Rent the Runway

I wish I had been born a princess. But I was not. How sad.

Ever since the age of three I have been obsessed with dressing up. Princesses get to dress up every day so seems like I would be a perfect fit for the job. Again, how sad.

I remember as a child putting on leotards, tutus, gloves, scarves, fake pearls and plastic heels. Then I would clunk across the hardwoods of my childhood home until I got to the TV and stare at Disney princess VHS tapes for hours.

My obsession with dressing up has not wavered in the last 23 years. The only thing that has changed is my taste. I am no longer satisfied by $10 costume pieces from Toys R’ Us. Now I like the finer things in life. Unfortunately, my salary doesn’t warrant purchasing the finer things in life quite yet.

Enter Rent the Runway.

Rent the Runway has truly fulfilled all of my dress-up fantasies.

I was first introduced to RTR when I was working for a small PR firm in Atlanta. My boss asked me to attend an event on his behalf so I could write a column the following week. I mingled among hundreds of gorgeous dresses and sipped on Diet Coke. When it was time to go, I was given a swag bag with fashion tape, a sticky bra and a $100 gift card.

At this stage of my life, I was not yet attending black tie events. The soonest I would need a dress was for a trip to Puerto Rico with one of my girlfriends a couple weeks later. In between classes and work the next couple weeks, I browsed the “vacation” section of RTR – which is full of casual dresses perfect for a day in the sun.

After lots of casual browsing I was dead set on a red Halston Heritage number. Perfect for a night out in Puerto Rico. It was only $30 to rent so I decided to tack on a casual Missoni dress for good measure. I cannot even describe how fun it was to wear these designer dresses while on vacation. And for FREE.

The rest is history and I have been using RTR for nearly every event I attend.

I do have to warn you the experience is not always perfect. I’ve had some mishaps including dresses that didn’t deliver due to a snow storm and even a last-minute email telling me my dress wouldn’t be available the night before a NYC gala. But somehow RTR redeemed themselves after every incident.

I highly recommend having your dresses deliver at least 2 days before your event. You need enough time to decide if it’s right for your body and also to accessorize. There’s nothing worse than throwing on a new dress right before an event and not having a single pair of earrings or shoes to match.

I understand that some people are scared of using RTR. To them, the risk and expense is just not worth it. But for a dress-up addict like myself, the drama and risk is SO worth it. What could possibly be better than wearing a flowy Badgley Mishcka gown that I could otherwise only afford if I skipped rent for a month?

Some of my fave RTR looks:

Cynthia Rowley for a holiday party.

Badgley Mischka at a charity gala

Haute Hippie for a wedding (one of my faves)

Badgley Mischka for a wedding