Rent the Real Thing

Their site is going to blow up in a few days when the Sex and the City movie comes out (in which they talk about it), so I figure now is a good time to let you know about BagBorrowOrSteal.com.
It's like the Netflix of accessories. You can rent designer purses and jewelry by the week or the month for as low as $15.

They carry it all, from vintage Hermes kelly bags to the latest formal clutch from Chanel, plus designer jewelry by David Yurman and Kenneth Jay Lane and many others.

Members get a significantly lower rental rate than "guests" (a year membership is $59.95...$5 a month, or you can do it one month at a time for $9.95) so if you dig it, your best bet is to join and enjoy the benefits of being able to hop on waiting lists and even buy used bags at a discount.

The only hitch is you need to be careful - if you lose the bag, you can be charged full retail price. You also can't spill stuff all over the bag because they don't send out bags that are no longer in mint condition. (I mean, who wants to rent a gross bag?)

For big events like weddings/proms/bar mitzvahs, this concept is genius.