Can I borrow your bag?

Launched in September 2008, LoanMe or OwnMe is a virtual closet filled with a handpicked collection of the some of the world's most covetable and rare luxury handbags, all waiting to be plucked from their shelves and hand delivered to your doorstep. Filled with a dazzling array of must-haves and special finds, the website was created by two friends who one day got talking about how much they would love to provide New Zealand women with “the opportunity to feel like a princess wearing that bag that's so hot right now”.

Aucklander Amanda Easterbrook isn't ashamed to admit that she has “always had a penchant for exquisite, unusual things… and as I grew up and matured into a woman I discovered handbags!” Working as a branding specialist by day, she spends her free time “endlessly pawing the pages of pretty much any fashion magazine I can lay my hands on - coveting the latest, most exciting, most desirable bags.” Over the years she quietly amassed a small but highly prized collection of uniquely beautiful handbags, and become somewhat renowned amongst friends as the go-to girl for that special accessory for the races or a night out. She also found herself receiving compliments from strangers on her collection along the lines of “that is a beautiful handbag, I wish I had one!” and it was from this experience that the concept of LoanMe or OwnMe was born. “I thought that if my friends borrowed my handbags and so many other women admired them, that maybe if there was some way a handbag could be 'loaned',” she says. “Potentially, I could share my indulgent passion as well as make it into a fantastic business!”

Not longer after she met Angie Tinker, a stylish Australian working in the fashion industry in New Zealand with a love of handbags and a background in luxury cars. Loan Me or Own Me was soon born over a few glasses of wine and a shared passion that they are now sharing with luxury handbag throughout New Zealand.

The easy to use website is already proving to be a formula for success, with both registrations and rentals soaring in number since the day of its launch. Brands offered include Prada, Chanel, Fendi, Gucci, Burberry and Jimmy Choo, with new additions arriving daily. “We have been overwhelmed with the response to LoanMe or OwnMe since it went live on September 1,” says Easterbrook. “Clearly New Zealand handbag fans were more than ready to meet their new best friend!”

www.loanmeorownme.com