Hasta La Ideas

Instead of buying an expensive gown that you’re only going to wear once to a wedding, formal holiday party, or some other black-tie affair, consider renting a dress through RentTheRunway.com. Best of all, after you send it back, your closet remains clutter free.

It’s the female equivalent of a tuxedo rental shop, which is a much-needed segment in the market in my opinion. And, for a percentage of what you would pay to buy the dress, you have the convenience of not having to deal with future cleaning, storage, or the garment going out of style.

From the website:

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, in two different sizes. Just to be safe.

3. RETURN
Put your dress in our handy pre-paid package and drop in the nearest mailbox. We take care of the dry cleaning!

My only hesitation with the program is the cleanliness aspect, and RentTheRunway answers this explicitly:

All RTR dresses will ship to you directly from the cleaners, without any handling in between. We’ve partnered with a premier dress specialist in NYC—Slate Dry Cleaner—and developed a process that ensures stringent quality control. We’ll only ship dresses that receive a 100% fresh seal of approval. Slate Dry Cleaner is an expert in eco-friendly, luxury dry cleaning. Their environmentally safe process certifies that every garment is thoroughly cleaned and cared for, maintaining the impeccable quality of the garment while being kind to the environment (not to mention to your health!). Our packaging is also specially designed to fully protect the dresses during shipment.

Learn more about the program in the Frequently Asked Questions section of RentTheRunway.com.