£100

The ‘par’ value of a gilt which must be repaid. Capital gains are made by buying at prices below par

included a feathered handbag with a crystal embellished handle. “I got to rent a whole outfit and paid under £70,” she said. “I felt like a million bucks.”

Parisa Crewdson, who asked for her last name to be changed, pays £100 a month for a membership with Cocoon, which rents designer handbags worth up to £ 3,500. “I own quite a few designer bags and I’m always getting really bored of them,” she said.

Ms Crewdson, 32, from Cardiff, said the “budget- friendly” nature of the subscription is part of the appeal.

“I am finding that bags are becoming more and more expensive,” she said. Before the pandemic she said she would have been able to buy a highquality handbag for £ 1,000 – but a similar purchase would now set her back at least £1,800.

‘I FELT LOST DURING MY PREGNANCY’

Kavya Chauhan, 33, from east London, rented clothing during her pregnancy and while she was breastfeeding her daughter. She bought a few staples to wear regularly – maternity jeans and a few tops, plus coats that were a size bigger than she usually wore – and used For The Creators for holidays and date nights.

She said she did not want to accumulate maternity clothing that would not get much wear and would take up space in her flat.

Ms Chauhan, a freelance marketing consultant, said: “When you get pregnant you know your body is going to change but I actually found it weird.

“I felt a bit lost. I couldn’t wear the clothes I love and had to find some other options, so it was really nice to find clothes I genuinely liked.”