Rent the Runway was a success!

hoffse · September 2015

A few months ago I was asking about using Rent the Runway for what H calls "gala season" in our city. Some of the posters on this board said it worked great for them, so I decided to give it a try because we see the same group at all of these things. I just don't have the time to shop for multiple dresses, and frankly, I also don't want to spend the money or dedicate the closet space for it.

My first dress arrived last night for a black tie event tomorrow. I ended up paying $60 for a floor length red dress than retails for nearly $800 plus a statement necklace to go along with it. They send you a free back-up size in case the size you ordered didn't fit, and the whole thing comes in this really fancy fabric bag with a return shipping label included. I was so impressed with the packaging I actually took a picture and emailed it to my mom.

The dresses were in perfect condition, and the back-up size fit great! I just reserved another dress for a wedding in a few weeks where H is best man and we will have 3 wedding events to attend in the same weekend (and thus 3 different outfits for me).

I also got a pro membership for $30 because that provides a year of free shipping and insurance, and they also give you a $50 birthday credit for a rental. My birthday is late October, so I'll use that credit to rent a dress for H's office Christmas party or else New Year's Eve.

Bonus points: RTR is also on ebates, so you can get some cash back for rentals.

Y'all, I'm a convert. This is awesome.

THANK YOU to everybody who told me to give it a try!

AprilZ81 · September 2015

I think we need a picture of you in your dress tomorrow!

JoanE2012 · September 2015

AprilZ81 said:

I think we need a picture of you in your dress tomorrow!

Yup - I read the post and was like, wait, where's the photo??! Glad it worked out!

hoffse · September 2015

JoanE2012 said:

AprilZ81 said:

I think we need a picture of you in your dress tomorrow!

Yup - I read the post and was like, wait, where's the photo??! Glad it worked out!

Ah sorry! I was so excited I posted this a bit prematurely. I'll post pics this weekend!

vlagrl29 · September 2015

That is great! If I needed formal dresses like that I would totally do it.

simplyelise · September 2015

Yay! So glad it worked out for you too. I think what really made me comfortable with it is how many user uploaded photos and reviews there were. I'm a pretty busty lady, so frequently dresses will fit weird in the chest. I also don't feel comfortable wearing short dresses. But you can scope out pics to see how it fits similar body types.

Sounds like a great solution and the membership totally makes sense with your multiple uses.

hoffse · September 2015

simplyelise said:

Yay! So glad it worked out for you too. I think what really made me comfortable with it is how many user uploaded photos and reviews there were. I'm a pretty busty lady, so frequently dresses will fit weird in the chest. I also don't feel comfortable wearing short dresses. But you can scope out pics to see how it fits similar body types.

Sounds like a great solution and the membership totally makes sense with your multiple uses.

Yes! The photos of other users are so incredibly helpful. I'm very small up top but about 3 sizes larger on the bottom (completely pear-shaped), so finding a dress that can handle that is often a challenge. They have so many options that there really is something for every body shape.

Given that shipping and insurance is $15 per order, the pro membership pays for itself with 2 rentals a year. H and I were talking about it, and I think I'll end up using it more than 5 times per year. We have a few black tie things, and there are always a handful of weddings and other office events we have to go to. I'm tired of wearing the same 3 dresses to everything.

formerlyGDaisy09 · September 2015

Yay!

Beware, while the B-day credit seems great...it has some catches...It shows-up in your inbox a few weeks before your birthday and has to be used before or over a period that spans your birthday....so if your birthday were say 9/17, you could rent a dress from the 17th-21st.

I had planned to use my b-day credit for one of our weddings, but it didn't show-up in time to reserve a dress. I did rent a $50 dress for my birthday weekend on the off chance that H and I went out somewhere nice, unfortunately I was having an off-pregnancy weekend and we didn't go anywhere.

hoffse · September 2015

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

Yay!

Beware, while the B-day credit seems great...it has some catches...It shows-up in your inbox a few weeks before your birthday and has to be used before or over a period that spans your birthday....so if your birthday were say 9/17, you could rent a dress from the 17th-21st.

I had planned to use my b-day credit for one of our weddings, but it didn't show-up in time to reserve a dress. I did rent a $50 dress for my birthday weekend on the off chance that H and I went out somewhere nice, unfortunately I was having an off-pregnancy weekend and we didn't go anywhere.

Ah thanks for the head's up - we'll see if it works for us!

juliebeannn · September 2015

Oooo. Great to know! I've been browsing the site to rent a dress for my brother in law's black tie wedding, so I'm glad to hear more positive reviews!! I'm even more excited to hear that they're on ebates!! Awesome!!

edit: spelling

hoffse · September 2015

Here's a pic - this was taken at the end of the night after being under a tent for 5 hours. My hair is kind of frizzed out from humidity/rain, but the dress still looked good! And hey, that's what matters, right?

brij2006 · September 2015

Gorgeous!

short+sassy · September 2015

Thanks for the review. Sounds like a great concept. You look stunning and that dress is gorgeous!

JoanE2012 · September 2015

Love it! And the necklace too!

blondie42107 · September 2015

My friend uses this all the time. She's an at-home mom and lives in a rural area so she loves not having to 1) go shopping, 2) buy something she'll never wear again! Because she doesn't have to maintain a "work" wardrobe, she feels the rental costs are justifiable.

als1982 · September 2015

Cute!!

juliebeannn · September 2015

Gorgeous!

Rent the Runway was a success!

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