Renting out your clothes isn’t just good for the environment, it’s also good for your bank balance.
And, thanks to the boom of rental apps used by celebs from Holly Willoughby and Stacey Dooley to Carrie Johnson and Laura Whitmore, it’s never been easier to recoup funds on that splurge item that made you feel a little bit guilty at the time.
In fact, with the right know-how, you can actually make a tidy profit.
We spoke to three women behind the most rented items on By Rotation, one of the biggest players in the biz, to hear the stories behind their money-making wardrobes.
The dress that made £1,865
Jenna Nicholls, 30, from Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, bought this red Self Portrait dress for a winter wedding in December 2019 and received so many compliments from other guests, she decided to spread the love.
‘The shape definitely caught my eye,’ she says of the dress, which has a RRP of £395. ‘I loved that it’s kind of corseted into the skirt, and that you could wear it with both heels open toe sandals.
‘I felt like although it was a bright colour, it was a good investment at the time.’
But sadly, she wore the dress just once. Jenna opened a Crossfit gym and her body changed shape due to training. When the dress became ‘a bit snug’ she decided to list it on By Rotation.
‘I knew I wouldn’t get much resale value for it, so that’s when I thought okay, I’ll give it a go,’ she says. ‘Renting it has obviously been successful!’
She’s not exaggerating. Jenna’s dress has been rented a whopping 45 times at £15 per day, giving her a healthy profit of just over £1,865 and a return investment of 472%.
As a fashion lover, she always asks renters to post a picture with their review, so she can see them in her much-loved frock.
‘It’s so lovely to see how different it is on everyone and how everyone styles it. You know, whether they have their hair up or their hair down, what shoes… someone’s belted it before,’ she says.
‘That’s why I love fashion – you can make anything a reflection of you.’
Her advice for anyone renting out their wardrobe for the first time is to double check logistics with whoever you’re renting to. When do they need the dress? What day is the event? What time are they leaving home?
‘Sometimes I’ve had rentals back to back and there’s not been enough time to guarantee it’ll arrive on time,’ she says.
Though most people in the rental community are ‘lovely’, accidents do happen. Most rental apps will help facilitate reimbursement for the cost of a repair or charge the renter in full if an item is unsalvageable.
But if in doubt, Jenna recommends starting with an item you’re not emotionally attached to.
‘Definitely start with pieces that aren’t sentimental,’ she says. ‘For example, the Self Portrait dress just doesn’t fit me, so if something happened, it’s not like I’m at risk of losing out.’
Jenna’s dress is available to rent in a UK size 10 here.
The bag that made £1,330
Rachel Ann Jones, 38, from North Yorkshire, treated herself to this Shrimps bag for her wedding day in February 2021, but started renting it out before her big day even arrived, when her wedding was postponed due to Covid.
‘I think a lot of people worry about damages, but as a renter, you’ve got to expect some wear and tear,’ she tells us. ‘So no, I didn’t mind other people using it first. It pained me that something so beautiful was just going to be sat in my wardrobe!’
The bag, which has a RRP of £495, has been rented 42 times for £8 per day, which would give Rachel a profit of around £1,135 – a 249% return on the investment.
But bargain-savvy Rachel actually paid just £300 for the original bag, after finding it available to buy secondhand (new with tags) from Vestiaire Collective – an online shop where you can buy and sell secondhand designer goods.
Rachel, who tries to buy secondhand as much as possible, says the bag has mostly been rented for weddings and frequently by other brides.
‘It’s amazing, but I’m also sometimes a bit jealous when I see some of the girls’ dresses and I think “I wish I’d worn that!”‘ she jokes.
‘I think with the wedding thing, a lot of people like it because it’s their “something borrowed,” which is really nice as well.’
When her own nuptials finally came around, she managed to fit makeup, a veil and even spare shoes inside the deceptively spacious bag.
‘It’s actually really versatile, as well as a pretty large bag for something in the evening bag category,’ she says. ‘It can be dressed up or down. I’ve used it on nights out to jazz up more casual outfits!’
You can rent Rachel’s bag here.
The dress that made £960
Stylist Claudia Ruggiero, 33, from Bedford, decided to splash out on the £335 Gio Polka Dot Rixo dress in July 2019 after seeing Made In Chelsea star Emma Louise Connolly wearing it online.
‘I thought it was amazing, and my husband had booked for us to go to the Ritz for dinner for our anniversary, so I wore it for that,’ she says. ‘I’ve been wearing it ever since and every time I wear it I get compliments, so I’m happy I bought it in the end.’
A photo of her wearing the dress started racking up likes on Instagram, and By Rotation got in touch to ask if she’d considered renting it out. When lockdown hit in 2020, she decided to take the plunge.
The dress, which she describes as ‘fun and perfect for every occasion,’ has been rented 29 times on the app at a price of £11 per day. The result? A profit of £960 and a return of 287% on her investment.
At first, the idea of renting out her favourite dress was a little nerve-wracking, but after its success, Claudia has listed her entire wardrobe on the app.
The Rixo design is by far the most popular, though, and is usually rented for special occasions.
‘It’s just a standout piece,’ she says. ‘It’s bright and colorful. You won’t be missed. I hadn’t seen a dress like that before.
‘One girl actually walked her mum down the aisle in that dress, so that’s probably one of my favorite stories [from renters]. And it’s been to weddings and engagements as well.’
Since renting out her wardrobe, she’s only had ‘minor issues,’ such as threads coming loose, which have always easily been sorted.
For anyone thinking of renting out their wardrobes, she says ‘just do it!’.
‘I’m on maternity leave at the moment and it’s been such a great little income on the side,’ she says. ‘I would definitely recommend it to anyone.’
There is one downside though: ‘Because it’s always being rented all the time, I can’t always wear the dress when I want!’
Claudia’s dress is available to rent in a UK size 8 here.
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