I love a good party: flowing champagne, rockin’ dance tunes, and the perfect opportunity to show off a fancy outfit. But even with a closet full of cocktail dresses, I still have nothing to wear. Bored with last year’s dress, and too frugal to shell out hundreds of dollars for a new one, I always find myself scrounging to find something decent to wear.
So when I discovered the world of luxury rentals, I wanted to jump for joy. Men have been renting tuxedos for years; why shouldn’t I be able to rent my favorite Proenza Schouler runway look? For some women, leasing luxury items makes more fiscal (and sartorial) sense than purchasing them. Fashion seasons are notoriously short, so what’s de rigueur now will be passé in six months. My motto? Invest in classic pieces; borrow more experimental styles. Like a knight and his suit of armor, all women need is a killer dress, bag, and jewels to feel glamorously invincible. Luckily, you don’t have to drain your savings account to treat yourself to the best.
Dress Me Up in Couture Love
Rent the Runway, a new Web site the New York Times described as “Netflix for dresses,” allows members to rent dresses from over forty designers for $50 to $200. For example, a stunning, Audrey Hepburn-esque Giambattista Valli dress that would cost $4,000 to buy is only $200 to rent. Styles from luxury designers like Hervé Leger and Yigal Azrouël are available for 90 percent off retail prices. For less adventurous shoppers, Diane von Furstenberg, Catherine Malandrino, and Project Runway winner Christian Siriano are also available on the site.
Co-founders Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Carter Fleiss met at Harvard Business School. After watching her younger sister struggle with the decision of sacrificing her paycheck for a designer party dress, Fleiss consulted with Hyman about starting a luxury rental business—and Rent the Runway was born.
“Girls still want to go out, have fun, but not feel guilty about cost per wear of their outfits,” Ms. Fleiss said. “Rent the Runway enables girls to have new, fun styles without the guilt of purchasing things at full price.”
Part of the fun, however, of renting fashion is the low-risk accessibility of more wacky, on-trend designs. If your style is more black-dress-and-pearls, but you’re dying to try a bright pink sequined Robert Rodriguez dress, renting it for an evening is an appealing—and affordable—option.
