Rent The Runway is another fashion subscription service but focuses on the top designer brands. What makes this one different than the next? Here is a rundown of how RTR works.
- With RTR you can shop online or shop at one of their stores (big cities only), where you can try on a selection of dresses and rent on the spot or for a future date.
- Not sure about what size you are? You can add one free backup size to your order, and rent a second style for $32.50.
- Almost every dress features customer reviews (with photos!), so you can see how the dresses look on real women. This is a crucial part of the service. By reading reviews you can see real women in the dress and they usually share what size they are wearing, their measurements, height, and weight. It’s pretty easy to tell if your body type would be a good match for that dress.
- Keep your items from 4-8 days. Everything ships back free via UPS.
- There is a $5 insurance fee which covers most mishaps
- There are many ways to rent: Pay as you rent each piece, $89/month for four rentals per month, $159/month for unlimited rentals per month.
- There is a PRO Membership for an additional $29.95/year. You’ll get FREE shipping and FREE insurance for a year, plus a $30 birthday gift. Shipping TO you is normally around $12-15 (return shipping is free). If you plan on renting even two dresses a year, this PRO membership is worth it.
Here are three dresses I’ve rented and wore. Two of the dresses I shipped directly to the location I was flying to (hotel in Las Vegas and a Texas home). I have rented some things that didn’t work out. In one instance, the dress fit but I wasn’t convinced that it would stay up all night (strapless)– luckily I had a back up of my own at home. RTR is good about sending an emergency dress if you really need one.
What can you rent?
You can rent designer dresses in any style, tops, coats, pants, and skirts. There is no athletic wear. There is an app for your phone and it is really easy to filter by color, size, date of rental, occasion, price, style, body type, maternity, designer, and more. If you’ve ever wanted to wear a $1,000 Marchesa lace dress, now you can for around $145. What a steal! In addition to clothing, you can rent hats, sunglasses, jewelry, purses, and scarves. Designer accessory heaven.
Would I use RTR again?
For *fun* events I will definitely use this service again. I love renting a fancy dress and sending it back. I hate wearing the same dress twice (especially if the crowd is similar) so this is a great solution. I don’t think I’ll ever subscribe to the Unlimited Monthly Service for the same reason as I won’t keep a long-term subscription to Le Tote. I just don’t need to wear high fashion on a regular basis. I work from home and sometimes won’t really have any other adult interaction. I do have a closet filled with pretty decent clothes so wearing those day-to-day is best for me. For that reason, it’s a good splurge but not a regular thing for me.
Erika LaPean 