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Writer's pictureJodi Runger

Rent the Runway: Yes Way or No Way?


A trend for one of the latest life hacks are clothing subscription boxes. In a previous post, I reviewed a few different ones that I tried. Unfortunately, I was not a big fan of any of them. That doesn’t mean I don’t think they would be great for other people and I did not hate them, but they were not ideal for me. My main issue with previous subscription boxes I have tried is they did not really fit my personal style.


No matter how I filled out the questionnaire or what feedback I gave the stylist, I never got anything random that blew me away or I thought I could not find on my own. However, obviously I love to shop and one of my favorite things to do is put together outfits. Don’t laugh, but sometimes I lie in bed at night and think about what pieces in my closet will go together to make an outfit. Although I do love to put outfits together, sometimes I get in a style rut. I admit these subscription boxes are great for exploring new styles or trying things you may never try if you walked by the piece in the store.


This style subscription experiment brings me to my current review of Rent the Runway. I tried Rent the Runway when it first came out and only included gowns and cocktail dresses. At that point it was early on in development and although a great concept, not for me. I tried several dresses and because I am 5’2, small from the waist up but bigger in the booty.... NOTHING would fit me. Hence, I became frustrated and vowed to never try it again.


Fast forward a few years and I am complimenting a few of my friends on their cute blouses and casual dresses. They tell me that Rent the Runway has stepped up their game and now includes casual clothing! I had to give it another try! I don’t have time or patience to deal with lots of transactions or be on a time frame of when I must get to the post office. Therefore, after reading all the options I signed up for the monthly "Unlimited" package. The monthly Unlimited is $150.00 for the first month and $170.00 thereafter. The beauty of it is that you can check out as many items as you like per month, but the catch is that you can only check out four items per time. If you are a person who likes to wear things once and move on, then RTR is your jam!


Pros:

I really like the name brands that are offered and categories. If you like to put outfits together like me, you should try RTR. I love that I still have my own styling control with RTR. This option is not available with many other subscription services because there is always a stylist or someone working there who sends you what they think you would like based on your questionnaire answers.


You can pick from jeans, cocktail dresses, work dress, casual wear and even handbags/earrings. Everything is also shipped in a super nice clothing hanger bag with plastic and nice hangers. The labels (shipping to you and returning to RTR) are also nice/reusable and pre-printed. You can have it shipped to anywhere and return it to any UPS store. I could see how it might be a pain if you live in a rural area without a UPS store. But, the good news is that once you get the clothing you can keep it as long as you want before returning it. You can keep an item a month and wear it multiple times before you return it or keep it a day and send it back. If you live far away from a UPS store you may want to keep the items longer and get more wear from them before returning. Additionally, RTR also has the option to purchase the piece for a discounted price. Some designer pieces are really an investment so what a great way to test out if you like something before you buy. Plus, you get the discount.


I have not tried any cocktail dresses/gown or accessories yet. I mostly get different blouses and casual work dresses. I would say that 90% of everything I have ordered has fit me well. However, some things were more flattering than others. You can put your height, weight and sizes in the RTR app and before you rent a piece read the reviews. You can pull up reviews from other people who have worn the piece and have similar measurements to your body type. I really love that aspect and some ladies even post pics, which is uber helpful. I recently tried a few pairs of pants and was shocked when they fit me. I ALWAYS read the reviews because clothing brands vary so much in size, especially some of the higher end clothing.


Cons:

Let’s talk about organization. When I am scrolling through the RTR app to decide what I am going to rent next, I like to think of it as I am standing in my closet looking through my clothes. They have the sections broken down into types of clothing. You can also search by brand name, work, weekend/casual or cocktail. I REALLY wish they would break the categories down into seasonal selections! The problem is that under blouses you can find anything from a crop top to a turtleneck. We all know how crazy the weather can be and it is so different in many places throughout the US. If they added seasonal categories it would make your search much easier and efficient. (Are you hearing me, RTR?)


My biggest con is that I have found it normally takes about 3 days once you return the items to UPS before the app will let you select new items. Then it normally takes 3-5 days after that to get those items. Hence half of your month is used up by shipping time. I try to keep two pieces and return two pieces per time so I always have something I have rented in my closet. Also, the app lets you make lists and "heart" certain items but when it is time to pick new items you have no way to know of those items will be available or not. You basically cannot plan ahead to rent or wear any specifc item.


Another complaint I have it that although the $170.00 month is advertised as “Unlimited” you are still limited when it comes to cocktail dresses. They do not make this fact obvious when you sign up, but when you start looking to rent cocktail dresses under the "Unlimited" package only half of the cocktail dresses are options. If you want to try certain designers or specific cocktail dresses you may have to pay an extra fee that is $50.00 to $200.00 depending on the dress and you have to reserve them, but the reservation can only be for 4 days. Ya’ll know I previously said I hate having to plan in a time frame for returning anything. If you have an event and you want to wear a cocktail dress that isn’t part of ”Unlimited” package you have to time it just right. If your event is on Friday, you probably want to check it out the Thursday before the event, it will likely get there a couple of days before the event and then you must ship back a day or two after the event. If I am wrong or have somehow not been doing this correctly, I would love feedback!


Yes Way or No Way?:

In all, I do not regret trying Rent the Runway and I will probably continue to use it on and off for my wardrobe. I do think that I will start pausing my "Unlimited" package and skipping a couple of months here or there when I get tired of selections or want to do some real shopping from stores or online. Considering the issue with the shipping time frame and certain cocktail dresses not included in the ”Unlimited” packages, I think $150.00 per month would be a better price point for the package.


If you have work trips or events coming up or just need style updates for your wardrobe, but no time to shop, I would definitely recommend giving RTR a try. Thanks for reading and as always, I hope you found this information helpful. If you have tried RTR and have input, I would love to hear! Please feel free to message me or leave a comment.





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