Looking for places to rent designer clothes for big events, parties, and every day wear? Look no further!
By Diane Small
Each year is peppered with big, exciting events. Spring is all about the weddings; winter is full of holiday parties and New Year’s Eve bashes, and then there are always the unexpected invitations to premieres and red carpet events that pop up when you least expect it.
Of course, the main issue in such cases is always: what to wear? You may have a stunning frock or two in your closet, but surely once worn, people will remember it. And unless you’re attending an event with a completely new crowd of people, chances are you’ll want to dazzle in something different.
But what’s the point of having a huge Kardashian-sized closet full of clothing you’ll probably wear only once? It’s bad for the planet, and your pocketbook too.
Renting high-end clothes is one way to access sartorial sumptuousness without the ridiculousness of buying new, expensive dresses, shoes and bags every time you get invited to something special.
The clothes arrive in pristine condition and usually in several sizes to ensure the best fit for your big night out – and cost a wee fraction of what you’d normally pay for something fresh off the runway.
Here are some of the best places we know of to rent designer clothes for your next big event.
10 Places To Rent A Designer Wardrobe
1. Girl Meets Dress
Love big designer names? Michael Kors, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Kate Spade and Tory Burch are but a few of the labels you can borrow from Girl Meets Dress. You can order up to three pieces, rock them and return them.
And the best part? If you order something and don’t wear it, you get a refund! Cool, right? That’s one reason why it’s one of our favourite places to rent designer clothes.
Rents to: UK
Prices: Start at £79
Brands: For Love And Lemons, Whistles, Jill Stewart and more.
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Renting dresses, of course!
2. Rent the Runway
Got a major red carpet event, black tie wedding or huge party to attend? This is one of the best known places to rent designer clothes online.
Choose whatever catches your fancy, schedule the delivery, and then you’ll get a happy delivery of 2 sizes – choose which suits you best. After you wear it, send it back within 4-8 days. Alternatively, if you go to a lot of posh events, you can choose one of their different membership options, which allow you to rent from top designers, with new items coming in every month.
The best part? Rent the Runway carries a lot of sustainable brands, too!
Rents to: USA
Prices: Start at $20
Brands: Mara Hoffman, Reformation, Amur and more!
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Renting evening wear.
3. Lending Luxury
If you join Lending Luxury, you’ll always be bang on trend: collections here are continuously updated to ensure you’re wearing something ultra modern. Membership is free, and you may well find the couture dress of your dreams from their wide selection of stock.
Here’s how it works: order your outfit, and wait for your selection to arrive within three days or less. Enjoy it for five, ten or fifteen full days before returning it via a USPS station. And if you fall in love with your dress? No worries! There’s an option for you to buy it, too!
Rents to: USA
Prices: From $70
Brands: Nicole Miller, Junique, Zoey Grey and more.
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Up to the minute fashions.
4. Something Borrowed
Need advice on shoes, accessories, hair and makeup? Something Borrowed can provide! Their goal is to ensure you’re rocking your rental as best you can.
Here, in their brick-and-mortar locales, you’ll find a huge selection of slinky, sexy gowns that are guaranteed to put the spotlight on you at big events.
This is how it works: book an appointment with one of their stylists to provide you with guidance and assistance to finding a dress. Once you’ve made your selection, you can secure it in store, via email or over the phone.
Your dress can be booked months in advance if you pay a 50% deposit, to ensure that the dress is exclusively yours. Alternatively, you can also leave the store that very same day with your garment in hand. Live outside of the city? Postage is also available for those interstate or living in rural areas.
When you’re done, just drop the dress off at SB’s designated dry cleaners the next business day and that’s it!
Rents to: Perth and Melbourne, Australia
Prices: From $90.
Brands: Grace & Heart, Thurley, Lexi and others.
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Occasion dresses.
5. Frontrow
Looking for something really specific? Front Row’s unique voting system allows you to vote for your favourite items, upon which their buying process is based. If you’re looking for something specific, simply upload a photo and get ready to see it, love it, rent it! Oh, and buy it: one thing we love about this site is that they have sales where you can buy items, too!
Rental periods are typically five days. However, if you need longer, you can just ask. This catering to what the customer really wants and needs is one reason why Frontrow is one of our favourite places to rent designer clothes.
Rents to: London, UK
Prices: From £100
Brands: Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Dior and more top designers
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Great customer service; buying something if you’ve rented it and fallen in love.
6. Rent My Wardrobe
This Texas based business is basically an app that allows users to both lend and borrow clothing. You can make money on clothes you already own, and save money by renting clothes (you may normally buy) from others.
Whether you’re looking for a designer handbag to carry to a job interview or a sequined dress to wear to a gala, you’re likely to find it on this peer-to-peer renting site.
The rules and prices are basically set by you and the person you are renting to or from, but trust me when I say: you can find some real bargains here!
Rents to: USA
Prices: From $20
Brands: Michael Kors, Prada, Louis Vuitton, you name it!
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Those on a budget.
Image below: Chanel resort 2021
7. Hurr Collective
The Hurr Collective is actually all about you!
Here’s how it works: create an account and get verified, then start renting out your wardrobe – and borrowing from others’, too! Rentals usually last four days, and you personally arrange a handover or post the item to the renter yourself. Empowering, right?
Rents to: UK
Prices: Start around £50
Brands: Maggie Marilyn (pictured below), Elie Saab, Saint Laurent, Diane Von Furstenberg and many more!
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Making money, as well as being able to rock loads of different outfits by trendy designers.
8. Style Lend
This is another American based site that allows you to lend out your clothes for profit, or to rent designer clothes, too.
To borrow, it works like this. Browse thousands of unique designer items hand selected from the most stylish closets. Get your order delivered in 2-3 days. Enjoy for a week, then ship it back in a pre-paid envelope. Only pay if it fits (excluding accessories and shoes).
To lend, list your items, get them approved, ship them out as needed, and you keep 80% of the profits, paid via Venmo or Paypal. Wash your item, and lend it out again. Couldn’t be simpler!
Rents to: USA
Prices: From $20
Brands: Elie Saab, Maje, Louboutin, Reformation, Chanel and more.
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Both borrowing and lending (for profit, of course!)
9. Glam Corner
If you’re based in Australia, this website is for you! Glam Corner is a service that offers nearly 10,000 outfits you can rent. There are some great, unique features of this site: they offer a styling service, where you can consult with a stylist online, by phone or in person to know what suits you best; you can try the clothes on before you commit, and Glam Corner also makes an effort to ensure that all sizes are catered to, from tiny to curvy.
Rents to: Australia
Prices: Membership can be $99 per month (allows 3 premium items) or $149 per month (provides unlimited swaps)
Brands: Zimmerman, Aje, Talulah and others.
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Women of all sizes and shapes.
10. Armoire
Want a bit of French girl chic in your life? Get online and take Armoire’s quick quiz to see which clothing best suits your style and body type, and then start browsing for your perfect rental wardrobe. Armoire will have your selected pieces delivered right to your doorstep, and picked up whenever you’re ready to return the garments and accessories.
Rents to: USA
Prices: You’ll need to sign up for a membership. Prices start around at $149 monthly, and then you can rent up to 5 items for $20 per month, or up to 8 pieces for $50 per month.
Brands: Joie, Boden, BB Dakota and many others.
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Office wear, everyday outfits, moms-to-be, and their babies.
11. Bag, Borrow or Steal
No matter where you are in the world, you can rent, buy or sell luxury handbags, shoes and clothing from this comprehensive site. Whether you need a pair of Louboutins for a hot date, a prestigious bag for a job interview or formal wear for a big event, you’ll definitely find the perfect item here.
Rents to: USA
Prices: For rental it can start at $150 per month, but if you want to buy, think of spending $500 and up.
Brands: Hermes, Dior, Chanel, Jimmy Choo and the like.
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Finding the poshest pieces loved by fashionistas.
12. EKOLUV
Imagine if you could go shopping in an actual store, take an outfit away, and then return it the next day? That’s kind of what EKOLUV offers. This Aussie clothing rental and consignment site has an actual shop in Sydney where you can try clothing on before hiring it for up to 8 days, but of course, you can also do this online.
Need some extra cash? You can also sell your own high-quality (preferably eco-) designer clothing on consignment. But maybe the best part about EKOLUV is this: of all the clothing rental sites, this is definitely the most eco-friendly! That’s thanks to their specialty in conscious fashion brands like Yama, Kowtow, Mettle/Fairtrade, and Smile. This site is so ethical, in fact, that a percentage of its profits is donated to Opportunity International Australia to help empower women.
Rents to: Australia
Prices from: Around $50.
Brands: Kowtow, Yama, Smile and other ethical brands.
One of the best places to rent designer clothes for: Ethics and eco-friendliness.
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