It’s almost formal season, collegiettes! Buying a formal dress can be super expensive, but that’s all about to change. Rent The Runway is an online company that lets you rent a dress at a fraction of the original price of buying. The site offers a wide range of garments and ordering is easy. With Rent The Runway, the possibilities are endless!
Here’s a simple breakdown of the whole RTR process:
1. When you first go to the website, you are prompted to put in your rental delivery date (they recommend 1-2 days before your event), your dress size, and your zip code.
2. Once you hit ‘Search’, you are taken to a page where you can browse several different dresses based on what you submitted. You can also filter the results by narrowing fields such as price, color, body type, and designer.
3. When you’ve found something you like and want to rent, select that dress.
4. Make sure that the size is correct and, if needed, you can select a second size for free.
5. Select the day you’d like the dress to arrive and how long you would like to keep the dress (4 or 8 days; 8 days costs extra).
6. Hit the ‘Reserve Now’ button.
7. If you’re a new customer, you’ll be asked to join. This is free and you’ll get $25 off of your first rental. All you have to do is fill out your email address, choose a password, and enter some personal information such as your name, birthday, and zip code.
8. After joining, you are taken to a page that shows you how to get the model’s look.
9. When you’re ready to check out, fill in your shipping, billing, and payment information. Note: You will be charged $5.00 for insurance as well as an amount for shipping.
10. Submit you order and accept the ‘Rental Agreement’.
11. You’ll get a copy of your receipt, and then all that’s left is waiting for your dress to arrive!
Little Extras
- There are student exclusives if you use a “.edu” e-mail address when registering. The website asks for your type of school, the school’s name, and your graduation year. There is also an option to choose a sorority.
- You can also rent accessories.
- Return shipping is free.
- If you buy Pro ($29.95/year), you get free shipping, free insurance, and a free dress rental on your birthday!
- Use the ‘Favorite’s List’ to where you can keep track of your favorite gowns.
- On the ‘Dresses’ page, there are helpful reviews with pictures from real customers.