Nov. 20--Frugal is the new black.

It's a rough economy out there, but the season dictates that you're going to have to buy something -- holiday gifts, winter clothes, flannel sheets. That need could inspire the economy-minded to reconsider a kind of shopping they might once have dismissed: bargain stores.

"Even in New York, people are budget shopping," said Milwaukee-born Kathryn Finney, author of the blog www.budgetfashionista.comand the 2006 book "How to Be a Budget Fashionista."

Finney, who lives in New York, has been price-tag savvy for years. These days, she looks clairvoyant as well, suggesting there's no reason to ever pay the full retail price for anything from jeans to 300-thread-count sheets.

The bonus: There's something satisfying about getting a brand-name for under the retail price.

"Getting a deal always feels good," said Matt Wallaert, a behavioral psychologist and chief scientist for the financial Web site www.justthrive.com. "Getting a deal speaks to my savvy, speaks to my being current."

However, no-frills shopping can be time-consuming and labor-intensive if you're used to the immediate gratification offered by malls, department stores and boutiques. Off-price stores -- those that forgo touches such as carefully tended inventory, spacious dressing rooms and good lighting -- can feel overwhelming.

Some people, including Christine Cloninger of Whitefish Bay, enjoy such a challenge.

"Even if I was a wealthy person I would shop here. It's fun," Cloninger said as she browsed at T.J. Maxx in Brown Deer.

"I spend about five hours here when I come," she said as she proudly described her bargains: a brand-name purse for $79.99 for her daughter, a pair of designer jeans that were $100 less than the retail price. Her one-day total: $600 -- a fact she revealed later the same afternoon when she was spotted pushing a cart through the aisles of a nearby Marshalls.

To help those not as savvy about off-price stores as Cloninger, we checked out some area stores and came up with some strategies to make them easier to navigate.

Marshalls Mega

2625 S. 108th St.; 9140 N. Green Bay Road, Brown Deer; 12645 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield; 2952 Golf Road, Delafield

Finney, the Budget Fashionista, recommends Marshalls for shoes and undergarments: "They have really nice underwear, not just a bunch of granny panties."

T.J. Maxx and Marshalls Mega are owned by the same company, but the two stores have differences. Marshalls carries shoes for the entire family. T.J. Maxx has shoes for women only; it also has a jewelry counter in each store. Marshalls appears to concentrate more on items for the home, from sheets and blankets to dishes and picture frames -- even a bathroom vanity with granite top available for $599.99.

Finney says the best time to shop either Marshalls or T.J. Maxx is on a Tuesday or Wednesday because the stock is fresh and still relatively neat.