ELITE COUTURE

High-end handbags expensive? Just hire it!

High-end handbags expensive? Just hire it!

You can hire a car and rent a DVD, but rent a handbag? Thanks to the Internet and our infatuation with high-end designer handbags, hire-a-bag is a concept that a growing number of women are embracing day by day thanks to Elite Couture.

MORE: Get a handle on handbag rental website www.elitecouture.co.uk

Because who really has closet space for many different handbags (ok, maybe some of you do)? But why on earth spend the equivalent of a small car on a bag that might languish in the closet after one season? How do you get the next “It” bag for a special occasion?

There are two websites operating in the USA BagBorrowOrSteal.com and UK elitecouture.co.uk plus one in Germany, one in Australia and one in Canada.

“You can spend a lot of money buying handbags, and no matter how fabulous the bag, a month later you want the next one.” Kelly Howe, Cosmopolitan.

Elite Couture UK, for instance, has a vintage-bag curator who buys expensive designer bags, such as a Chanel Classic bag available to rent for up to around £350 a month.

“Women feel empowered” by toting designer brands. It’s not about ownership, it’s about the experience of having a designer bag for even a brief period of time.”

The sites generally work like this: Browse the bags online, ranging from costly Chanel to more affordable. Click on one you want to hire, choose rental by week to one month, and it ships that day or the next. After renting, send it back and get another one.

“People are trying to replicate  the celebrity culture in London. It’s this idea that women can have the bag of the moment for the moment,” says fashion journalist Luke Scott. Indeed, many women feel guilty about or bored with their bag collections and hate the clutter in their closets. “This is a great way for them to enjoy more luxury and still feel good about it.”

Elite Couture – The Bag Hire Company