How to Rent Clothes
It started as a way to dress up for special occasions: weddings, events, parties that you need to attend but don’t want to splurge on an item that you’ll only wear once or twice at most. Now, fashion rental services go much further. They’re a refreshing new way of consuming fashion, guilt-free, noncommittal and more sustainable than the traditional buy-wear model. Renting clothes can even include exercise clothes for women, making more affordable options. When you rent clothes, you save closet space and money, and go about your daily life in designer pieces and truly special items of clothing.
What Are Clothing Rental Services?
Sites like Rent the Runway or Tulerie offer their customers access to different fashion labels with different price points without a large financial commitment. They also facilitate the process of dressing up when you hate shopping in-store while helping you save money and consume fashion more responsibly at the same time.
This kind of service also helps curate different options that match your style, fit your preferences and allows you to access top brands and designers that might be out of your budget to buy.
6 Clothing Rental Services That Are Totally Worth a Try
If this sounds like something you would like to try to help revive your closet and maybe venture out of your comfort zone, we’ve done the research and reviewed some of the most popular clothing rental sites to help you decide which one fits your needs. Here’s a curated list of our favorites.
1. Rent the Runway
It was the first big name in clothing rental services, and even though it started by working with eveningwear, they now offer a wide variety of items for all occasions, including workwear for the day-to-day. Rent the Runway features designer brands like Tibi, Donna Karan, Jason Wu, and Ulla Johnson, and works with both one-time rentals and membership program options.
The price for renting their styles starts as low as $30 per piece for a four-day rental and their monthly memberships range from $90 to $235. Their customer service is impeccable, they take care of the dry cleaning, and their customers receive two sizes for every order and have the chance to purchase the item if they love it. On their site, you can also browse the selection of photos and reviews from other renters to make your decision and see how’s it going to look on you.
2. Vince Unfold
If you’re a fan of the brand, you’ll love this option. Vince Unfold’s rental program is a great match for all of those who love minimalist and well-tailored pieces to be on rotation in their wardrobes. For around $160 a month you get four items at a time and unlimited exchanges, being able to keep the pieces if you want. If the customer wants to purchase any item, they can do so at a discount rate. It’s convenient, easy, and very tailored to your needs, as they encourage their members to always keep around 10 items in their virtual closet. This way the company knows what pieces to send next and learns more about their members’ preferences.
3. Nuuly
For all those 70s and psychedelic lovers, Nuuly features an incredible variety of styles for about $88 a month. They have vintage items and feature brands like Anthropologie, Levi’s, or Free People, and the subscription includes laundry and dry cleaning and free delivery and returns, with two-day shipping both ways. The customer needs to fill out a short quiz first, with their sizing and shape, and then choose up to six rentals every month, being able to purchase anything with a discount if they can’t let go of a piece they’ve fallen in love with.
4. Armoire
Filled with designer dresses, workwear pieces, and a huge variety of other clothes, Armoire is for those who want a personalized selection of styles at their door every month. With a personal style quiz and their algorithm, Armoire sends you a box with items specifically for you, that you can purchase, rent, and return or exchange for a different size. They have three plans to choose from: four monthly items for $79, seven for $119, or an unlimited number for $249. They offer free shipping both ways and the cleaning is also on them.
5. Tulerie
The 2.0 version of borrowing from your friends, Tulerie is a peer-to-peer clothing rental service, meaning that you can both lend out your pieces and rent pieces from the wardrobes of other users. Each item has its own price, there’s no subscription service here, and they can all be rented for four, 10, or 20 days. Lenders keep 76% of the transaction without the hassle as the platform generates all the shipping labels needed.
6. Le Tote
With an amazing maternity range and loads of other pieces of clothing, Le Tote is perfect if you regularly have work events, parties, or an expanding belly. Their monthly box of goods is very personalized, suggesting styles based on your browsing preferences, previous boxes, and even the weather forecast. You can choose between different subscription plans, including accessories or not. The Classic membership is $59 a month and the Maternity option is $79 a month.