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Dress rental is fast becoming our go-to for special occasions. It’s a great way to practice sustainable fashion, save on wardrobe space and on money – especially if you tend to buy a dress for a special occasion without wearing it again. Plus it’s an affordable way to wear designer clothes.
The offering has never been so good either. Sites like HURR, where I actually rent out my own wardrobe, are editor and stylist-curated, offering a selection of cool brands such as RIXO, Ganni, STAUD and more. You can for example borrow a Rixo dress for a week for around £50 instead of buying it new for £200+.
Other sites allow you to borrow that designer handbag you’ve always wanted but can’t quite justify buying. Whichever item you’re after, here are the best dress rental sites to pick from.
The best dress rental sites:
1. HURR
About: This peer-to-peer dress rental service (you can also hire accessories and bags) has its finger on the fashion pulse, ensuring you get the latest trends delivered to your doorstep, but where it really hits the mark is the technology it uses. Founders Victoria and Matthew recognise the urgency of a dressing crisis, so they’ve served up a real-time ID verification, geo-tagging and AI-powered fashion stylists to ensure HURR is the most secure and trusted way to share your wardrobe.
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Brands: Rixo, Sleeper, Ganni, Victoria Beckham, STAUD, Dior, Rejina Pyo and more.
How it works: This is a peer to peer service, so lenders are responsible for posting their own clothes, unless you choose to use HURR’s concierge service, which does it all for you, but you’ll get a lower commission. Plus you need to get approved before you start lending or renting, ensuring a legit service for everyone.
If you’re renting, you can search by category (dresses, accessories etc), occasion (brunch, out out etc) or designer. Then narrow down your search by date, size. HURR also has a permanent space in Selfridges, should you want to try out the items in store.
How much? It depends on the item, but usually around 20% of the RRP, and the shortest rental is for 7 days. For both renters and lenders, HURR takes a 15% commission. Try it now at the HURR Collective.
2. HIRESTREET
About: Ensuring style and sustainability is inclusive and relatable, the brand prides itself on its research and response to customer feedback. Owning all the product available for rental – pieces are selected six months ahead from brand look books and bought at wholesale, using data-backed processes to determine popular pieces.
Brands: Cult Aussie brands such as Winona, Bardot & Talulah and influencer favourite Spanish brand, Panambi as well as consumer favourites including Ghost, Whistles, French Connection, Rixo, Bec & Bridge and ASOS.
How it works: A different model to other fashion rental platforms, Hirestreet works on a consignment basis with no subscription, to make rental accessible to all. With rental costs starting from £7 for four days, there are four time slots available for flexibility (4, 8, 12, & 16 day slots) and cleaning/repairs are covered in the cost.
About: The platform launched in 2016 and now stocks hundreds of items from over 50 international luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Dior and Chanel, many of which are not available from other rental platforms in the U.K. They also provide access to new season and cult fashion pieces hot off the runway.
Brands: As well as global high end designers like Jacquemus, Chanel, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Gucci and Burberry, they also have a great collection of Indian evening wear from some of the best Indian designers such as Manish Arora.
How it works: Choose a style, book an appointment at the Mayfair showroom or online to ‘try it on’ and rent it out for 5 or 5 days. Once you’re done wearing it, use the prepaid label to return it via UPS collection or drop-off.
How much? The rental price is between 10 – 25% of the retail price. The site charges a flat rate of £15 for delivery and also take a £50 block until the item is returned. The £50 is a requirement from insurers and will be released when the item is returned back in its original condition. Try it now.
4. BAUKJEN
5. ROTARO
About: Backed by a team of industry insiders and co-founded by former WGSN trend forecaster, Georgie Hyatt and partner Charlie Knowles created ROTARO from the belief that the future of fashion is to buy good basics and rent good fun. ROTARO renters can find their favourite styles from contemporary luxury designers to refresh their wardrobe or as a platform to discover new brands.
Brands: Rixo, Ganni, Reformation, Cult Gaia, Vampires Wife, Zimmerman, Jacquemus, Cecilie Bahnsen and Stine Goya, offering a variety of sizes (UK6 – UK16) and styles that strive to be body inclusive and positive.
How it works: Find your style, then select how long you want to rent it out for, Rotaro offers next day delivery.
How much? You can rent dresses from as little as £15 on Rotaro.
6. ENDLESS WARDROBE
About: Endless Wardrobe works differently to peer-to-peer sites so rather than anyone being able to list their wardrobe, they buy the garments direct from partner brands, like De La Vali and Alexa Chung. There’s also a new feature that lets customers shop each style in three ways; rent, buy new and buy good as new.
Brands: Alexa Chung, De La Vali, Free People, Whistles and more. This is great for premium high-street rentals.
How it works: As the range is curated by the brand, there are multiple sizes in almost all items, and as they own the stock, they control all the logistics. Customers can book their rental up to three months in advance right up until the day before. They can choose from a 4, 10 or 16-day rental period, with a slight price increase for longer rental periods – holidays for example. Price includes delivery and dry-cleaning. Customers can order an extra size or style and return this unworn for a refund.
How much? Around 10-20% of the retail price. See more at Endless Wardrobe.
7. BY ROTATION
About: Founded by expat investment banker Eshita Kabra-Davies, By Rotation is a dress rental platform based on inclusivity, with the aim to democratise quality fashion and make it accessible to all. It’s all controlled by the community rather than the other way round making it truly peer-to-peer. It also does not buy any inventory – so it is entirely sustainable.
Brands: Dior, Jacquemus, Vetements, Chanel, Zimmermann and more.
How it works:Download the free app and start browsing, there is no waiting list. The item can either be exchanged in person, via Royal Mail Tracked or via delivery partner Peyk. The lender is in charge of cleaning and cleaning solutions are offered by partner Clothes Doctor.
How much? Around 5% of the retail price. The minimum rental period for any clothing or item can be as low as 1 day, and the app charges a 15% commission.Download the ByRotation app.
If you’re wanting some IRL action, then you’re in luck. By Rotation is launching a pop-up at McArthurGlen’s Cheshire Oaks outlet which will run from 22nd July 2022 to 31st July 2022.
8. MY WARDROBE HQ
About: My Wardrobe HQ is a member’s only dress rental online platform, with a focus on sustainable fashion and making it possible for anyone to achieve an a-list wardrobe. Some items have been supplied by celebrities such as Poppy Delevingne, Arizona Muse, Roxie Nafousi and Olivia Buckingham.
Brands: Henry Holland, Alice Temperley, Vilshenko, Vivienne Westwood, Chinti & Parker, Gucci and more.
How it works: Customers sign up to a subscription service for just £9.99 a month and in return are given a bespoke service to fulfill all their high-end dressing requirements. Subscription also includes a home visit from a MWHQ stylist to discuss plans for what they want to achieve being a member of this exclusive fashion club. You choose an item to rent and it’s with you from our wardrobe warehouse within two hours in London.
How much? £9.99 a month subscription, plus rental fees. As a rule of thumb, past-season items are listed at 10% of their RRP, while current season items are priced at between 10-30%. Sale prices are set by the owner and will vary. Rent at My Wardrobe HQ.
9. GIRL MEETS DRESS
About: One of the original dress rental services, Girl Meets Dress stocks over 200 designers and 4,000 dresses, so you’re pretty much sorted for any occasion.
Brands: A mix of high street and designer brands such as Ghost, Needle & Thread, Saint Laurent, Miu Miu and more.
How it works: You can rent up to three months in advance and as little as three days before your event, though the earlier you search, the more choice you’ll have. Anyone can rent on the site, and you simply need to return the dress via the post office once you’re done.
How much? Rent at Girl Meets Dress. You can hire dresses for 2 or 7 nights at a time, with prices starting from £19. If you’re a frequent renter, there is a £99 per month membership which lets you borrow three dresses at a time, free delivery and dry cleaning and extra discounts.
10. BLANQO
About: If you’re lucky enough to be going on a ski trip, BLANQO is for you. Instead of spending a fortune on skiwear you’ll only wear once, or once a year, you can rent it. A more economical and sustainable solution.
Brands: Each item is handpicked to combine elegant style with high quality fabrics that perform well on the piste. This year, BLANQO is working exclusively with Poivre Blanc but it will expand the collection to celebrate emerging and established brands.
How it works: You can rent skiwear from a minimum of 6 days to a maximum of 17 days. Each piece is available in several sizes.
About: COCOON is a London-based monthly subscription service for lovers of designer handbags.
Brands: From vintage to new season, there are style from all the biggest designers, from Fendi to Vuitton, Chanel to Bottega.
How it works: Choose a membership plan, add a new bag to your wardrobe each month, then swap for something new when you’re ready for a style update (or purchase the bags you can’t live without). With recently launched Flexi membership, you can pay an annual Flexi Membership fee of £19 for access to the full COCOON collection, then purchase weekly Bag Passes to rent any bag in the collection for one week at a time (at £35/week for bags from the Premium Collection and £40/per week for bags from the Deluxe Collection).
How much? Flexi Membership from £19/year and monthly membership from £79/month. Try it now on COCOON.
Childrens’ clothes rental
Bundlee
There is notoriously a lot of waste when it comes to baby and kids’ clothes, since they are outgrown too quickly to make them worth it on a cost per wear basis. Luckily, there are rental sites for that too. Enter Bundlee, founded by West London-based Eve Kekeh in 2018, which is a rental subscription service.
Your Bundlee is delivered to your door in reusable packaging, with a pre-paid returns label and care instructions. The cost includes insurance, so there’s no need to worry about stains or wear and tear. You keep the clothes for as long as your baby needs (or fits into) them — the average is three months — and then return them in the original bag. Outgrown clothes are swapped for the next size up, sanitised, then sustainably shared with other renting families.
It has recently teamed up with Little Riley Studio, a sustainable kids’ brand by Riley Studio. You can rent it alongside other labels such as Patagonia, Mini Rodini, MORI, and more for £39 a month for a bundle of 15 designer pieces.
