(FORTUNE Magazine) – Their heavy black wool vests and black and red pleated skirts help these entrepreneurs stand out from the crowds of Hungarians who cruise Budapest's Vaci Street. The brightly clad peddlers hope to snare customers from among the crowds thronging to a Reebok sneaker outlet, Estee Lauder perfumery, and other purveyors of brand-name Western goods. These enterprising individuals mutely offer handmade blankets, chess sets, clothing, toys, and sundry items. Their favorite customers are Americans and other Western tourists carrying hard currency. The sidewalk merchants are Rumanians who arrive illegally to sell their wares. Most come from the Transylvania region and many are of Hungarian extraction. Margins are small, but big enough to help buy some of the things that have long since disappeared from Rumanian stores. Says a schoolteacher, 38, who sold a box of handmade toy birds to buy heart medicine for his sick parents: ''I don't think in terms of hope anymore, just getting by. In Rumania, we have gotten used to living day by day.''- P.H.