RentTheRunway.com introduces “Netflix for clothing” dress rental
Posted on 27. Dec, 2009 by The Transumerist in Fashion Rental, Rental Services
“Netflix for Dresses” is a turn on for fashionista transumers who want to dazzle everyone with an expensively stunning evening gown without the high cost of buying.
What if your closet was big enough to hold all the latest runway trends? What if, just for a night, you could experiment a little – say, try a one-shoulder dress in a deep, sexy red? What if that dress you saw in Vogue, the one with the stratospheric price tag, was suddenly affordable? What if you had an entire rack lined with styles that were perfect for any special occasion, another filled with cheeky ’80s redux? And what if you had a team of stylists to constantly update everything and offer tips about what size to wear and how to accessorize?
Now all of that is a reality, and it is called Rent the Runway. Rent the Runway gives users access to high fashion without any of the headaches. There’s no need to scour 20 different stores, worry about a piece selling out, or stress over when you’ll wear an investment dress again. Pushy salespeople with intimidating attitudes? Not anymore. You can even shop in your pajamas (we won’t tell!). In addition to the convenience, RTR makes high fashion affordable. We buy pieces directly from top designers and then offer rentals at just 10% of retail prices. It couldn’t be simpler: just browse our pages until you find something you love. Put it in your basket, tell us when you’d like it delivered, and it’ll appear on your doorstep—in two different sizes, just to be safe. Yes, it’s that easy. After your date, or wedding, or cocktail party, is over, just repack it in handy, pre-paid packaging and just drop it in a mailbox. (And don’t forget to tell us how it went!)
How RTR works:
1. Love
Browse through our array of A-list designers and find a dress you love. Or two!
2. Wear
Schedule a delivery date, and your dress will appear on your doorstep. Next-day and even same day delivery (if you live in NYC) is available, for last minute wardrobe crises. And we’ll send you a second, backup size- just to be safe.
3. Return
Put your dress in our handy prepaid packaging and drop in the nearest mailbox (we take care of the dry cleaning!)
The Backstory
Co-founders Jennifer Hyman (Jenn) and Jennifer Carter Fleiss (Jenny) met as sectionmates at Harvard Business School, where, over frequent girls nights, they became fast friends. During a trip home to New York City, Jenn watched her sister, Becky—an accessories buyer at Bloomingdales, and about as fashion-savvy a girl as there is—struggle over what to wear to an upcoming wedding. She knew she wanted to wear something stunning—Herve Leger, maybe, or Proenza—but her modest salary meant that everything high-end was out of reach. If the Beckys of this world can’t wear a designer dress, Jenn thought, what hope is there for the rest of us? Not to mention the designers themselves: If they’re not able to get their pieces into the hands of young, fashionable women, how could they build their brands?
Cut to: Cambridge, Massachusetts, several days later. Jenn told Jenny about Becky’s dilemma, and, this being business school, they started creating a company. A few business plans later (okay, more than a few), along with a formative meeting with Diane Von Furstenberg (in their next life, Jenn and Jenny plan to come back as the effortlessly chic DVF), and Rent the Runway was born. It’s a community designed to fill the needs of women just like Jenn and Jenny and Becky—women who know and love high fashion, who want to look glamorous for all their nights out (or even a special night in!), who want to have fun with fashion but who don’t want to deal with all the anxiety of investing in piece after piece. Users benefit from the expertise of professional stylists and the shared wisdom of like-minded fashion-forward members. Through exclusive relationships with top designers, Rent the Runway is able to continually update its stock with the latest pieces.
And to think: it all started with that age-old complaint: I don’t have anything to wear. Now you do, and you’re going to look amazing!
Laquanda Dezell
Feb 15th, 2010
yea good story
…;)
Newton Tedrow
Mar 4th, 2010
Great posting