Rent the Runway Review

By Sarah Matheny on January 13th, 2010

runway-1
Any time a special event comes up I just have to have a new dress. I couldn’t, after all, possibly wear the same dress that I wore for my engagement party to my anniversary dinner. I can’t repeat wear my law school graduation dress to my girlfriend’s cocktail party. Where does this leave me? With a closet full of little black dresses that have each been worn once.

So, with my sixth wedding anniversary approaching, I leaped at the chance to do a review for Rent the Runway. Rent the Runway is a company based in New York City that has an inventory of hundreds of designer dresses for loan. Customers browse the gorgeous gowns, ranging from $1,500 Herve Legers to $295 Alice + Olivias, and select a dress. Rent the Runway then ships the dress directly to you, in your estimated size, and the next size up or down, for a rental fee as low as $50. You then wear the dress, and send it back in a prepaid postage envelope. Genius.

The beauty of Rent the Runway is that you don’t have to commit hundreds of dollars to a style or designer that you might not usually wear or buy. For me, however, this was also my downfall.

I had a hard time narrowing down the dresses I liked. I took advantage of Rent the Runway’s on-staff stylists to help make my decision. I simply clicked a “chat” button the site had and was immediately connected to a stylist who asked what kind of dress I was looking for. I described my body type as tall and flat-chested (sure to drive the men crazy). The stylist was able to pull up my bookmarked favorites and see which dresses I was salivating over. Based on my information, the stylist suggested I try the Herve Leger bandage dress. Having seen my favorite celebrities, including Victoria Beckham and Rachel Bilson, wear Max Azria’s sexy creations, I was intrigued. With a vote of confidence from a few friends, I thought, “Just maybe I can pull this off.”

Unfortunately, Rent the Runway doesn’t send a tailor with their dresses. When I got the dress, I couldn’t fill out the top portion, and the bottom was so short I wouldn’t be able to leave the house without a bikini wax. You know the situation is dire when my two-year-old is running around the living room chanting, “Hooker dress! Hooker dress!”

I don’t blame Rent the Runway, I blame my 31-year-old, “I’m not ready to wear Mom jeans yet” ego. Had I chosen a safer style with a less snug fit, I would have been happier. Rent the Runway ensures their customer’s satisfaction, and even ships a second style for a $25 fee. I would definitely rent from them again, but would have thrown in that Diane Von Furstenburg my mom was raving about instead. Groan.

As for my anniversary dinner, I ended up wearing the same dress I wore to my engagement party. Lucky for me, my husband doesn’t notice things like dresses…or flat chests.