1-Answer question. LV is not my taste. The only reason I’d pay $50 for a REAL LV is so I could sell it for more.
2-Hijack: One day last winter I was walking down the street and passed a woman holding a brown cardboard sign. Her back was to me, so I couldn’t see what was on the sign…but I could see that she was wearing a Burberry backpack. I believe it was genuine. I have a pretty good eye for these things.
When I got to where I could see her sign, it said “Homeless, please help,” so I offered her $50 for her backpack. (I do like some of the Burberry stuff, especially the backpack.)
Apparently, not enough. (And $50 isn’t going to buy you out of homelessness, either.)
Very interesting thread and I have read it all. But I don’t think the obvious question has been addressed. (unless I missed it)
If a lady felt the need to rent an expensive bag for an event, amid women for whom an expensive bag is de rigueur at such event, wouldn’t it be tacky as hell to admit to renting a bag?
How would this work? Would the lady lie and say she bought the bag?
Not directed at any posters here, but wouldn’t this present a dilemma?
The question itself would be tacky. I would imagine most people would say, “I like your bag! Where did you get it?” and the owner would answer, “It’s <brand name>” and that would be that.
The question of how one obtained the bag would not come up! (Unless, perhaps, it was one of the elusive Hermes Birkins.)
However, I know women who brag about bargains they’ve scored. So, some bag-renters might volunteer the fact that they are patronizing the same company as the Sex & The City girls.
Then they’d giggle & order another Cosmopolitan. (And return to their Real Life next week.)
For a certain kind of person, or anybody in a certain kind of mood, it might very well present a dilemma.
Now first of all, at the prices on that website I would not rent a bag. And I have one that will do nicely for all but evening wear and about 15 that will work as evening bags, most of them worn once, a couple of them worn not at all. But if I would rent one, I would usually admit it. But not always.
For instance, I used to buy a lot of really nice stuff at a consignment store. I even bought shoes there (Manolo Blahniks, $60, not even scuffed on the bottom at all, like they hadn’t even been worn). So one day I’m wearing a very nice suit I got there and another woman in the elevator says, “Nice suit–where’d you get it?” Normally I’d 'fess up and say, “Got it at Encore!” (or The Snob Shop, or wherever.) But something about the way she said it, combined with the fact that she looked to be exactly my size, made me wonder if, perhaps, I was wearing her castoff suit. So I said I didn’t remember.
Now this was 10 seconds in an elevator and I don’t usually react that way, but I did then. You never know.
I don’t think renting a handbag is exactly a disgrace, though, any more than renting anything else. But, noting that this thread has gone 5 pages and incited some extremes, I’m thinking that maybe a purse is not always just a purse, in the same way that a cigar isn’t always just a cigar.
I continue to be amazed at the attitudes demonstrated here. “*My extravagances are rational and understandable, everyone else’s are tacky, irrational, bad for the economy, whatever.” “Everyone should be like me and anything else is indefensible.” * I guess I shouldn’t surprised by this. But it saddens me. If we are so intolerant of an economic choice, how can we possibly maintain that we are open-minded on more serious issues?
I find the appearance of dental grills per se tacky. I don’t see why renting them makes them any tackier. Or that they’re a bad use of resources. People want dental grills, the market supplies dental grills.
The hygiene issues alone make me cringe. dental grills are tacky. If you are foolish enough to want to rent one, may you have a healthy immune system.
Would you rent out your retainer? or your earrings? Personal use items aren’t good for the rental trade, IMO. Too much cross contamination and risk for infection. <shudders>
I don’t think the issue here is actually dental grills. I’m sure it is not legal to rent them, for hygiene reasons. I do believe that **even sven **was trying to make a (weak and IMO ridiculous point). Dental grills are to her (and to me as well) a particularly tacky form of conspicuous consumption, and therefore (to her) equivalent to a designer purse. Therefore if you object to one, you should object to the other.
The better analogy is to renting out bling-bling. It’s probably true that many people would find this tacky who do not consider handbag rental tacky.
What it comes down to in my eyes is that no matter what you do, someone is going to feel superior to you because they do something different, and this is especially true when it comes to the things you choose to buy. Ultimately, you have to decide how much weight you want to give their opinions.
I’m not sure I see any difference between that (other than taste, and while I’m not a bling-bling person…then again, I don’t carry a designer handbag either - those Dooney and Burke ones are butt ugly, in my opinion) and renting Harry Winston jewelry, which movie stars have been doing for years.
