Why I Started Renting The Runway (and Why I Can’t Stop)
My first reaction to the idea of Rent the Runway was no thanks, I’m good.
The concept of wearing someone else’s expensive designer dress didn’t jump out to me as something I absolutely had to try. It pretty much jumped away from me (due to the fact that it grossed me out, and I have an extreme fear of anything that could potentially have bed bugs.)
That opinion changed right before New Year’s. A combination of the constant RTR ad’s I saw on my path ride to work, a recommendation from my fashion advisors Tori and Amy, and my love for this Nicole Miller dress tempted me to try out my first rental.
I browsed the site for much longer than I’m willing to admit, and settled on the Nicole Miller (^ featured above) after it called out to me, and said I had to buy it (with the 20% off coupon I got for signing up.)
With Rent The Ruwnay, you can browse reviews and photos from users who’ve already rented that particular item. Each dress link also has stylist advice, product details, and a size and fit description (I found that part to be extremely helpful.)
The only other fear I had with my first rental was “what if I destroy this?” According to the FAQ’s on the site you basically have to rip it apart to ruin it (since the $5 insurance covers most stains.)
#win
Returning the dress was super easy too. You get 4 days with your dress of choice (if it doesn’t fit, you send it back the first day you receive it, fo’ free.) Simply drop it back in the pre-paid packaging on the last day of your rental and put it in a mailbox. done and done.
But back to the coup. part, I highly recommend looking for promo codes before purchasing. Just make sure you check out the fine print on each deal before falling in love with a dress you think will be discounted. They just recently sent me an email for my birthday saying I should rent a dress for the occasion (but then I read how it was only for rental’s over $100)
Their bday email ended up working out well for them tho, because I rented this Pencey dress
for this Saturday, and didn’t use the $20 off.
Will I be the most dressed up person at karaoke? yes.
Will I care? nope.
Now, despite the fact that I spend my days fantasizing about imaginary black tie events that I could wear a dress like this to (with Ryan Gosling as my date):
I stand by my claim that the site is just a healthy obsession, that I can stop anytime I want to…
yup. anytime.
