Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.
No, we aren’t talking about weddings! Instead we’re all about designer bags and wearing a new one every day of the week.
We don’t have an endless budget for that, but it no longer matters when you can use a service like Vivrelle, allowing you to borrow designer handbags and accessories like jewelry and watches for a month (or months) at a time, at a set rate far less than their typical price tag.
Timed to New York Fashion Week 2023, we wanted to get our hands on a handbag or two, and headed to the site and then the in-person showroom in NYC to try the service out for ourselves. Warning: the bags you are about to see will make you want to shop ASAP.
Not in New York? No problem, as you don’t need to visit the showroom IRL to borrow a plethora of designer items. The brand ships throughout the US and even provides pre-paid shipping labels, but more on that later.
What is Vivrelle and how does borrowing work?
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Vivrelle is frankly a designer-lover’s dream.
In more words, Vivrelle is a members-only service that lets its users borrow designer handbags, jewelry and watches at a discounted rate, charged monthly via a subscription plan. Users can either visit the showroom located in Garment District of New York City or for those not local to NYC, they can also browse their online showroom or even schedule a virtual consultation with one of the store associates.
To borrow a piece, choose your membership plan (see the pricing section below) and either schedule an appointment to drop by the showroom or log in to the site and browse available items. If you choose the latter, they will send you the items, complete with a dust bag and tissue, via mail, as well as a prepaid label to use for your returns. Easy as that!
What designers can I find at Vivrelle?
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The answer is pretty much every brand. The showroom was sorted by designer, with walls dedicated to Gucci, Dior, Louis Vuitton, YSL, Prada, Bottega Veneta, Chanel and more. They typically carry a wide selection from each designer as well, including classic styles and new trending bags that you may not be able to find in stores. The site can also be sorted by brand, with the stock shown online every day here.
Since their stock changes frequently, if you have your eye on a specific bag, definitely opt to borrow it when you see it, and bookmark this review for later if you aren’t quite ready to rent.
How much does Vivrelle cost?
That depends on what you are looking for.
Vivrelle has a pretty cool pricing structure, based on the number of items you want at one time and their monetary value. Their jewelry subscription is the lowest, at $39 per month and allows rentals of their accessories up to a $1,000 monetary value. The next step up includes handbags, too, which for me is the star of this service, which costs $99/month and includes one item (accessory or handbag) worth up to $4,000.
Don’t want to limit yourself should you fall in love with a pricey pick? No worries, and then the Couture and Couture+ plans are for you. The first costs $199/month and gives full access to their entire collection and limited edition pieces, while the second is priced at $279/month and includes two rentals at a time — one from the entire collection and one from the Classique collection valued at $4,000 and below.
Fell in love and want to buy the bag? They also offer the ability to buy the bag, using a portion of your rental costs as credit toward the purchase, making it even more affordable to own designer items.
Our review: We borrowed designer bags from Vivrelle for New York Fashion Week
What a time to be in New York City! NYFW (New York Fashion Week) happens twice a year, with one show in September and the other in February. I had the honor of attending both the September 2022 show and the most recent winter 2023 show, which were the perfect opportunities to borrow a designer bag of my dreams.
Since all of the city is one giant catwalk, I wanted the option to rent more than one item to mix and match everyday of the two-week-long event season. For that reason, the Couture Plus membership was the best option, although for just one bag I also could have opted for the more popular and less expensive Classique membership tier.
I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the showroom and take the photos used in this review, which floored me upon pushing open the double doors in the originally unassuming warehouse. The showroom is more like a social club meeting a Saks Fifth Avenue, with all the designer duds you could want, plus couches, WiFi and even a bar stocked with Topo Chico, Poppi soda and more.
Being able to borrow vs. buy made it possible to rock multiple bags during the two weeks, where as normally these bags are inaccessible to me and my tax bracket. I also loved the ability to keep that bags for as long as I wanted, so that should another event pop up that I want to feel fancy at, I could keep the loaner for longer. The subscription runs for one month, so should you want to keep the bags longer all you need to do is renew for another month.
See below for my NYFW photos, and although I am no model, I did feel pretty on trend during the events I attended, even sneaking onto the red carpet once or twice.
For returns, I plan to take them back to the showroom, which is the easiest for me. However, for those that got the bags sent to their home, you can do that once more, using the pre-paid shipping label and the original box or one of your own.
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