What Are
You Renting
for the Holidays
By Sherrie Wilkolaski and Courtney Lowden
I
f you want to feel like you just
came off the runway, rent it.
Fashion moves as quickly as taking
your next breath. Its constant
evolution can be difficult to keep
up with when you want to be garbed
in the latest designer look, and prefer
to wear a piece only once. What is a
girl to do! There is a retailer that
caters to just such a shopper and it’s
called Rent the Runway. When I heard
about the service, I knew we had to
send our Fashion Editor, Courtney
Lowden, out on assignment to
investigate. She was already familiar
with the designer rental company,
but had never personally used their
service. There was an event on her
calendar that called for a high-class
look and off she went to their flat
iron location. We attempted to do a
more in-depth interview, but their PR
department informed us there was no
one at the company available
for interview.
Here is a look at Courtney’s
experience with renting an evening
dress from Rent the Runway.
SW: How did you hear about Rent
the Runway?
CL: My friend Jen turned me onto it
a few years ago. She rented a dress...
while she wasn’t in love with her
particular results (she had the dress
mailed to her and never got to try it
on), she LOVED the service. The idea
is genius. I always wanted to try it,
but I never trusted what the dresses
would look like in person. Spending
$100-$200 on a dress for an evening
seemed risky if I wasn’t sure I would
look my best. When I found out they
opened a brick and mortar store in
the flat iron district and got a
wedding invite, I thought it would be
the perfect opportunity to try it
out! And BAM, it worked!
SW: How was the overall
experience?
CL: Booking was super easy, I did it
online via their website. They had a
lot of appointments available, which
was helpful, and also have walk-in
appointments if you don’t know
when you can get there. My stylist
was great, she had dresses ready for
me based on some guidelines I sent
her when I signed up, including;
sizes, colors, length and price range.
She had about six dresses selected
and waiting for me. I
ended up seeing a dress
on another client and
ended up going with
that, I just had to try it
on. It was the Lady in
Waiting Gown by Nicole
Miller and it was perfect!
It retails for $960 and
rents for $150. Since it
was my first purchase, I
received a $25 off coupon
for signing up online,
114
Jon and
Courtney
Lowden before
the big event