Leasing luxury: Designer handbags for rent

Member Gretchen Gantzer, 63, has borrowed bags for three years.

“I love shoes and I love purses. Those are the two things I have far too many of,” she said. The teacher from Rock Hill, S.C., says she usually holds onto her rentals for a season before trading them in.

“I get a purse, but I find something wrong with it all the time. So I thought this would be perfect,” she said.

The purses are cleaned, shined and polished between uses. “Our goal is for you to not be able to tell whether it’s been used before or not,” Smith said.

Optional damage insurance, starting at a dollar a week, is available, which can come in handy when your dog wears Prada.

Brenda Kauffman, fashion consultant for Bag Borrow or Steal, says it’s happened. One bag came back with a mangled handle, “chewed to bits,” she said.

But for the most part, Kauffman said, members take care of their bag “as if they were borrowing it from their best friend.”

Kauffman and Smith are hoping the company’s jewelry will be as successful as its handbags.

“It’s staying true to what our members expect ... all designer, authentic,” Kauffman said of its line of necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Some of the jewelry costs up to $7,000 retail.

What’s next for Bag Borrow or Steal? The company has a lot of ideas.

“Someone even suggested husbands,” Kauffman said.

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