New Year’s Eve requires the ultimate party outfit.But what if your holiday spending has burned holes in your pockets?

　　The answer might be to rent a little luxury.

　　The renting business has begun to lose the image of an industry filled with designer tuxedos, Halloween costumes or out-of-date evening wear.Still largely an industry dedicated to special-event clothing (dinners, corporate parties, weddings), it has started to branch out into more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 up on a budget.

　　For the price of 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 party.“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.

　　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 clothin9.Having the latest must-have designer handbag is the fastest way for a woman to communicate her fashion savvy and display her luxury status.The rental stores can give the everyday woman a chance to wear the latest designer bag and feel like a mil- lion bucks without having to spend it.
The renting business _____.

A.offers more choices than it used to do

B.has shifted its focus to casual clothing

C.performs a similar function as in the past

D.is still considered an old—fashioned industry