BARGAINS : NOTHING OVER $20 MEANS EXACTLY THAT.

Byline: Trisha King & Deborah Newmark

Stores that offer bargains on women's clothing and accessories are becoming a trend. The new kid on the block is called Nothing Over $20, a Reseda store that features casual, business and evening attire at deeply discounted prices.

For example, Wild Rose dresses, in a variety of styles at well over $100 retail, are all priced at $19.99. Dresses and separates by Carole Little all top out at $19.99.

Nothing Over $20 has a different source than most bargain outlets. Rather than buying overruns, closeouts or canceled orders from manufacturers, goods are purchased from medium- to high-end department stores. In fact, savvy shoppers will recognize various department store price tags covered by Nothing Over $20 labels. Customers pay the lowest-priced tag.

Clothing racks are set up by price and style of clothing. On one $9.99 rack, we found $34 Lee relaxed-fit denim pants with an elasticized waist, $52 LizWear khaki pants and $36 Dockers.

Other racks feature tops, blouses, skirts, slacks, shorts and blazers for $6.99 to $19.99 with brand names such as Karen Kane, Pacific Silk Studio, Rampage, Carol Anderson, Leslie Fay, Liz Claiborne, Gloria Vanderbilt, Solutions and more. Dresses in formal to cocktail length were all $19.99, with names such as Roberta, Jessica McClintock, KC Spencer, All That Jazz and Niteline.

They carry petite, junior, misses and women's sizes. Inventory is always changing, and sizes vary from visit to visit. Everything is first-quality, but make sure to examine purchases carefully, because all sales are final (no returns or exchanges).

While there, don't overlook the accessories. Belts (Fossil, Guess?, Calvin Klein and more) are all $9.99, as are sunglasses with names such as Liz Claiborne, Anne Klein, Sun Cloud and 1's by Bausch & Lomb. The store also carries famous-maker lingerie, small leather goods and costume jewelry.

Nothing Over $20 is at 19381 Victory Blvd. (Loehmann's Plaza), Reseda; [phone]. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. There is also a store among the Citadel Factory Stores in the City of Commerce and one in Oxnard at the Oxnard Factory Outlet Center. American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa are accepted.

Inside info If you are looking to rent a new lawn mower, try Bob's Garden Machinery. At Bob's you can rent a gas push mower with rear bagger at $15 for a two-hour minimum, or $30 for 24 hours. Bob's also rents chain saws, weed trimmers, tillers, hedge trimmers and trailers. If you are looking to upgrade your equipment, Bob's accepts trade-ins. Bob's Garden Machinery is at 9933 Valley Blvd., El Monte 91731; [phone]. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Closed Wednesdays.

Brides-to-be should call Bridal Collection, which guarantees the lowest price on any name-brand wedding gown. They will pay you the difference if you find the same gown for less, up to two months after you purchased your gown. Check out the store's in-stock 50-percent-off rack of wedding gowns with prices starting at $195. Bridal Collection is at 792 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks 91360; [phone]. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

MEMO: Trisha King and Deborah Newmark are co-authors of ``Buying Retail Is Stupid.'' Bargains appears Saturdays. Please send suggestions of stores to Bargains, Daily News Features Department, P.O. Box 4200, Woodland Hills, Calif. 91365-4200.

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Photo: The price is right on famous-maker women's clothingat Nothing Over $20 in Reseda.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News