Curious about fashion rental? 7 commonly asked questions answered

With many people looking to cut back on non-essential outgoings, it’s no surprise that clothes shopping is on the decline, with research from financial app Revolut showing a 2% spend decrease at UK clothing stores in June compared to May.

At the same time, spending on clothing rental services has increased by 27%, and has jumped by a massive 105% compared to June 2021.

Clearly, consumers still want to indulge in new outfits, but they’re opting for more affordable options – and the desire to move away from fast fashion brands could also be a deciding factor.

Even celebrities are getting in on the act, with style queen Holly Willoughby wearing a yellow The Vampire’s Wife dress rented from HURR Collective on the This Morning Platinum Jubilee special.

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Similarily, when reality-TV show Love Island coupled up with eBay to encourage islanders to wear pre-loved clothes, host Laura Whitmore followed suit, often wearing rented dresses when visiting the villa.

The most memorable of the series being the Emanuel Ungaro hot pink leopard print dress that was once worn by Heartbreaker singer Mariah Carey for Vogue magazine.

If you’re yet to try borrowing a fabulous frock, designer bag or trendy suit from a rental site or app, you may be wondering how it all works.

The process is essentially the same for the various sites: scroll to find the item you want, decide how many days you want to hire it for, wear it, then return.

But how do you find the right fit? Are there hidden costs? And what if you spill wine all over a borrowed dress?

We asked experts to answer seven commonly asked questions about clothing hire…

1. Can you only hire dressy outfits for parties or weddings?

This is probably the biggest misconception about hire sites. While there are plenty of occasionwear options, you can now find all kinds of clothing and accessories.

"The most popular items are party dresses, designer bags and items from trending brands of the moment, but there are also wedding dresses, saris and ski suits," says Eshita Kabra-Davies, founder and CEO of By Rotation, which operates a peer-to-peer service, where ‘rotators’ hire their items to other users.

"At the moment, holidays and suiting are two very strong performing categories," says Isabella West, CEO and Founder at Hirestreet. "We often see that people try renting for the first time because they have a dressy event, but after that, they rent for other things, like dinners out or work events."

2. Can you hire vintage clothes?

This varies between websites. Celebrity-approved Rag Revolution, for example, focuses on the latest designs, while the UK's HURR Collective has a wide range of vintage pieces.

Kabra-Davies says: "One of our most popular listings is a beautiful vintage wedding dress, and we’ve also seen a lot of Y2K style pieces being listed on the platform, such as vintage Vivienne Westwood and Dior."

3. Can you try more than one size to find the right fit?

In most cases, if you want to try more than one size, you’ll have to pay for both, but some sites, like Borrower Boutique, offer a try on service while Covet and The Ivory Closet work by in-person appointments.

"If you do feel you need to order more than one size, simply make sure you return the garment you don’t wear with the tags still attached, and you will receive rental-credit for that item," says West.

With rental sites, there’s a strong focus on helping you find the right fit first time but be sure to check out their terms and conditions ahead of time.

"It’s always best to reach out to the lender if you are worried about fit, so you can enquire about measurements, their height, etc," says Kabra-Davies.

4. Can you hire plus-size clothes?

Most fashion rental sites stock the standard UK 6 to 16 sizes, although some carry a very limited range of sized. Happy Days is one of the few Irish sites that hosts pieces up to size 26.

For a larger variety of sizes, you may have the most luck at peer-to-peer based rental sites such as byBorrow.

5. Do you have to pay to send an item back?

The delivery and returns process varies between sites, so make sure you check before you rent.

With peer-to-peer borrowing you usually need to pay for the postage yourself. For this reason, it's a good idea to have your postage tracked so you can see when it has been delivered.

6. What happens if you accidentally spill something on a garment or rip it?

If you’re hiring an outfit for a party or wedding, chances are, there’s going to be wine and dancing involved, so if there was an accident, would you then have to pay the full retail value of the garment?

Not necessarily. Again, it's a good idea to check the terms and conditions of a site before renting.

For example, The Ivory Closet includes minor damage in the hire price, but excessive damage would likely incur an additional cost which would be dealt with on an individual basis.

Dress Me Up rentals have their own seamstress on hand to repair any minor damage but say that if the damage is not repairable, customers will be charged the recommended retail price of the dress so that it can be replaced.

7. If you love an item can you buy it?

Most sites don’t offer the option to buy items outright as standard, but you can ask about purchasing if you’ve rented a piece and can’t bear to part with it.

"Unfortunately we can’t always sell an item to you, as we may need it for future bookings," West says. "But it’s always worth dropping us a message to request to buy, just in case."

Curious about fashion rental? 7 commonly asked questions answered

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