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Find our how you can get your hands on designer bags and baubles without spending big bucks.
by Rebecca Klein
Ever find yourself in a reality lapse, salivating over a purse that may run, oh say, double or triple your mortgage.
Take one of the season’s hottest exotic bags. The Lambertson Truex Benton Python Tori” Hobo retails around $3995. If I told you it could be on your shoulder for a party next weekend, at 98 percent off, you’d probably call it a scam.
All you have to do is log on to BagBorroworSteal.com. Borrowing fees on this high couture handbag run as low as $80 weekly or $235 monthly for members. The Bag Borrow or Steal process is similar to a Netflix movie rental.
A runway-hip, ruched, black patent leather Prada satchel that can pull double duty as a diaper bag costs members $95 weekly or $275 monthly.
Membership fees range from $5 to $10 a month, depending how many months purchased, and entitle you to lower prices.
The least expensive bags are called Trendsetters and run members $6 weekly and $20 monthly for such designers as Perlina and Dooney & Bourke. The Princess collection includes such designers as Betsey Johnson and Coach and costs members $13 weekly and $40 monthly. We saw Louis Vuitton and Burberry bags in the Diva collection for $30 weekly and $90 monthly for members. Couture bags by Chanel, Gucci, Prada, and Marc Jacobs top out at $275 a month. A number of designers are featured in multiple collections.
In the Vintage collection, a Hermes Crocodile Birkin runs members $4800 monthly and $6010 for non-members. Various vintage Birkens have sold at auction for between $10,000 and $100,000.
This season’s hottest trends include metallic patent leather, animal print, and animal skin clutches and satchels. The company can’t keep the metallic Kooba “Natasha” tote in stock, which retails $825 and costs members $90 a month.
Too bad the name Marc Jacobs doesn’t carry any weight with my husband, or I could have really alarmed him, when mentioning my bag-to-be. I may as well have said I ordered a Ziploc. The
I spent hours ogling all the options before honing in on a sage Marc Jacobs satchel, which retails $950, and costs members $60 weekly or $175 monthly. I laughed at the fact that my new car seems to breed crumbs, yet I went as far as keeping my purse cargo, namely pens and lipstick, in plastic bags.
Even when running out of the house in sweats and no make-up, the bag gave me a lift.
“Women just love the concept of how handbags make them feel,” affirms Lynn Ridenour, the company’s senior vice president of marketing. “They don’t have to fit. It doesn’t matter how you feel about your weight or your outfit. They are a piece of luxury you can add and feel like a million bucks.”
If you’re not ready to fend off your Fendi when your time is up, you can request to “steal” your bag. The price depends on the bag’s cost, how many times it’s been borrowed, how long the potential buyer rented it, and availability. Rare bags come at a premium.
Company co-founders, Greg Pippo and Lloyd Lapidus, started the online store in 2004 after seeing their wives and sisters hit each other’s closets for the perfect handbag. They also offer high-end jewelry.
All bags and jewelry are purchased directly from the designers or an authorized vendor. There’s a 10-point inspection to ensure the same products sent to customers return. As bags show wear, they are refurbished and ultimately retire to the online outlet. At the end of my month romance, I wasn’t ready to commit to a “steal.” It still wasn’t an easy good-bye. I checked in the other day and saw my bag is on someone else’s arm, at least for now.
Price and selection are subject to change. There is a $9.95 round trip shipping fee on most items, which also insures the bag while in transit. There is also the option to purchase additional insurance. For more information, go to BagBorroworSteal.com.
