Before I had kids I loved shopping, I loved it so much that sometimes it got me into trouble. I loved a day of doing lunch with friends and coming home with bags and bags of clothes, shoes and yes bags that I would stuff my closet with. But once I had kids things changed. It wasn’t that I stopped loving shopping just that I didn’t have time for it and it quickly became something that I wouldn’t make time for.
6 years since Jack was born and I can honestly say that I do the majority of my shopping online. So when I had a wedding coming up, my first instinct was to look online for a dress. Then a friend suggested I try Rent the Runway. I had heard of Rent the Runway before but had never used it, though I was thinking about using it for my brother’s wedding in the fall. So I decided to give it a trial run for this wedding to see how it would go.
How Does Rent the Runway Work
Rent the Runway has designer dresses that you can rent for 4 or 8 days at a time. You pick your dress from their inventory and they send you the dress, you can also add accessories like handbags and jewelry. They ship you your dress and after you wear it you simply send it back in the garment bag provided.
How do you Decide on a Dress
Since it is all online there is no way to try on the dress before hand. You can read reviews from previous renters to hear how the dress fit them and how true the sizing was. Before I picked my dress I read lots of reviews on all the dresses that I liked. I also knew what style of dress I was looking for, which made it easier for me to narrow down what dress I wanted.
So What Went Wrong with My Rent the Runway
My dress didn’t fit. I blame myself because several reviews clearly said to size up but I wasn’t sure what my dress size was and I read a review where a girl with similar measurements to me wore a size 2, so I thought I would be safe in a 2 but I wasn’t.
What Happens when Your Rent the Runway Doesn’t Fit
As soon as I realized that the dress didn’t fit, I called Rent the Runway. At the same time I went on their site to find out what to do.
I had two options: 1. To send back the dress and get a refund for the cost of the dress, 2. To have them overnight me another dress for the cost of shipping. I had 24 hours from when the dress arrived to decide what to do.
I chatted online with someone from Rent the Runway who let me know my options. At the same time I texted a friend an SOS message asking if she still had the dress I borrowed a few years ago, she did. Initially I thought I would just get a refund but since I had decided that I wanted to try the service, I opted to have them send me another dress.
I had to send the first dress back that day, I was able to keep the jewelry that I had requested.
The Second Dress
There was much more limited selection for my second dress, none of the options I had initially liked were available, neither was the next size up in my dress. I looked at lots of dresses and finally settled on a navy color blocked dress. The reviews said that it ran big, so I sized down. The dress fit well and was really flattering and it matched the bracelet that I had received to go with the previous dress.
What I Wore
While I really liked the Rent the Runway dress, the dress that I borrowed from a friend was an old favorite that I had worn to an event before. I was comfortable and confident in it, which was really all I wanted in a dress. So I wore something borrowed to the wedding instead of rented.
Would I Rent the Runway Again?
I still have my brother’s wedding coming up this fall and the shopping options where I live can be less than exciting so I’m not ruling it out. I loved the selection of dresses and I thought the two dresses that were sent to me were well made and beautiful.
How to Have a Good Rent the Runway Experience
- Know your dress size
- Know your measurements
- Know what cuts of dresses work best on you.
- Pick something in your comfort zone, so your more likely to wear it.
If you want to try Rent the Runway you can use my affiliate link and save on your first order.
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