Over the weekend, Anel and I were invited to a charity event on the beach by some friends of ours. I knew the crowd was going to be pretty fancy-schmancy, so I wanted to wear something that would fit in. Instead of buying something new, I decided to practice what I preach and rent a dress from Rent the Runway for the very first time. I’ve worked with them in the past but have never gone through the whole process as a regular customer.
To be honest, I was nervous. Rent the Runway wasn’t something I had turned to before, even though I know how much people love it and that it’s a great sustainable option because I thought you would only get one dress and if it didn’t fit tough luck. I was happily surprised to find that this was not the case!
Backup sizes: My main concern was what I would do if the dress didn’t fit. I didn’t realize that you can choose a free backup size when you order. That put my mind at ease and was what convinced me to actually use RTR.
Reduced-rate second style: I also wasn’t sure if the dress I wanted would look good so I picked a second option and learned that you get your second choice for only $32. So that was pretty awesome too.
Customer photos: Another great feature on each product page is customer photos. You can see what the dress looks like on different body types and in different settles.
Rental time: I went for a 4-day rental, but if you’re traveling for a destination wedding or need the dress for longer, they also have 8-day rentals. It arrived on Thursday and I put it back in the mail on Monday morning since Sunday wasn’t a mail day.
The return: The return process was shockingly easy. They packed a return label and all I had to do was switch it out on the front of the zipped garment bag. They don’t use boxes and reuse and recycle all of their hangers and plastic that protects the dresses. Their dedication to sustainability is really wonderful to see.
Sustainability factor: Rent the Runway as a company is incredibly dedicated to sustainability in other ways too, using responsible dry cleaning, only faux fur, and environmentally-friendly packaging. They also have a section of sustainable designers that you can rent from which is where I found both of my dresses.
Customer service: I accidentally ordered my dress for the wrong date and called customer service to fix it. They were really helpful and made the whole process quite painless.
My dress: My first choice was actually a beautiful one-shouldered yellow dress with pink florals (worth $598 and rented for $90) but I got a backup dress that happened to be from the same designer for $50 just in case I didn’t like it on my body (normally worth $698 and rented for $105).
I was able to get both dresses in two sizes so I had four chances for success. I ended up liking the backup dress better than my first choice and went with it instead!
Will I use them again? 100%. We have a black-tie wedding this fall and I plan to rent two more dresses for the event. I have my eye on a beautiful Sachin and Babi floral gown and a Jill Stuart color-blocked column. Which one do you like best?
Have you ever used Rent the Runway? What was your experience?
