If you want to sling the latest designer bag but cant afford to buy it and you sneer at knockoffs,there is another viable option: Rent it. Cookie Singh (30),a fashion stylist who spent three years in Dubai,has launched www.bag4aday.com in Delhi,a rental service for designer handbags. Run on a members only basis,on offer are 24 handbags,some of which are very trendy this season like the Cavalli snakeskin and the Louis Vuitton Damier Canvas Nolita that retail in stores for Rs 40,000 and Rs 90,000 respectively. Gold clutches by Furla,the leopard print Miss Easyway by Dolce & Gabbana,some Jimmy Choos the rental prices for all bags range between Rs 800 to Rs 1400 per night,with the Louis Vuitton ones being the most expensive. We guarantee complete anonymity and the latest,original designs, says Singh,who has already registered 25 members at an inaugural fee of Rs 7000 in three weeks of operations. Singhs clients are usually from South Delhi,and vary from 20-year-olds in their first jobs,to well-travelled 40-somethings. Most of them own a designer bag or two but cant afford to buy any more, says Singh who graduated from NIFT,Mumbai. Post recession,the rental market for designer bags really picked up in Dubai. If you want to change your bags every season,it makes economic sense, says Singh. People want to rent bags for different reasons,she says,recalling one of her young clients who wanted to sling a LV bag for a date with a prospective groom. Another was competing with her sister-in-law who was sporting a Rs 2 lakh handbag. Some ladies want to show them off at kitty parties. After members choose their bags online,they have to put down a refundable security deposit in proportion to the value of the bag. The handbag is delivered free of cost,after which the member has to provide an ID proof and a copy of a valid credit card. There is a fine if the bag is returned damaged. Singh hopes that social censure will prevent clients from running off with her expensive bags but knows opting for legal recourse is not worth it in case it happens. Im screening members carefully. Im not averse to putting up pictures and details of defaulters on my website, she grins.
