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Discount bridal shops can be the right fit for planning a wedding on a budget, especially in tough economic times.

In Greensboro, Budget Bridal and Formal Wear (2623 Battleground Ave.; 282-8333), which will be open until April, sells gowns that would normally cost $2,000 to $5,000 for as little as $499.

Why so cheap?

"They're just samples or discontinued merchandise," said owner Kathleen Parker, who opened the store Jan. 16. "It's just ridiculous not to save $2,000 to $3,000."

Parker said the gowns may have been tried on before, but they have never been owned.

"Some girls do have an issue with that because they want a dress that nobody else has tried on, even if the sample in our store is brand new," she said.

Parker, who also owns Divas Boutique and Bridal (2616 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro; 545-9797), described the gowns as being in mint condition. Each is kept zipped in a bag.

Budget Bridal and Formal Wear also sells formal attire at deep discounts, such as mother-of-the-bride dresses, groom attire, evening wear and cocktail and prom dresses.

You'll also find discounted jewelry, veils and shoes.

Ten percent of all sales benefit Friends of Gateway Foundation's infant-toddler program.

Store hours are 2 to 6 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday

The store will be open until April 25.

High-end consignment

Faye Mohorn points to a Century French country dining table for sale in her consignment shop in Greensboro.

The price is $1,195.

Not cheap by any stretch.

But consider this: The table is new and normally sells for $7,400.

Mohorn's message? Put aside any preconceived notions you might have about consignment stores.

"This is a high-end consignment shop that caters to designers and couples that have just gotten married," said Mohorn, owner of Maison (2471 Lawndale Drive, Suite A; 288-7488), which is French for home.

Business has been steady, thanks in large part to word of mouth.

"I have customers that come into this store daily that say, 'You have the best kept secret in Greensboro,' " she said.

The store, which is near the Target shopping center, opened in November 2008.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

If the shoe fits, paint it

Paint your new TOMS shoes while helping kids in need.

Order your white or natural TOMS from Jack Cecil (2920-D Martinsville Road, Greensboro; 286-1100) by Saturday to ensure your size is available, then come to the store Feb. 27 to design and paint them.

Jack Cecil will provide the painting supplies.

The store asks that you bring a new or gently used pair of shoes to be donated to a child in need in Greensboro.

Jack Cecil is at Winstead Commons at Pisgah Church Road and Lawndale Drive.

Get a haircut, help Haiti

For $10, you can get a haircut and help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

The fundraiser is from 1 to 6 p.m. today at Divine Designs Salon (705-G W. Main St., Jamestown; 885-6519).

The salon is in the Ace Hardware and Dollar General shopping center.

Cash or checks only. Make checks payable to the American Red Cross.

Winter clearance sale

Freedom House Thrift (4639-E W. Market St., Greensboro; 855-0029) is having a 50 percent off winter clearance sale in February.

The thrift store also will begin selling spring fashions this month.

The store is run by Freedom House, a nonprofit Christian ministry. It's in the Marshall's Shopping Center at Spring Garden Street.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Toys & Co. moves

Toys & Co. (3110 Northline Ave, Greensboro; 294-1114) has recently moved into bigger digs.

The Friendly Center store was at 627 Friendly Center Road near Harper's Restaurant.

But it needed more space, so the store relocated in another part of Friendly Center at 3110 Northline Ave., near Barnes & Noble. The new location is about 1,500 square feet larger.

Jewelry trunk show

Custom-design sterling silver and gem stone jewelry will be featured during an Exotic Maharaja trunk show at Songbirds Consignments (2610 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro; 288-5456).

The show includes a selection of garnets, pearls, amethysts, corals, onyxes, turquoises, citrines, sapphires and lapises. You can buy them during the event or put them on layaway.

It will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday. The store is across from Target shopping center.

New Dollar Tree opens

Dollar Tree (2805 Battleground Ave.; 282-5902) opened another store in Greensboro today. The 8,056-square-foot store is at the Northwest Centre, a strip mall anchored by Ross and TJ Maxx.

New shipments

Sylvia's Outlet (4654 U.S. 29, Greensboro; 621-6466) recently received a shipment of jewelry from designers including Nolan Miller and Joan Rivers. The store also has restocked its Royal Palace brand of accent rugs and runners.

A new shipment from Denim & Co. has arrived, too.

Sam's improving samples

Walmart is hoping you'll better enjoy sample offered at its Sam's Club warehouses.

The retail giant is turning over the job of in-store product demonstrations to Shopper Events, an outside marketing company.

Sam's Club hopes the company will help improve sampling in areas including personal wellness products and food items so shoppers will buy more stuff.

It's part of Walmart's recent announcement that it's cutting about 11,200 jobs at Sam's Club stores to boost sales.

Plans also call for closing 10 underperforming warehouse locations. Those locations were not in the Triad.

Get a grip on video games

Nintendo's Wii ($200) remains the most popular video game system on the market.

Kids, parents, even grandparents are in on the action.

A big draw is Wii's innovative, wand-like controller, which makes playing games with your family a blast.

But what if you didn't have to use a controller to play video games?

In 2009, Microsoft unveiled plans for an add-on to its Xbox 360 that lets you control the video game action by moving around the living room.

Want to control that racing car on your TV screen? Simple. As you're sitting on the couch, just move your hands and arms as if you were operating an invisible steering wheel.

A sensor device hooked to your Xbox 360 detects your motions, causing the race car in the game to turn in the direction you want it to go.

Nothing official yet, but expect to shell out about $200 for Microsoft's controller-free gizmo, which is called Project Natal. That doesn't include the cost of the Xbox 360 itself, the cheapest version being $200.

Sony, meanwhile, believes the future still lies with motion-sensing controllers in hoping to give Wii a run for its money.

Used with the existing PlayStation 3 camera, Sony's future wand-like controller can track players' voices, faces and body motion.

The price hasn't been set.

PlayStation 3s start at $300.

Sony recently announced it has postponed the release of the planned controller until the fall.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is expected to release Project Natal in time for the holidays.

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Do you have a retail tip for Savvy Shopper? Contact Mike Fuchs at 373-3465 or michael.fuchs@news-record.com