Even with a closet full of clothes, many women suffer from the age-old complaint: I don’t have anything to wear.
Two recent Harvard Business School graduates aided the timeless plight by creating Renttherunway.com, a Web site that allows women to rent high-end dresses for one-tenth of what they cost.
For most women, the luxury of walking into a retail store and purchasing dresses from designers like Roberto Cavalli, Hervé Léger and Catherine Malandrino is, and probably always will be, a dream. But Renttherunway.com makes dreams a reality for women working on a budget with rentals ranging from $50 to $200 for a four-night loan.
The Web site makes renting a dress as easy as ordering a textbook. Customers browse the vast selection of designers, schedule a delivery date and the dress arrives the next day. Just to be safe, included with the dress is a second back-up size, a custom garment bag and a fit kit, including double-sided tape, bra strap adjusters and deodorant stain removers. If the customer isn’t sure what style she will be feeling that evening, for an additional $25, she can rent a back-up dress.
After a night of looking fabulous, the customer places the dress in pre-paid packaging and drops it in the mail for a no-hassle return. Dry cleaning is included in the initial price, but a $5 insurance fee covers most wardrobe mishaps, like a missing button, broken zipper or slight stain. If the dress is returned in complete disarray, the renter is responsible for the full retail price.
Jenna Rush, a UF advertising senior, stumbled upon Renttherunway.com on a Twitter feed from Glamour.com earlier this semester.
“I was instantly intrigued,” she said. “The clothes are incredible, and the prices are reasonable, even for a college student like me.”
With Christmas parties just around the corner, winter weddings on the mind and formals galore, Rush said Renttherunway.com is just what any recessionista needs to survive the holiday season.
The Web site also offers a hotline with stylists available to help with fittings.
“They offer girls reassurance,” co-founder Jennifer Carter Fleiss said. “Some girls may resist branching into new designers and styles, but our stylists walk you through the process. They help you find the perfect dress for your body type.”
Rush is one of Renttherunway.com’s founding members. With the Web site being invitation-only, Rush had to request to be part of the exclusive service. Now, more than 65,000 people are members, and 20,000 people are on the waitlist. Members receive e-mail updates of new dress arrivals and special discounts.
For New Year’s Eve, Rush plans to rent a chic one-shoulder sequin Alice and Olivia cocktail dress that she said she wouldn’t normally be able to afford. Co-founder Jennifer Hyman brainstormed the idea during a trip home to New York City. Hyman’s younger and incredibly fashionable sister Becky was stumped on what to wear to a wedding. She hunted through her closet but found nothing that inspired her. Becky’s meek salary as an accessories buyer for Bloomingdale’s made the idea of purchasing a designer piece unrealistic.
“She felt guilty about buying something new, didn’t want to borrow from a friend and wished there was a way to rent a dress that would have gotten her excited for the event,” Carter Fleiss said.
Back at school, the Hymans and Carter Fleiss created many business plans and held a meeting with Diane Von Furstenberg in hopes of getting Renttherunway.com off the ground.
After speaking to more than 1,000 women, Fleiss said that women’s worries evolved into Rent the Runway.
“The Web site gives women the access to the Carrie Bradshaw club,” she said. “Girls get to dress up and have fun with fashion. They don’t have to go to Forever21 or H & M and get the knock-off. It’s the best way for designers to get real girls in their clothing.”
The co-founders plan to launch accessories in the spring. Carter Fleiss said it will show women how to dress up or down any of the items featured.
They also plan to dabble into profit sharing with the designers, bridesmaid’s products and eventually become international.
“Renttherunway.com is great for girls who are conscious of cost,” Carter Fleiss said. “It gives girls who never had the opportunity to wear designers like Just Cavalli, to test out the hot red dress and if she has a great experience in it she’ll want to go out and buy it.”
