海外文化:歐洲女白領熱衷奢侈品租賃

【英文原文】

摘要：不管是新年晚會還是生日派對，不論是慈善宴請還是公司聚會，想在外貌上“出奇制勝”的女人常常會爲她們的衣着而傷透腦筋。高貴典雅的晚禮服、璀璨奪目的鑽石項鍊……勉強購買一兩件顯然解決不了問題，因爲人們常說“女人要變纔會美”。不過，在現在的歐洲，同樣是些“善變”的女人，尤其是一些高級女白領，已經發現了一種既能維持預算又可顧及體面的好辦法——奢侈品租賃。

New Year's Eve requires the ultimate party outfit. But what if you have already run your dressy wardrobe ragged during the holiday season? Or you feel as if it's time to ring in 2006 with something fresh? Or your holiday spending has burned holes in your designer denim pockets?

The answer might be to rent a little luxury.

The renting business has begun to lose the stigma of an industry filled with knockoff designer tuxedos, Halloween costumes or out-of-date evening wear. Still largely an industry dedicated to special-event clothing (gala dinners, corporate parties, weddings), it has started to branch out into more casual clothing. And for those not afraid to shop around, it has become an option for dressing well on a budget.

At the London-based eveningwear rental company One Night Stand (), there are more than 500 dresses for rent with 25 percent of the stock bought new every year. The owner, Joanna Doniger, started the company when she got fed up with people borrowing her dresses. "I thought why couldn't they go out and buy their own," she says with a laugh.

But they can't; for the price of one of her rentals (￡150, or $260, for a four-day period), the only things available in most department stores are dresses that look as if they are late for the prom. "Working women have sophisticated tastes, but buying an evening dress is a very expensive proposition, and most people don't want to wear the same dress more than once," says Doniger.

This need for something new and different for every social outing has even created subcategories in the luxury rental business.

In Paris the clothing rental store Quidam de Revel has carved out a niche in the industry by renting only designer vintage clothing. Located in the 3rd Arrondissement (it faces the Christian Lacroix-designed hotel Le Petit Moulin), the store caters to a discerning clientele looking to make an impact.

Opened six years ago by Philippe and Emmanuel Harros as a way to make money out of their love of vintage fashion, the store rents clothing, bags and jewelry for one night or for an entire fashion season. "Our clothing is really the crème de la crème of vintage," says Philippe Harros, who also counts most of the top fashion houses as clients who come in and rent pieces for inspiration. With an adjacent storefront chockablock full of the husband and wife's vintage finds, renting is by appointment only. "We see ourselves as consultants for our clients. We make a selection of items from what they give us as guidelines, and we use our own knowledge of the collection to make the best choices," he says. The couple plan to open a second rental store in the new year.

But what has brought on this recent change in perception on renting luxury? Unexpectedly, the transformation has been helped along by a change in corporate policy by many top businesses. For years businessmen all over the world have gotten a clothing allowance from their companies to rent a tuxedo or other luxury items they need for an event. But while any company looking at the bottom line is not going to pay for a female employee to buy a new evening dress, they are now more willing to help pay for renting one. "In the last five years a lot of businesses have started to pay for some if not all of a rental. They will pay, say, ￡80 or ￡90 of the cost and let the women top off the rest themselves," says Doniger.

But renting luxury fashion is not limited to clothing. As anyone who has picked up a fashion magazine over the past few years knows, having the latest must-have designer handbag is the fastest way for a woman to communicate her fashion savvy and display her luxury status.

In April 2004 the Bag Borrow or Steal () Web site was launched to cater to women who covet the luxury handbags but not their designer prices.

"Our company gives the everyday woman a chance to wear the latest designer bag and feel like a million bucks without having to spend it," says Brenda Kauffman, fashion director for the company.

For a monthly fee the company will let members borrow a bag for as long as they want, and if they fall in love with it, they even give their clientele the option to "steal" the bag for a certain sum. There are three different membership levels, called Trendsetter, Princess and Diva, and the bags available to rent are not overstock or from last season. Become a Diva member for $250 a month, and carrying the latest incarnation of the Chloé Paddington bag or a Fendi Spy bag is no longer a dream but a reality.

【中文譯文】

不管是新年晚會還是生日派對，不論是慈善宴請還是公司聚會，想在外貌上“出奇制勝”的女人常常會爲她們的衣着而傷透腦筋。高貴典雅的晚禮服、璀璨奪目的鑽石項鍊……勉強購買一兩件顯然解決不了問題，因爲人們常說“女人要變纔會美”。不過，在現在的歐洲，同樣是些“善變”的女人，尤其是一些高級女白領，已經發現了一種既能維持預算又可顧及體面的好辦法——奢侈品租賃。

據美國《國際先驅論壇報》近日報道，如今，歐洲一些大公司的高級女白領們在代表公司出席宴會或舞會時，沒有些體面點的行頭是不行的。如果碰巧缺少合適的禮服、手袋或首飾，通常的做法就是去租一件來，這樣既可以爲自己剩下開銷，又能免去買貴重物品時那種千挑萬選的麻煩。

位於英國倫敦的晚禮服租賃商One Night Stand公司就擁有500多套各式禮服，其中每年都有25％爲當年的新款。公司創始人喬安娜·多尼哥女士在創建這家公司之前，就曾幾乎每天忙於應付那些前來借衣服穿的人。多尼哥說：“我當時想，她們爲什麼不乾脆去買來自己穿呢？”事實是她們買不起，就拿多尼哥店裏的其中一套禮服的租賃價格爲例，4天租借期限需要支付的價格爲150英鎊（合260美元），而要在百貨商店裏面買這麼一套，價格可遠遠不止這些。多尼哥說：“現在的白領女士品味越來越多變，買一件晚禮服對她們來說是個‘很貴的主意’，因爲多數人不願意兩次宴會穿同一件衣服。”

報道說，談到租賃奢侈品，歐洲有些公司的觀念已經在慢慢地轉變了。大公司可能永遠也不會支付女職員購買宴會禮服的費用，但爲了提升公司形象，有時公司更願意支付租賃這些奢侈品的費用。多尼哥說，在過去5年中，許多公司開始爲職員支付全部或部分的租賃費。一般來說公司幫助支付80英鎊到90英鎊，剩下的則由‘愛美’的女士們自己付清。

如今在英國，服飾租賃這個古老行業已經丟掉了以前的壞名聲，不再是原來那個租借蹩腳禮服、萬聖節服裝或過時晚裝的行業了。在致力於一些特殊活動（婚禮、公司宴會等）的服裝服務領域的同時，服飾租賃業還延伸到一些更爲休閒的服裝領域中來。時尚的腳步變化太快，沒人希望自己用兩個月薪水買來的新皮包在過季後永遠地“躺”在壁櫥裏。對於那些習慣了到處逛街花錢的人來說，租賃確實成了既節約又“體面”的好辦法，它最大的優勢在於，時尚潮流走得再快也沒有問題。因爲說到底，滿足女人的“百變”要求，纔是奢侈品租賃業走出低谷的“法寶”。