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| A Woman's Directory For Travel and Life. WAVE Journey is your one stop online resource for women oriented businesses and services around the world. WAVE Journey is for every woman to enjoy. If you love to travel, cook, garden, read or revel in outdoor activities this website is for you. If you are looking to connect with other like-minded women or if you are interested in finding businesses or services that cater to women, WAVE Journey is your number one online resource. The Real Deal ~ If you don’t have the cash to buy diamonds or Prada, these companies will help you fake it Article by Diana Vilibert, photo courtesy of Kara Richter |
| WAVE Journey |
| Women's Adventures, Vacations & Experiences ~ Your Journey Starts Here! |
If you’ve got it, flaunt it. And if you don’t — rent it.
With the help of companies like Bag Borrow or Steal, From Bags
to Riches, and Borrowed Bling, which rent out designer bags and
jewelry, almost anyone can look like a VIP, without paying for it.
“I wanted to bring Hollywood movie star glamour to every
American woman,” said Carol Wexler, founder and owner of
Borrowed Bling (www.borrowedbling.com ), which rents out
crystal and jewelry, bags, and accessories in exchange for
“membership fees” ranging from $30 to $100 a month.
With the help of companies like Bag Borrow or Steal, From Bags
to Riches, and Borrowed Bling, which rent out designer bags and
jewelry, almost anyone can look like a VIP, without paying for it.
“I wanted to bring Hollywood movie star glamour to every
American woman,” said Carol Wexler, founder and owner of
Borrowed Bling (www.borrowedbling.com ), which rents out
crystal and jewelry, bags, and accessories in exchange for
“membership fees” ranging from $30 to $100 a month.
Wexler got the idea while providing jewelry for T.V. shows, such as the soap opera “The
Young and the Restless.”
“I thought, how come celebs get all the fun and people like you and me don’t get the
same advantage?” Wexler said.
Fashionistas can also rent celebrity-style designer handbags. Names like “Vera Wang”
and “Chloe” carry price tags of thousands of dollars for the season’s newest style. But
with the help of the online bag-rental service Bag Borrow or Steal (www.
bagborroworsteal.com), Boston University student Maura McGreevy hardly has to worry
about blowing her college tuition money on a purse.
Bag Borrow or Steal customers pay a weekly or monthly fee for an original designer-bag
of their choice, and can return it in exchange for another bag at any time. McGreevy
carried her rented Prada tote, which retails for almost $500, “day and night” from class
to the nightclub where she worked, for just $30 a week. All it took, McGreevy said, was
“a bit of birthday money from my grandparents.”
Students aren’t the only ones who want to look posh on a budget. Charlene Friedman, a
schoolteacher in Los Angeles, hardly has the income of an Eva Longoria to put together
a show-stopping outfit. But having friends in the entertainment industry means Friedman
is often walking the red carpet.
“I always felt like such a schlep,” Friedman says. “I never had bling.”
Tired of shifting between costume jewelry and the few good pieces she had in her
jewelry box, Friedman decided to give Wexler’s Borrowed Bling a try.
“If I have a wedding to go to, or a bar-mitzvah, it’s always nice to bling it up a bit and
make people go ‘hmmm…’”
Some of Wexler’s customers are wealthy women simply looking to spice up already-
impressive jewelry collections. “I have women who are millionaires who have five, 10-
karat rings that are real,” says Wexler.
Kara Richter, founder of Bags to Riches (www.bagstoriches.com) agreed, stating that
while some of her customers rent in order to try out a bag, most of her customers are
“frequent renters.”
“Most already have a closet of designer bags, and are looking for ways to expand their
bags options without breaking the wallet,” says Richter.
Some think frequent renters are the only rightful customers of the high-end jewelry and
bag rental companies.
“For some reason it’s like people feel that having a designer bag is some sort of human
right,” says Kathryn Finney, author of “How To Be a Budget Fashionista: The Ultimate
Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less.”
But the owner of Borrowed Bling disagrees, stressing that she strives to afford the
average female consumer a lease on luxury.
“I didn’t want people to need to have a $100,000 income in order to rent from me,”
Wexler said.
And those with meager salaries are more than happy to fake it. Said Borrowed Bling
devotee Friedman: “It’s a confidence thing, to have people think, even, that you’re
wearing something real.”
Young and the Restless.”
“I thought, how come celebs get all the fun and people like you and me don’t get the
same advantage?” Wexler said.
Fashionistas can also rent celebrity-style designer handbags. Names like “Vera Wang”
and “Chloe” carry price tags of thousands of dollars for the season’s newest style. But
with the help of the online bag-rental service Bag Borrow or Steal (www.
bagborroworsteal.com), Boston University student Maura McGreevy hardly has to worry
about blowing her college tuition money on a purse.
Bag Borrow or Steal customers pay a weekly or monthly fee for an original designer-bag
of their choice, and can return it in exchange for another bag at any time. McGreevy
carried her rented Prada tote, which retails for almost $500, “day and night” from class
to the nightclub where she worked, for just $30 a week. All it took, McGreevy said, was
“a bit of birthday money from my grandparents.”
Students aren’t the only ones who want to look posh on a budget. Charlene Friedman, a
schoolteacher in Los Angeles, hardly has the income of an Eva Longoria to put together
a show-stopping outfit. But having friends in the entertainment industry means Friedman
is often walking the red carpet.
“I always felt like such a schlep,” Friedman says. “I never had bling.”
Tired of shifting between costume jewelry and the few good pieces she had in her
jewelry box, Friedman decided to give Wexler’s Borrowed Bling a try.
“If I have a wedding to go to, or a bar-mitzvah, it’s always nice to bling it up a bit and
make people go ‘hmmm…’”
Some of Wexler’s customers are wealthy women simply looking to spice up already-
impressive jewelry collections. “I have women who are millionaires who have five, 10-
karat rings that are real,” says Wexler.
Kara Richter, founder of Bags to Riches (www.bagstoriches.com) agreed, stating that
while some of her customers rent in order to try out a bag, most of her customers are
“frequent renters.”
“Most already have a closet of designer bags, and are looking for ways to expand their
bags options without breaking the wallet,” says Richter.
Some think frequent renters are the only rightful customers of the high-end jewelry and
bag rental companies.
“For some reason it’s like people feel that having a designer bag is some sort of human
right,” says Kathryn Finney, author of “How To Be a Budget Fashionista: The Ultimate
Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less.”
But the owner of Borrowed Bling disagrees, stressing that she strives to afford the
average female consumer a lease on luxury.
“I didn’t want people to need to have a $100,000 income in order to rent from me,”
Wexler said.
And those with meager salaries are more than happy to fake it. Said Borrowed Bling
devotee Friedman: “It’s a confidence thing, to have people think, even, that you’re
wearing something real.”
