They regularly drop in on Mr Gold, who quizzes them closely, his wild greying locks and well-stuffed shirt pocket giving him the air of a rumpled physics professor expounding an exotic retail calculus.

ECONOMIST: Face value

As she peeked into my stuffed closet, I confessed to a daytime uniform of oversize jeans and a T-shirt.

WSJ: The Next Generation of Personal Shoppers

Jaelyn and her cousin were bringing stuffed monkeys one pink and one blue, each in a tiny tie-dyed shirt to leave at the makeshift memorial mounting on the front porch of the Richard home.

WSJ: In Boston Neighborhood, Shock at Death of 8-Year-Old