My First Rent The Runway Experience
/Ever find yourself with three social events in short time span?
NOT ME... until this past Fall/Winter.
I had a wedding on October 29, a company holiday party on December 3 and another wedding on December 10.
What the heck was I going to do?
I am not one that has a closet full of cocktail or fancy dresses!
So I was at a loss for ideas. Thankfully I have some smart friends who suggested I check out Rent The Runway!
Have you heard of it?
It is pretty easy: you scan through their website looking at potential dresses that you rent. You can sort by type of dress (cocktail, formal, etc), as well as, price, dress size, min/max price, colors, length, etc.
You have the ability to rent a dress in different sizes, which put my mind a little more at ease. They will also overnight you another size if neither of the first two fit. You can also rent an additional dress option (two sizes) for an extra $35.
I was wicked nervous about ordering something online without being able to try it on, but I liked that the dresses featured reviews from past customers. Some included photos of how they looked in the dress. It was really helpful information and it was nice seeing someone with a similar build to me in the dress.
I of course enlisted the help of friends to choose my first dress. Since it was my first order, I received 20% off. Man the site was winning me over already.
For my first order I went with the ML Monique Lhuillier back down dress for my friend's wedding. It retails at $498 and I was able to rent it for $71.13 (with shipping and handling and taxes). Dress rental itself $65 for 4 days.
I chose the 4-day rental over the 8-day rental (which I believe is more expensive). It arrived on the Thursday and had to mail it back on Sunday.
I rented the 10 and 12. The 10 would've been too too snug so I went with the 12 for comfort.
I really felt beautiful in this dress. It was comfortable, it had pockets and it had some fantastic sparkle.
The dress came in a garment bag and had the return label inside of it. So all I had to do was stop by my local UPS store to mail it back. Luckily I have Staples across the street. You also get an extra day to mail it back if you return day is a Sunday. But since ours is so close it was easy to do on Sunday.
For my second order I went with ML Monique Lhuillier Ring Around The Dress. It retails at $498 and I was able to rent it for $63.70 (with shipping and handling and taxes). Dress rental itself was $45 for 4 days.
I loved how similar it was to the first dress I rented. It had the same bust line and pockets!!!
It was a little out of my comfort zone not wearing black, but I wanted to add a pop of color (this is pink/gold) for my company's holiday party. The party was actually at the same place as the previous wedding.
Again the dress arrived on Thursday for my Saturday event. I once again brought it to Staples by noon on Sunday even though I had until noon on Monday.
For my third and final order it was time to try something different. I just realized I went with the same designer though. :) ML Monique Lhuillier Meet at Midnight Dress. It retails at $548 and I was able to rent it for $53.07 (with shipping and handling and taxes). Dress rental itself was $35 for 4 days.
I loved the cut of this dress: shorter in front/longer in back. And guess what? It also had pockets. 3-for-3 with pockets.
For this dress I was worried it would be too tight so I rented the 12 and 14 and found the 12 fit like a glove.
I received a ton of compliments on it. :)
This dress delivery was different than the first two. The first two arrived in black garment bags, while this dress arrived in a box. Inside the box there were two padded envelopes (one for each size) to send the dress back in.
In total I spent $187.90 (including shipping and handling and taxes), which I could have easily spent on one dress that I would've worn to all three events!
I like that you receive the dress two days before your event so you have time to receive a new size if necessary.
I loved all three dresses and had a great experience overall. The website offers plus sizes as well. It also has options outside of dresses like clothing and accessories if you need it.
I will definitely be trying it again in the future if I have another formal event to attend.
Have you tried Rent The Runway?
