or without tummy-control panels. Bathing suits also are available with or without built-in bras, and many two-piece versions have Wonderbra-style tops (some have removable pads).

If you like a different look, or you wear one size on top and another on the bottom, Kirkpatrick's offers plenty of mix-and-match bikini tops and bottoms priced at $4 each.

Sizes run 6 to 46 for women, and 5 to 15 for juniors. Men's bathing trunks - in prints, solids and various lengths for $6.75 to $15 - are available in sizes small, medium, large and extra-large.

Starting in the middle of July, Kirkpatrick Sales will start offering flat pricing such as $24 for any one-piece bathing suit. Prices will be dropped weekly until everything is sold.

It saddens us to say goodbye to an old friend, but Aug. 31 will be Kirkpatrick's last day in business.

Kirkpatrick Sales is at 8592 Washington Blvd., Culver City; [phone]. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. MasterCard and Visa are accepted. All sales are final; no returns.

Inside info Preserve your wedding, bar mitzvah, anniversary or any event by hiring Slippery Rock Productions, which videotapes events starting at $600 ($975 elsewhere). Price includes one camera operator for six hours, plus editing for a finished product. Slippery Rock Productions also does ``home inventory videos,'' which facilitates insurance reimbursement for valuables and personal items lost or damaged in the event of theft, fire or a natural disaster. Prices start at $250, which includes a copy of the tape for you and another copy to put in a safe-deposit box. Call Slippery Rock Productions at [phone]. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, by appointment only.

Fast Foto 1 HR offers black-and-white reproductions, 5-inch-by-7-inch photos for $3.50 (elsewhere $5.50) or 8-inch-by-10-inch photos, for $5.50 (elsewhere $6.70). Ask about Fast Foto's volume discounts for additional savings. The best thing about Fast Foto 1 HR is its on-premises lab; it will complete your job the same day or the next day (other shops need at least two to five days). Fast Foto 1 HR also can retouch old photos. Fast Foto 1 HR is at 19383 Victory Blvd., (Loehmann's Plaza), Reseda; [phone]. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.

MEMO: Trisha King and Deborah Newmark are co-authors of ``Buying Retail Is Stupid.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Kirkpatrick Sales has more than 7,000 one- and two-p iece bathing suits priced at about 30 percent to 50 percent below department store prices. The store is closing at summer's end.

David Crane/Daily News