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Years ago, I was visiting a friend in Scottsdale, Arizona, before attending an important travel writers conference. I had been writing articles nonstop for several months and was at the threshold of burnout. Conference attendees had meetings set up in advance with editors at top publications, and I was anxious that I had been unable to prepare for the meetings because of emotional overload. I had packed uber casual clothes and needed some better threads and kicks. I asked my Arizona friend if we could go shopping locally.

“Prices in the stores are crazy here,” she answered. “What about resale or consignment stores?”

At the resale shops, several owners told me they buy items outright from clients. At consignment stores, which often feature more higher-end threads, several managers said they don’t pay clients up front, but give them a percentage of sales and return the items if they don’t sell. At nonprofit thrift stores, the purchases typically constitute tax-deductible donations to worthy causes.

Let’s just put it this way: I fell in love. I became besotted with the shops where, for a few hundred dollars, I could have a new smart-casual-dress wardrobe.

At the writers’ convention, I told the editors of high-end publications about the shops, naming a few........

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