“Even if the economy’s down, a sale is all the more reason to buy something nice,” said a young woman in a dark, sharply tailored suit. Like the banker ahead of her, she declined to give her name, on the grounds that she was supposed to be at the office — in her case, helping to prepare Securities and Exchange Commission filings to comply with new hedge-fund regulations.

She folded her Wall Street Journal under one arm. “Buy something nice, it makes you look good. If you look good, you feel good. If you pay full price and things are unstable at your job, it takes away the enjoyment.”