It's not a new idea: rent rather than buy.

For years, savvy business types have applied the concept to acquisitions ranging from homes and autos to washing machines and DVDs. Now, and perhaps inevitably, leasing has entered the realm of luxury goods.

Consider Louise, who moved to New York to fall in love. She arrived in The Big Apple with her first love -- great handbags. And because she couldn't afford to buy super-luxurious styles for four-figure prices, she leased them from an Internet store called BagBorroworSteal.com.

Louise is the assistant to Carrie Bradshaw in "Sex and the City: The Movie," which hit theaters last weekend. The Web site wasn't fiction created for the movie's sake. It has been around since April 2004, the brainchild of longtime business partners Greg Pippo and Lloyd Lapidus, who "watched their wives and sisters and mothers raid each other's closets while they were looking for that perfect accessory to wear," said Jodi Watson, chief marketing officer at BagBorroworSteal.com.

"They wondered if other women did it and would pay to do it. And this concept of borrowed luxury has really taken off."

With a customer base of nearly 800,000, BagBorroworSteal.com charges a fee to rent its nearly 4,000 haute handbags, sunglasses and jewelry. For example, an Hermes vintage crocodile Kelly bag rents for $816 a week or $2,400 a month to "members," with higher rates for "guests."

Members get 20 percent off regular leasing prices, early access to new bags, private member-only sales at the site's outlet and other perks. Membership options are $9.95 for a single month, $6.65 per month for three months or $59.95 for one year, about $5 a month.

The enterprise is sophisticated, with everything from wish lists and waiting lists to opportunities to buy what's for rent. There are no due dates or limits on the amount of time you can borrow an item, although limits can be placed on how many bags you borrow at one time.

Don't expect to become a borrower without the company checking your credit first. If you lose an item or damage it beyond normal wear and tear, you may have to pay a replacement fee. Buying insurance at the time of rental can cover such expense, and company officials add that damaged or lost items are extremely rare.

Bag-borrowing business was so brisk that the site began renting out jewelry a year and a half ago and sunglasses two months ago. They're equally high fashion, from Lanvin tortoiseshell-frame shades that start at $50 a month to Stephen Dweck's pear-shaped diamond and topaz necklace for a minimum $150 a month.

Why would someone rent something for such a high price? For one thing, it's a way to avoid the emotional and financial sacrifices that often accompany a major non-essential purchase. Which is more guilt-free? Shelling out $2,800 for Judith Leiber's champagne-colored "chocolate bar" evening bag for a month of holiday galas or renting it for $275?

"It's not so much borrowing because they can't afford the item," said Ms. Watson. "It's because they want access to more luxury, and our customers want access to more seasonal items, more trends and more fashion. Also, it's sort of the guilty pleasure minus the guilt. And there's an important green component. It's better to borrow and exchange rather than to continue to buy and buy. And they also don't have to explain the credit card charges to their husbands."

A similar online store aims to relieve men of the constant time and hassle of buying, storing and caring for neckties. Denver-based Net-tie.com offers a 14-day free trial period. Monthly subscriptions include the two-tie "rising star" rental for $45, three-tie "executive" membership for $65 and the five-tie "tycoon" plan for $80.

You can keep the ties as long as you like. Other benefits include free dry cleaning and no shipping fees, as well as access to thousands of designer ties ranging from Banana Republic and Burberry to Ike Behar and Valentino.

"Renting is a new way of shopping" for fashion, said Ms. Watson. "As that becomes more and more acceptable, the marketplace will continue to add more and more categories."