Do you dream of carrying a different up-to-the-minute "It" bag every month a la Mary-Kate, Lindsay or Jessica, but don't have the dough to make "It" a reality?
Wake up and smell the Chloe. The Chloe Paddington bag, that is. And the Balenciaga Motorcycle, Louis Vuitton Eclipse, Marc Jacobs Stam, Judith Lieber miniadaure, Fendi Spy, Dior Detective and every other classic and trendy zillion dollar handbag you can think of.
Thanks to two clever rental websites, it's now possible for you (or that hard-to-please fashionista on your holiday gift list) to carry the $500 or $2000 bag of your dreams - and to swap it out for a brand spanking new model every month - for a fraction of what it would cost to buy all the latest must-have bags outright.
At From Bags to Riches (www.frombagstoriches.com; 1-877-FROM-BAGS), purses are grouped by category - Madison Avenue, Palm Beach, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and Monaco Runway - and rentals run from $20 a week to $190 a month (the latter for two super swanky bags). You can rent a Balenciaga Motorcycle bag (which sells for $995 in stores) or an embroidered and bejeweled Valentino Duffle (worth $2,655) for $73 a week, or check out a Donald Pliner Darcy hobo (retail value: $275) for a mere $30 a month.
At Bag, Borrow or Steal (www.bagborroworsteal.com; 1-866-922-BBOS), meanwhile, there are three levels of membership: Trendsetter, Princess or Diva, which run from $20 to $100 a month for a minimum of three months. Here, you can nab a black Chloe Paddington (retail: $1,995) for $150 a month, swap it it for a chocolate leather Fendi Spy bag (which would set you back $2,495 retail) for $200 the following month or carry a metallic J. Lo satchel or pretty Kate Spade evening bag for just $20 a month. Want to rent more than one bag at a time? No problem. Your Chanel wish is BBOS's command for an extra $15 to $75 per month.
Both sites also offer insurance, from $3 to $20, depending on the cost of the bag, so you won't be left holding the, errr...bag, if your Mulberry or Dooney & Bourke rental gets damaged or stolen.
Just think: with all the money you save, you can buy a new wallet.
Wake up and smell the Chloe. The Chloe Paddington bag, that is. And the Balenciaga Motorcycle, Louis Vuitton Eclipse, Marc Jacobs Stam, Judith Lieber miniadaure, Fendi Spy, Dior Detective and every other classic and trendy zillion dollar handbag you can think of.
Thanks to two clever rental websites, it's now possible for you (or that hard-to-please fashionista on your holiday gift list) to carry the $500 or $2000 bag of your dreams - and to swap it out for a brand spanking new model every month - for a fraction of what it would cost to buy all the latest must-have bags outright.
At From Bags to Riches (www.frombagstoriches.com; 1-877-FROM-BAGS), purses are grouped by category - Madison Avenue, Palm Beach, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and Monaco Runway - and rentals run from $20 a week to $190 a month (the latter for two super swanky bags). You can rent a Balenciaga Motorcycle bag (which sells for $995 in stores) or an embroidered and bejeweled Valentino Duffle (worth $2,655) for $73 a week, or check out a Donald Pliner Darcy hobo (retail value: $275) for a mere $30 a month.
At Bag, Borrow or Steal (www.bagborroworsteal.com; 1-866-922-BBOS), meanwhile, there are three levels of membership: Trendsetter, Princess or Diva, which run from $20 to $100 a month for a minimum of three months. Here, you can nab a black Chloe Paddington (retail: $1,995) for $150 a month, swap it it for a chocolate leather Fendi Spy bag (which would set you back $2,495 retail) for $200 the following month or carry a metallic J. Lo satchel or pretty Kate Spade evening bag for just $20 a month. Want to rent more than one bag at a time? No problem. Your Chanel wish is BBOS's command for an extra $15 to $75 per month.
Both sites also offer insurance, from $3 to $20, depending on the cost of the bag, so you won't be left holding the, errr...bag, if your Mulberry or Dooney & Bourke rental gets damaged or stolen.
Just think: with all the money you save, you can buy a new wallet.
