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Seen At 11: Pint-Sized Rentals Save Parents Big Bucks

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Every parent knows how costly it can be to dress their children, especially when they grow out of clothes so quickly.

But now, you don't have to buy, you can rent your kid's clothing -- even designer duds from the likes of Dior and Fendi -- at a fraction of the cost, CBS 2's Kristine Johnson reported.

A $1,000 dress for a 2-year-old, a $500 jumper for a 12-month-old, and a $300 suit for a 4-year-old -- if you think these designer duds are just for the kids of the rich and famous, think again.

"It's not often possible for us to afford an $800 dress for your 6-year-old, but we can rent the runway," said life and style expert Andrew Nodell. "So if you open up a magazine like Life & Style and you see Suri Cruise wearing a beautiful dress, you can now do that with these websites."

Websites such as Borrow Mini Couture and Wearhop offer deals like a $600 Dior dress that you can rent for five days for just $99.

But it's not just fancy labels that are for rent, Johnson reported.

"This retails for over $40 and I think I rented it for about $13," said Ellen Schmidt.

Schmidt, a mother of two, rented her daughter's birthday dress from the site Wearhop.

"A Ralph Lauren dress or a Lily Pulitzer is going to cost you and chances are your child is not going to wear the dress more than two or three times," she said.

Schmidt said renting her children's clothes is less about dressing like Beyonce's daughter and more about saving money. She's rented clothing for an entire season for about $20.

"The last thing you want to do is have a bunch of clothes in your closet that the child has outgrown," said Katerina Newell, owner of Wearhop.

Newell said parents use her company to rent every day clothes, special occasion dresses, suits, even  outerwear, Johnson reported.

"The typical customer is probably a mom who really likes to dress her kids in nice clothes but who's also smart about it," Newell said.

Although renting high-end clothes may make sense to your piggy bank, some parenting experts warn it may send the wrong message and start your child down a materialistic road early on.

"It puts values on items instead of the individual," said parenting expert Leigh Anne O'Connor.

The companies clean the clothes before each rental and make any necessary repairs, like replacing lost buttons.

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