Sharing my honest review of Rent the Runway’s clothing rental subscription service & why I’m now hooked! Enjoy 30% off your first month of Rent the Runway using my referral link!
Although I first heard of Rent the Runway a handful of years ago & have multiple friends who have enjoyed their memberships, I didn’t place my first order until January of this year! I travel almost monthly & in January, I had a Beautycounter trip to Hawaii & I figured there was no perfect time to give Rent the Runway a try! Especially because I shop before every trip I go on. So to get new, beautiful clothes, for a fantastic price seemed like the best of both worlds! I’ve now rented over 15 pieces from Rent the Runway, so I want to share my review on whether or not I think having a Rent the Runway subscription is worth it or not!
Rent the Runway Review
As I mentioned, I placed my first Rent the Runway order in January after doing tons of research. I was hesitant on whether or not I’d truly find items I loved. I was also worried about what would happen if something didn’t fit. But I decided to give it a try after browsing their website. I found some really stunning pieces that I knew I’d love to wear on my trip to Hawaii (shown in the photos of this post). The main thing that sealed the deal for me is that the cost of my membership was less than what I’ve paid for one outfit or one cocktail dress on other trips I’ve gone on. I also loved that I could wear designer brands that were 100% out of my budget!
After receiving my first Rent the Runway shipment in the mail, I was BLOWN AWAY. Not only did everything fit like a glove but the items I chose were absolutely beautiful & the quality was amazing.
Rent the Runway has been the only clothing rental subscription service I’ve personally tried. Nuuly is another popular brand. I have friends that are big Nuuly fans too. I believe the only difference is the selection of brands included, the style of clothes, & the price. Although similar in some ways, Nuuly seems to be a bit more casual compared to Rent the Runway. I have browsed Nuuly, but based on what I envisioned for my outfits, Rent the Runway was the better fit for what I was looking for.
What Is Rent the Runway?
Co-founded in 2009 by Jennifer Hyman & Jennifer Fleiss, Rent the Runway is a premier clothing rental subscription service, designed to change the way women get dressed. They envisioned having a dream closet of every trend, every color, every print, & anything you’ve ever wanted to wear, for a fraction of the cost. The goal of Rent the Runway is to allow women to feel their best, wearing what they love. Members are able to enjoy an endless selection of dresses, blouses, outerwear, pants, accessories, & more for work, special events, & everyday!
Rent the Runway is an online e-commerce website, with headquarters in Brooklyn, New York. They operate as mostly a subscription-style business that encourages women to rent clothing instead of buying. Their platform also allows users to buy their rented items. But the idea of renting is definitely appealing to many because it allows women access to high-end clothing & accessories that they may have not had the opportunity to afford. Rather than investing hundreds into one dress that you wear once, you can refresh your entire closet monthly for a subscription that works with your budget.
How Does Rent the Runway Work?
To get started with Rent the Runway, you’ll first choose a subscription plan, which you can pause, downgrade, or cancel at anytime. If you choose an unlimited closet plan, you can browse over 10k rotating designer styles when putting together your shipments. Once you order, your shipment will arrive in 1-3 business days in a reusable garment bag that you will then use to ship the rentals back. Each clothing rental comes clean, on a hanger, & sometimes depending on the item, comes with a plastic garment cover. All of which you will return in your garment bag when you’re sending your shipment back.
There is a lot of flexibility when it comes to customizing your Rent the Runway experience. You can return what you want, hold onto items you’re not ready to let go, add extra spots onto your shipment, & even buy the pieces you love! With that said, since each subscription option has a maximum amount of shipments, I’d suggest swapping all of your items out at once when placing a new shipment. But as long as you’re an active member, you can keep your items for as long as you want! The choice is yours!
Returns
All RTR shipments come with a prepaid return label, so when it comes time to returning your rentals, you simply pack up everything inside your garment bag, slide the return label in the label compartment, & drop it off at a nearly UPS. RTR also offers complimentary home pickup in 34 cities too. If you’re traveling, your hotel should be able to return your items as well! When I went to Hawaii, I brought all of my rentals of course, the shipping label, & my garment bag, packed everything up & gave it to the hotel concierge. It was so convenient & saved so much space in my bag going home!
Rent the Runway Plans
When it comes to getting started, there are three Rent the Runway subscriptions to choose from! I’d suggest choosing a subscription based on how many shipments you need per month. With each option, you can have 5+ items at home at a time. Each subscription will give you 5 items per shipment but you can pay to add additional items on top of your subscription fee. As I share below, I got started with the largest month plan but to be honest, I didn’t even use all of my shipments, so I worked with Rent the Runway’s customer service team on their live chat to downgrade to the middle subscription of 10 items a month with two shipments. When it comes to your monthly plan, you can cancel, pause, or downgrade your membership at any time. I love this flexibility!
Another huge perk of renting with Rent the Runway is that shipping (both ways) & dry cleaning is always included. So if you were to spill or get your rental dirty, they will take care of cleaning it! Huge win!
When putting together your shipment, I’d highly recommend reading & looking at the reviews. There are thousands of good & not so great reviews, which was so helpful when it came time to choosing my sizes. Look for women who are similar in height, weight, & bust size to you! You’ll see that many include photos too, which is so appreciated.
Each subscription below will begin as soon as you check out! Enjoy 30% off your first month of Rent the Runway using my referral link!
Related: Everything I Wore in LA
5 Items a Month | 1 Shipment
The first subscription plan includes 5 items a month (1 shipment) for $84/mo for the first month & then $94/mo after the initial month. The only downside to this specific plan is that you don’t get access to all of Rent the Runway inventory. This subscription only has limited closet access. I personally wouldn’t recommend getting started with this plan. I think you get the most bang for your buck with the other two.
10 Items a Month | 2 Shipments
This second subscription option includes 10 items per month with separate two shipments. It’s $89/mo for the first month & then $144/mo for the following months. You get full access to all of the Rent the Runway inventory (over 800 brands) & in my opinion, this option is the best value & most recommended by RTR too! This is the plan I’m currently using on months when I need to rent!
20 Items a Month | 4 Shipments
The final Rent the Runway subscription includes 20 items per month with four shipments per month. It’s $160/mo for the first month & then $235/mo for the following months. Again, similar to the middle tier subscription, you get access to all inventory, which includes over 800 designer brands. I used a code to save 30% off my first month, so this was the original plan I signed up with & I only rented 12 items. I don’t think this subscription option is worth doing unless your social calendar is BOOKED or you’re using RTR for work/office outfits. Even though 20 items for $160 or $235 is a steal, I simply don’t have that many places to go to use 20 outfits in a month haha!
One Time Rental
If you’re not in need of a full clothing subscription, Rent the Runway also has a one time rental option. This option comes with one free backup size for one of the items you choose. One time rentals are perfect for special occasions because they allow you to reserve items for specific dates. Instead of a full month rental period, one time rentals give you the option of 4 or 8 day rental periods. The prices vary for one time rentals.
Is Rent the Runway Worth It?
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with my Rent the Runway experience thus far. I began my membership in January & will be continuing on throughout the rest of this year during months where I have a special occasion or trip! I don’t need to rent items every month, so I love the flexibility of being able to pause my membership when renting doesn’t make sense for my schedule. If you’re someone who has a busy social life, has a wedding to attend, planning a vacation, or goes into the office, Rent the Runway is something I would definitely recommend looking into to bring some new life into your wardrobe.
I can’t even tell you how fun it’s been to wear designer items without breaking the bank or renting a full weeks worth of outfits for what I’d typically pay for just one! I don’t know about you, but I’m so guilty for having items in my closet that I’ve only worn once. By utilizing a rental service like Rent the Runway, I’m able to still enjoy the fun of a new dress or outfit without paying a steep price for something that I’ll maybe wear once or twice.
Before my first rental, I was definitely skeptical but after being a few shipments in, I would definitely recommend Rent the Runway! The pros are the price, the huge variety of clothes & accessories to choose from, the shipping is super fast (1-3 days), the reviews are so helpful for choosing your size, & it’s just so fun having the opportunity to wear beautiful items! The only con I’ve experienced thus far is not being able to rent the item I wanted because it was unavailable at the time I was placing the order.
Rent the Runway Items in this Post
Before choosing sizes, I made sure to thoroughly read the reviews of each piece before ordering & I haven’t had any sizing issues yet.
Les Reveries Floral Gown (size 6)
RHODE Madeline Dress (size 6)
FARM Rio Macaw Leaves Mini Dress (size M)
LoveShackFancy Tink Dress (size 4)
ASTR Rosita Top (size M)
Since January, I’ve rented 17 items from 14 designers & the value of what I’ve rented is $6,760! Insane right?!
Safe to say, Rent the Runway is my newest obsession! I am currently an active member & will continue to be as it makes sense with my event & travel schedule! Don’t forget to use this link to enjoy 30% off your first month!
Have you tried Rent the Runway? If so, please share your experience below!
I’ve been a member of RTR for a little over a year now, and I agree with almost everything you said. The one exception is quality control. I regularly receive items that are very obviously worn out. On the couple of occasions I’ve contacted RTR about it, they’ve been great at replacing a worn out piece quickly. However, it’s an extra hassle, and convenience is the main goal of my RTR shipment. Also, I sometimes need an outfit for a specific occasion, so it’s a real pain when I receive something unwearable in that situation. I used to be able to avoid this problem by ordering “new arrivals” when I needed to be sure my rentals would work. Unfortunately the website no longer identifies new arrivals.
Thanks for sharing your experience Cynthia! I haven’t had the same exact experience where something was unwearable but as I’ve rented more, I’ve noticed little quality issues too!
I have had similar quality issues. And one top arrived brand new, but was split along the seam. They were good about replacing it. If you go to clothing and sort by newest, you should be able to see the latest arrivals 🙂 I know they used to have a separate section called new arrivals which is not there anymore, but the sorting usually works for me.