A brief tryst with fashion rental

I'm breaking up with Nuuly at the end of this month

As I navigate my year of less, I anticipate conflicts will arise, forcing me to think creatively and critically as I thwart my urges to shop. For example, the garden wedding I’m attending tomorrow. 

Last week, I shared my conundrum about how the wedding’s dress code conflicts with my personal style (cue: ‘oh no, I have nothing to wear’ moment), and provided my initial reflections on fashion rental upon placing my first order on fashion rental platform Nuuly. 

Fast forward, I had my Nuuly package delivered directly to my (long distance) boyfriend’s house. He goes to law school in Florida, and lives a few hours north of the wedding we’re attending tomorrow, so figured it would be easiest to have the package ready to roll versus playing chicken with the 5 day shipping guarantee.

Apologies for not taking a picture of the package: upon arrival at my boyfriend’s house, I immediately forced him to bear witness to a fashion show, and now the garments are strewn about instead of packaged aesthetically.  

Initial Impressions

The package contained six folded dresses, snuggled together in a litter of alternating fabric and patterns. I eagerly plucked them out to try them on, and quickly assessed how each garment looked and felt on my body – taking the fitting room experience into the privacy of my own - slash - boyfriend’s home. 

When selecting items online, I gravitated towards materials that wouldn’t wrinkle. I know myself, and bringing a steamer on vacation isn’t exactly my priority. Unfortunately, I misstepped with one of the pieces, and the wrinkles are too unruly for me to deal with. One piece down. 

I also quickly eliminated another piece: a patterned variation of Lisa Says Gah’s Grace dress, which I plan to wear to a work event (also in Fort Lauderdale) later this month. Two down, four to go. 

The dress I was most excited about, an asymmetrical blue velvet maxi from the brand Let Me Be, ended up being my greatest disappointment. Reviewers warned the garment ran big, but I brazenly sized down and assumed everything would work out. I should have listened – excess fabric created a gaping effect on the dress’ backside, which probably wouldn’t have been a problem had I been a few inches taller. Another pass. 

At the end of my fashion show, I was down to three final picks for my wedding guest dress:

a slightly sheer (but stunning) dress from the brand Kachel

an Anthropologie dress with a safe silhouette I tend to gravitate toward

the most lovely polka dot dress from Anthropologie, but I question whether it’s formal enough for the occasion. 

After assessing my options and getting opinions from the masses on TikTok (shoutout to the four people who commented on my haul video), I made the decision to go with the Kachel dress. Its silky material is soft and breathable, and it matches thematically with the venue. Yay for coming to a decision! 

Renting with the Rule of Five

This year, I’m practicing the Rule of Five, and limiting myself to purchasing only five new clothing items in 2024. Within the paradigm, rental is encouraged as an alternative to purchasing new items, especially for occasions like weddings which call for aspirational garments that likely won’t be worn in your everyday life. 

For me, rental is a toss up. Despite being a more circular option relative to purchasing new, the environmental impact of fashion rental isn’t negligent. Between the carbon emissions from shipping and pollutants from dry cleaning, rental is still pretty high maintenance from an environmental POV. Some reports have even found that rental can be worse for the environment than traditional retail because of all of the logistics involved. 

While the average person probably doesn’t wash their jeans or jacket after every use, shared garments are typically cleaned after each rental. Traditional laundry is a drain on water and energy, while chemicals used in dry cleaning can be hazardous to both people and the planet.

My consensus? For everyday dressing, rental is a pass. After this month, I plan to cancel my Nuuly subscription. I’m barely six weeks into my low spend year, and choosing to turn to a monthly rental service so early feels like gaming the system. 

Besides, I don’t want fashion rental to be a crutch. My journey is about appreciation, not acquisition. While the items I’m renting obviously wouldn’t be mine forever, they still fill that hedonistic ache for newness, and fuel that want for more. But for occasions outside of the norm, like weddings, rental makes sense. 

Apart from absolving myself from my impulse spending habit, I want to start thinking more critically about my personal style – how I show up in the world, why I gravitate towards the items I do, where the gaps in my wardrobe are, how to fill those gaps with essential pieces that embody me, not just an algorithm’s take on what’s stylish. 

I’m hoping that by divorcing myself from the act of acquisition – limiting my purchases and abstaining from rental – I can redirect my efforts inwards and discover how to build a functional, self-expressive, and lasting wardrobe. 

Appreciate all those who are following along :)