Rent Luxury To Satisfy Your Desires

UNI: Want to sport designer handbags and jaw-dropping jewels, fast cars and private jets-- it does not matter whether it can be afforded or not when rented luxury has become a part of shopping industry.

Several companies are carving out a niche by renting those products to people who desire the finer things in life without the headaches of ownership -- or the resulting credit card bills.

''The only thing people want is the experience,'' Michael Prichinello, director of the New York outpost of Classic Car Club, which lends high-end vehicles to members for an annual fee, said.

The market for high-end merchandise and services has more than doubled over the past decade. According to the consulting firm Bain & Co., the market for luxury goods in the US rose to 81 billion dollars last year from 34 billion in 1995.

The aspiring customer has played an important part in that growth, with luxury retailers catering to them with fragrances, wallets and key chains that are more affordable yet still bear coveted brand names.

Meanwhile, formerly elite fashion designers have created low-priced lines bringing class to the masses, Washington Post reported.

An online company called Bag, Borrow or Steal of Seattle to rent expensive necklaces, earrings and bracelets was founded in Florida in 2004 by two men who watched in awe as the women in their lives spent wads of money on purses and then swapped them among each other.