Consignment stores are catnip to an impoverista (a clotheshorse who’s temporarily—or permanently—broke). First, you have the instant joy of spotting your favourite terra cotta or olive green, even if fashion currently ignores it. Next, although you may see their labels, this isn’t Gap or Club Monaco. It’s not racks and racks of the same thing; everything is one-of-a-kind.

Finally, and this is the kicker, there’s price. Here, you can actually afford the designer whose slave you are, especially now as consignment stores rid themselves of winter merchandise. Here are three stores you may not know about.

Long-time West Side staple Dragon and Phoenix (3510 West 41st Avenue, 604-261-1317) is in the throes of its year-end clearance. You’ll tear your hair out when you hear about the deals that—sorry—are likely gone by now, including the $40 black raglan-cut Wear Else? coat in perfect condition that’s in my closet. Take your chances, or just note that a July sale clears out summer merchandise; check for dates at www.dragonandphoenix.ca/.

The store is well laid out, with shoes categorized by size, and dove-soft cashmeres all clustered together. One died-and-gone-to-heaven rack had an Armani jacket in white-on-grey windowpane check ($40) nudging up against a long black skirt whose pleats signaled Issey Miyake, with its buttoned front partially open to reveal an eye-rocking hot-pink pleated insert ($60).

Nothing beats that immediate whoosh of adrenaline when you see Jil Sander pants for $25, a deceptively simple Prada skirt for $35, and a Donna Karan three-piece suit for $130. Store manager Georgia Brand says no item in the store is more than two years old, and normally each is marked down by 10 percent each month. Check the accessories showcases and you might nab Burberry shades for $25. Designer bags hang out behind the counter, with a structured brown patent Dolce & Gabbana one at $100 and an authentic Chanel, in the softest imaginable burgundy leather, for $400.

“Only about 30 percent is consignment,” says Fion Hsin at Shine (2970 West Broadway, 604-738-0738), but prices on the store’s other stock, mainly samples from Asia and Europe, are in the same sub-$40 ballpark. Most customers are in their 20s and early 30s, so funky looks predominate, such as a preowned Blushing hot-pink velvet top with black picot trim ($29.95). Although I did see a classy kimono-sleeved, plum-coloured top that was generously cut ($22.95), most items appeared to be in the small-to-medium range.

Overall, styles are cute and cool: a lilac cord jacket with matching chunky lace and sparkle trim ($39.95) is a typical example. Hsin says many consignors bring in fashion purchased offshore, so your odds of running into the same top or skirt are virtually nil.

Already the owner of a bargain “new” coat, I lucked into another (long, rose-printed, and cardigan-style from April Cornell for $20) at Act II Boutique (2599 West 16th Avenue, 604-733-5515). Off your usual shopping beat perhaps, but definitely worth adding to your list. Marsha Scott, who helps out there, says the store marks down stock regularly and holds two major sales, in January—currently, stock is reduced by up to 75 percent—and late summer.

Sizes run to 20 (on a “goddess sizes” rack), with designer labels making up about half the store. This is a gold mine for classics, handy if you’re making the transition from student gear to professional workwear. Here, you can snap up a Burberry taupe blazer ($45), a navy DKNY jacket ($20), or a Nancy Lord dark brown leather jacket ($150) that enable you to dress for the job you want, not the job they’re giving you. Other highlights included a Zonda Nellis sweater in marled burgundy yarn ($60) that I would have grabbed except that the cat would have destroyed it in minutes, and scads of leather jackets, including a Calvin Klein three-quarter version for $70.

Be imaginative when you shop consignment. Riff on a garment’s possibilities. I spotted a brand-new, long Gianfranco Ferré skirt in an apricot suede-look fabric, still bearing its original tag of $645 but marked down to under $50. Yes, the style was too long for current trends, but hello? How much time does it take to chop and stitch up a hem, or have your dry cleaner do it?

Some pink-loving grrrl could take that tweed Chanel-inspired suit by Lida Baday ($32), sling the jacket over her jeans, and team the skirt with a T-shirt and hoodie. It’s not a bad, if late, resolution for 2008: move away from mainstream fashion and develop your own individual style. It works for impoveristas.