Here I am again NOT writing about birth or photography or anything that I am actually an expert in, but instead my guilty pleasure, clothes.
I love clothes. I love creating my own style and looking unique and fashionable. I don’t like wearing the same thing all the time for years unless it’s a pajama shirt.
I also, am in the process of losing a few more pounds of baby-weight (can you call it that when it’s been almost 3 years!?) and working on my fitness so I’m kinda between sizes.
My closet is tiny. It’s one of those double door sliders, and despite putting custom organization in it a few years ago, you can’t fix the fact that it’s small and I live in a little house. I have one dresser.
Buying and throwing away new clothes all the time gives me massive anxiety over the global environmental implications. The average American will throw away 81 pounds of clothes each year. That’s crazy to me.
Also, seasons. I mean, we need sweaters for exactly what, 8 weeks in Phoenix??
Enter Wardrobe Rental.
I was super hesitant about this at first and then my best friend kept showing up in really cute things and looking fresh all the time and she kept telling me that it was “Rent the Runway.” I thought that Rent the Runway was only for fancy gowns and really high-end designer stuff that I’m never brave enough to wear anyway. She had signed up for their monthly service where you can rent a number of “normal wear” items, wear them for a month, then send them back and rent new ones.
Color me intrigued.
So as I do with all things in my life, I immediately started researching the different wardrobe rental services out there. Surprisingly enough, there’s a bunch! Le Tote, Rent the Runway, Gwinnie Bee, American Eagle Outfitters, The Loft, and more!
This is NOT a subscription box like Stitch Fix. With Stitch Fix and their ilk, you are buying new clothes and accessories and then keeping them.
With wardrobe rental you are renting possibly new, possibly already rented/worn and then dry cleaned clothing for a month then sending it back. The same pieces get worn over and over again by different women and you also have the option to buy pieces that you want to keep at a discount.
I ended up going with NUULY. It’s $88/month and you get 6 items. You can now add additional items for $18 each. They have a lot of my favorite brands like Anthropologie and Free People as well as some other brands that I’m discovering that I love!
Renting with NUULY has given me the freedom to try on new trends without spending all the money. I can rent “season-specific” clothing that I don’t need in my year-round capsule wardrobe. It also keeps my interview clothing options looking fresh and new.
Their review system on-line is awesome so I can read reviews on individual clothing items from women with my size, weight, height, etc and even see them on real people. They offer standard, petite, and plus size options in many styles. Seriously, I’m totally in love. And here’s the other thing. It’s helping to cut down on waste! Those clothing items are getting worn so many more times than the average item of clothing before being thrown away or recycled.
Do you always pick winners? No. There have definitely been a couple of items that I didn’t wear something or wore it once, but for the most part I’ve worn my items a ton in the month that I’ve had them. I’ve ended up purchasing a pair of blue pants that I couldn’t live without as well as an awesome zebra striped sweater that I wasn’t ready to part with. Otherwise I’ve really enjoyed the ability to fall in love with something, wear it a bunch during the month, then rent something new and start that love affair all over again.
If like me, you’ve set a goal for decreasing your waste, increasing your joy, and simplifying your day to day, I highly recommend you give wardrobe rental a try.
And yes… you can absolutely call it that after three years 🙂 (same here!)
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