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by Carley Lake |
Last Updated: May 29, 2020 Nothing makes you realize you have too much stuff like moving to another continent. Maybe if I tried the best clothing rental services I wouldn’t have had overweight suitcases for my move to Amsterdam. (You are welcome for my baggage fees, Tap Portugal.)
Renting and trying the best clothing rental services makes sense for outfits for weddings and other fancy parties you may only attend a few times a year. Instead of buying a fast-fashion dress you plan to wear only once, rent.
Before diving into the best clothing rental services its good to know a bit more about renting and its environmental impact. According to sustainable fashion journalist and author Elizabeth Cline, despite some rental platforms advertising themselves as inherently green, there has yet to be an in-depth environmental study of their operations. There are a few environmental pitfalls in the business models—the proliferation of energy-consuming dry cleaning facilities to carbon-spewing deliveries and returns.
With these issues, renting is still a step in the right direction as it can help with overproduction and overconsumption. It’s better than buying new.
So need a dress for your second cousin’s wedding? See my best clothing rental services picks below.
The Best Clothing Rental Services
1. Rent the Runway
“A subscription fashion service that powers women to rent unlimited designer styles for everyday and occasion.” One of the best clothing rental services.
The queen of the rental market houses a closet of items for weddings, parties, work, every day, maternity, and also caters to college students with a specific discount. It’s one of the best clothing rental services out there.
The company offers 2 membership plans, RTR Update, a “ closet pick-me-up”. This includes one monthly shipment of 4 items chosen by you. RTR Unlimited, its premium membership, is more of an endless closet. Members can rent 4 items at a time and swap them for something new whenever they want.
You can also try on items and talk to team members at their storefronts in NYC, Chicago, Santa Monica, San Francisco, and Washington DC.
Example Designers: Parker, Reformation, Cynthia Rowley, Rachel Zoe, Diane Von Furstenburg, Kate Spade
Prices: $89 for RTR Update and $159 for RTR Unlimited
Location: US
2. Armoire
“Rent an infinite closet, styled just for you. Armoire is a women’s rental clothing membership that continuously styles you with curated, contemporary designs.”
I am loving these style quizzes. Armoire has you take a style quiz and then curates a selection of styles with help from its algorithm and professional stylists. From a list of styles chosen for you, you can choose 4 favorite styles for delivery. An Armoire membership includes unlimited exchanges and maternity clothing options.
Example Designers: Joie, French Connection, Free People, Paige, Scotch & Soda
Price: $149
Location: US
3. Le Tote
“Le Tote is a clothing rental subscription service featuring top brands that will make your dream closet a reality.” One of the best clothing rental services.
This is another one of the best clothing rental services. Le Tote caters to those who want more casual and work options and some help picking what to rent. A style quiz helps the company select the items you will receive in your box(es) of items. Questions include sizing, favorite brands, clothing needs (athleisure, office casual, more business professional looks). Maternity looks round out the selections for renting.
Example Designers: Rachel Rachel Roy, Free People, Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, Nike, Juicy Couture
Prices: Get 2 boxes of 4 items per box a month for $89, 1 box of 5 items $69, 1 box of 8 items $89, 1 box of 10 items $109. Boxes with maternity clothing and accessories are higher in price.
Location US
4. Style Lend
“Like your best friend’s closet, but better. Rent designer items from stylish women.” One of the best clothing rental services.
With Style Lend you can both rent and lend designer clothes (think RTR price range vs. Armarium award season numbers). You pay for each piece you rent individually, just return in 7 days. When lending, you get 80% of the rental price. Style Lend suggests pricing your items at 5-10% of the retail price depending on when the item was purchased. The company also forbids listing fast fashion like H&M, Zara, Forever 21 Topshop. (woop!)
Example Designers: Reformation, Alice + Olivia, For Love & Lemonds, Theory, Milly, BCBG
Example Prices: rag & bone skinny jeans $325 retail value for $40 rental, Christian Louboutin pumps $995 retail for $65 rental
Location: US
5. Haverdash
“Haverdash is a clothing rental subscription service that gives you unlimited access to the latest looks for one flat fee of $59/month.”
Haverdash seems like the perfect option for college-aged and first job demo. The pricing is lower than the options above and the brands for rent are a bit more approachable.
With Haverdash, you can get 3 styles delivered to your door. Wear them once, or as many times as you’d like as you send back when you are ready. Then you will get 3 more items. You can also purchase an item you want to add to your own closet at a discounted price.
Example Designers: ModCloth, cupcakes and cashmere, Jack by BB Dakota, Hayden Los Angeles, French Connection
Price: $59 a month
Location: US
6. Gwynnie Bee
“Gwynnie Bee is a service that offers unlimited styles for women. Raid our closet as often as you like—anytime, anywhere—and never wear the same outfit twice.”
Gwynnie Bee started as a service for sizes 10-32 (thank you for opening up the rental services to most bodies!) and began offering styles for all women sizes 0-32 in January 2018. And it hasn’t stopped catering and providing options for its core, original market.
Items are more every day, work, and weekend than the black-tie wedding.
Example Designers: Karen Kane, NY Collection, Every Body Every Wear, Yumi
Pricing: 2 items out at a time for $69
Location: US
7. My Wardrobe HQ (UK)
“The UK’s premier destination for luxury fashion rental. Buy and borrow designer clothes and accessories for 10% of their RRP.”
WithMy Wardrobe HQ, you can access both current and past season designers’ collections as well as pre-loved pieces from individual wardrobes on a rent and buy model.
MWHQ manages the whole end-to-end process if you wish to lend— photographing, uploading all items, and managing sale transactions. For all this, they charge a 40% commission and suggest rental items are priced at between 10-20% of the original retail value depending on the age of the item and whether it is in high demand.
Example Designers: Balenciaga, Jil Sander, Lanvin, Marni, Paul Smith
Example Prices: Temperley London jumpsuit £1,246 retail value for £22 a day rent, Gucci sunglasses £180 retail value for £8 a day
Location: UK
8. LENA (Netherlands)
“LENA the fashion library is thé fashion library of Amsterdam, where you have access to a high-quality collection of the finest vintage, upcoming designers and eco-labels, which you can swap whenever you like.”
LENA houses local emerging designers, sustainable labels, and vintage and unique preloved items. If I had to have my own closet of any of the rental services I would choose LENA’s.
Designers: Calvin Klein, Matt & Nat, Studio JUX, O My Bag, King Louie
Prices: At the end of each month, LENA calculates exactly what you have to pay based on your borrowing behavior. This is debited by direct debit at the beginning of the following month. This can range from €25 to €200 a month.
Location: Renting is possible in the LENA flagship store in Amsterdam or online in the Netherlands.
10. GlamCorner (Australia)
“GlamCorner is the dress hire leader in Australia. Rent dresses with confidence from the largest online designer wardrobe. Hire a dress from $39.”
Glam Corner houses 10,000 of event dresses and gowns for weddings, cocktail hour, and race day (yes, it’s a thing in ANZ), with renting available one-off and monthly with its premium membership.
For premium, you can pick 3 items for your box and keep as long as you want. Just return your items to get a box refresh.
Designers: ABS by Allen Schwartz, Frame, Thurley, J Brand, Talulah, See by Chloe
Prices: Premium unlimited is $149 a month. An Alice McCall midi dress $550 retail value for $119 rental, Misha blazer dress $420 retail value for $89 rental
Location: Australia
The Best Clothing Rental Services by Traditional Retail Companies
The mall staples have started their own rental programs to keep you with the trend. If you are an avid shopper of one of the retailers you can opt for the rental option and show your support for a more sustainable business model. Now only if they stopped selling new clothes…
Style Passport – Banana Republic
NY&C Closet – New York & Company
Rebecca Taylor RNTD – Rebbeca Taylor
Nuuly – URBN (Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People brands)
Fashion to Figure Closet – Fashion to Figure