Cat shirts, customer service drama: we tested Rent the Runway, Nuuly and Armoire for a month
Guardian editors tested three popular monthly subscription services to find what is worth your money
www.silverguide.site –
What do you wear to the 10th wedding you’ve been invited to this year? Before the clothing rental company Rent the Runway launched in 2009, the options were scant: buy a new dress, or perhaps buy a dress with a whopping price tag, hide said tag in your dress and pray you don’t spill anything on it.
Then, Rent the Runway pioneered a monthly subscription model in which you rent styles rather than splurge on an item you might only wear one time. Now dozens of clothing and accessory rental subscriptions vie for the wardrobe-challenged’s attention, including options for kids and people with very expensive taste.
For weeks, we pitted Rent the Runway against two of the most popular other services: Nuuly and Armoire. Our testers – four Guardian editors – wore rentals to special events such as a baby’s 100th day celebration, a wedding and a graduation ceremony. We also styled our pieces for mundane tasks, such as typing emails at our desks and last-minute Trader Joe’s runs.
Can clothing rentals truly solve the dreaded realization that you have nothing to wear? Read on to discover which subscriptions are worth your dollar, and which we awarded… zero stars.
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At a glance
Best for special events:
Rent the Runway
Best for every day:
Nuuly
Best for the office:
Armoire
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Rent the Runway
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for: Instagram-ready vacation looks, elevated office attire, luxury and statement pieces
Price: $78 for five items per month (for first month, then $129)
Sizes available: 00-22
Delivery time: Three days with regular shipping, less than 24 hours with rush shipping
Special categories offered: Maternity, wedding guest attire, athletic wear, accessories (bags, jewelry and sunglasses)
Allows one-time rentals
Allows free swaps during first 60 days of membership
Sizes we tested: Tall and plus sizes
Where our testers wore their pieces: A wedding, play, friend’s going-away party, Mother’s Day celebration, the Guardian’s New York City headquarters and a graduation
The top notes
Tall sizes were mostly in stock, but plus sizes varied by item
Clothing was generally true to size and fit well
Site was easy to navigate, though user reviews had limited filters
Return process was mixed: one editor had no issues; one editor was incorrectly charged a late fee that she had to dispute with customer service, though she was offered 50% off her next month as compensation
What condition did the items arrive in?
Everything arrived packaged perfectly in plastic wrap and on hangers inside the classic Rent the Runway zippered bag. Everything looked immaculately clean. However, the garments and the bag had a distinct, musky odor, resembling the smell of a basement. Two of the items retained that smell after I removed them from the bag. I was able to mask the smell for wearability with some freshening spray and by airing them out by a window for a day. Jenna Amatulli, Guardian deputy head of news
At worst, they may have smelled faintly of dry cleaning, but that was gone within a day of airing them out. The cherry dress appeared to have a bit of pilling, but that could have been the style of the fabric. The red dress had some color fading around the seams of the neck and arm holes, but it was not very noticeable. Tracy Allison, Filter photo editor
Which piece would you recommend?
I loved the Proenza dress! I wore it for cocktails the night before a wedding and styled it with gold earrings and gold heels – I got lots of compliments and felt comfortable in it all night. JA
The Astrid polo dress. It was well constructed, and the fabric was heavy and held its shape well. I wore it with bike shorts as it ran a little short on me, and paired it with white converse sneakers. While the material would probably be a little heavy for summer in the south, it had a very fun summery vibe. TA
Would you renew your subscription?
Yes. I think this service would be great for someone experimenting with different styles, or regularly attending events. It does tell people not to wash the clothes, so I can see that being a deterrent. TA
Yes. I would highly recommend women who haven’t used Rent the Runway or did many years ago but quit for whatever reason to visit the site when they have some back-to-back events. At first I was a little disappointed by not being able to find things that perfectly fit my current style, but it did force me to step outside of my comfort zone and try some silhouettes. JA
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Nuuly
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for: Casual, trend-aware, colorful pieces; conversation starters; parties
Price: $98 per month for six items
Sizes available: XXS-5X
Delivery time: One day with regular shipping
Special categories offered: Maternity, wedding guest attire and athletic wear
No one-time rentals
No free swaps
Sizes we tested: XS, S
Where our tester wore her pieces: College graduation, baby’s 100th day celebration
The top notes
Clothing matched website descriptions, but some materials weren’t disclosed, such as unexpected suede on a pair of trousers
XS/S stock varied by item
Clothing was true to size and fit well
Return process was quick and easy
Site was easy to navigate
What condition did the items arrive in?
Great. The bootcut pants even came new with tags. The only visibly worn item was the mini dress, which was fraying at the sleeves and hems, but that may be because mesh is delicate and wears out easily. Karen Yuan, Filter commissioning editor
Which piece would you recommend?
Probably this Anthropologie dress because of how versatile it was! I could dress it down with a baseball cap and tennis shoes for running errands or walking in the park, then ballet sneakers for dinner. I did not get a chance to wear it to the office, but the mock neck and midi length would be conservative enough for a business casual office. KY
That said, my most-complimented item was this shirt with an embroidered cat peeking out of its pocket. I couldn’t go anywhere without hearing: “I love your shirt!”
Would you renew your subscription?
Yes. I have used Rent the Runway in the past, and Nuuly seemed to have a wider and more diverse range of styles. Browsing through its selection felt like going down a bottomless rabbit hole of clothes. The platform seemed to have at least 10 versions of every single style. Finding items was only difficult because the options were paralyzingly plentiful.
I also appreciated Nuuly’s storage-friendly packaging: unlike Rent The Runway, the clothes did not arrive wrapped in plastic sleeves but neatly folded together. The bag was also tiny enough to tuck in my small closet and forget about for the month. KY
***
Armoire
- :
No stars
Best for: Family gatherings, work trips, understated office outfits, preppy and conservative styles, church
Price: $99 per month for seven items (for first month, then $129)
Sizes available: 0-3X
No one-time rentals
Free swaps: Only with the unlimited plan ($249 per month)
Delivery time: Three days with regular shipping
Special categories offered: Maternity, wedding guest attire and athletic wear
Sizes we tested: XS, S
Where our tester wore her pieces: The Guardian’s NYC office, running errands, visiting the Met museum
The top notes
Clothing generally matched website description, except for an anorak jacket that had a surprisingly soft, cottony material
XS/S stock varied by item
Most of the clothing was true to size and fit well. Armoire also sent extra sizes for the athletic dress and white button-up
Site was fairly easy to navigate, although the web browser glitched frequently
The return process, however, was a nightmare
What condition did the items arrive in?
They looked like they’d been freshly laundered, and impressively, all came wrinkle-free (even the white button-down shirt). Lauren Gould, Filter editorial coordinator
Which piece would you recommend?
The wide-leg Paige jeans. These are certainly the most expensive jeans I’ve ever worn. They were thick, yet somehow felt super soft. I loved that the design felt more elevated than your standard pair of jeans, and I loved dressing it up with the white button-down I rented. LG
Would you renew your subscription?
All that said, no. No. And no. Though I perfectly followed Armoire’s return instructions and dropped my items off at my nearby FedEx’s drop-off bin using the prepaid label provided, I was told by Armoire days later that it was never scanned in. I immediately contacted customer service, who recommended I wait “a bit longer.” “At this point, we don’t assume the package is lost,” they said. However, if Armoire didn’t receive it 30 days after the expected return date, I would be responsible for paying for every item I rented (roughly $1,500), because without a receipt, they had “no proof that the package was provided to FedEx.” (Armoire has not responded to a request for comment.)
Even before this (still ongoing as of publication) customer service issue, I found the return process cumbersome. The flimsy plastic bag provided made it hard to fit the clothes into. I also wasn’t impressed with the selection of items, which I found to be quite dated. For example, I tried searching for a pair of trendy culotte pants, but I struggled to find any options.
Anything I’d do differently? I wish that I would have snapped a a time-stamped photo of myself dropping off my items, but I guess I rented at my own risk. LG
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Everything we rented
Rent the Runway: Jenna Amatulli and Tracy Allison
Nuuly: Karen Yuan
Armoire: Lauren Gould
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Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter, the Guardian’s guide to buying fewer, better things:
The 13 best women’s shoes for the office, vetted by stylish professionals
‘My holy grail’: a stylist’s simple tricks to remove stains from white clothes
‘Weird green is having a moment’: 45 spring fashion picks under $200
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