Can you cash in by renting out your wardrobe?

Can you cash in by renting out your wardrobe?

11/07/2021

Can you cash in by renting out your wardrobe? Carrie Johnson & Co have made hiring clothes the ultimate eco-boast, so LIBBY GALVIN advertised hers online and now counts the profits… and one devastating loss

For eco-conscious followers of fashion, what’s the trendiest way to show off your green credentials? Why, to wear them on your sleeve — by hiring your outfit rather than buying something new.

Take Prime Minister’s wife Carrie Johnson, who even rented her £2,870 wedding dress for a mere £45 a day. And last week her husband followed her lead by wearing a hired suit to the Cop26 conference.

Boris and Carrie are in good company, with everyone from Holly Willoughby to Lady Amelia Windsor using dress-sharing platforms such as Hurr, My Wardrobe HQ and By Rotation to save the planet — 10 per cent of greenhouse gases are caused by the fashion industry — and some cash, all while looking wonderful.

To find out, in June I ignored the old adage ‘neither a borrower nor a lender be’ and threw open the doors of my wardrobe, selecting seven dresses to lend to strangers via two different rental agencies

So popular has wardrobe sharing become that experts estimate this industry will be worth £2.3 billion by 2029, with some online clothing rental platforms seeing customers increase by 850 per cent in the past year.

But while there have been high-profile clothes borrowers, what’s it like for those lending their clothes?

To find out, in June I ignored the old adage ‘neither a borrower nor a lender be’ and threw open the doors of my wardrobe, selecting seven dresses to lend to strangers via two different rental agencies.

So, five months on, have I made a tidy profit? Or was I just reminded you should never lend anything you don’t mind never seeing again . . .

Take Prime Minister’s wife Carrie Johnson, who even rented her £2,870 wedding dress for a mere £45 a day (pictured)

THE RENTAL COMPANIES

The first rental company I used was By Rotation. This is a lending app which, for a commission fee of 15 per cent per rental — plus an additional 15 per cent charged to the borrower — allows borrowers and lenders to message each other directly. Dresses must be designer, or at the very least high-end High Street.

It’s incredibly simple to use; within minutes I had created a profile and uploaded images and details of my dresses. You set your own fees (though guidance is provided) and choose a minimum rental period, typically three or four days.

Once a rental request has been made, you can either post the outfit or arrange an in-person pick-up.

You choose whether to offer free postage and cleaning, or charge them separately. However, as I discovered, not charging will massively eat into your returns; postage and dry cleaning costs meant I initially earned as little as 18 per cent of the rental cost.

 As the app simply facilitates clothes sharing, it doesn’t take responsibility for any of your outfits except ‘on a case-by-case basis’.

The second firm I used was My Wardrobe HQ, used by Boris and Carrie, and an industry leader. For a 40 per cent commission, plus a £15 handling fee per rental, you send them your dresses and they will take care of everything.

That means arranging rentals, sending them out to customers via carbon-neutral courier DPD, cleaning them and insuring them against loss, theft or damage. Rather than hearing about each rental as-and-when, you get a monthly statement.

 A DRY-CLEANING DISASTER ZONE!

The dress: Rixo Simone yellow lace-trim midi dress, retail price £255, rental price £9 to £10 a day

Rental company: By Rotation

Number of times rented out: Four times, for a total of 14 days.

Total rental cost paid by customers: £134 plus By Rotation fee, p&p and cleaning.

Total I earned: £87.90 after commission, postage and cleaning.

This dress seems to attract disaster. It’s the first of my frocks to be rented out in early July, to a lady called Alice. She’s looking, at the last minute, for a dress to wear to the opening of her pop-up shop, so she asks if she can rent it for three days and send a taxi to pick it up.

It’s not very eco-friendly, but I can’t say no to my first ‘sale’, so off it goes across London. When it gets back to me — four days late and after much chasing via the By Rotation messaging app — it is covered in red wine splashes and what looks like ketchup.

The dress: Rixo Simone yellow lace-trim midi dress, retail price £255, rental price £9 to £10 a day (pictured)

Heart in mouth, I take it to my local dry cleaner. After one clean, it still looks as though it’s been in a fight with a bottle of Rioja, so I send it for a second go. After that, it just about looks passable — by which time, it’s due for its next rental as a dress for a wedding guest.

I warn the borrower there are some faint stains, and send a picture, which she is fine with. But when she returns it, two days later than agreed, it has fresh red wine stains up the back.

Back to the dry cleaner it goes, twice — and somehow comes back, after its fourth clean in two rentals (at £12 a time, and goodness knows what environmental cost with all those solvents, which is one of the main criticisms of clothes lending), looking virtually as good as new.

In both cases the borrower agreed to pay for the second cleaning — but it is entirely down to their goodwill.

Thankfully, the other two rentals — worn to a 21st birthday party and another summer wedding — pass without incident.

If my dress continues to rent out at this rate, I’ll have made the initial cost of the dress back in nine months — although goodness knows how many times I’ll have had to get it professionally cleaned!

 MY DREAM DRESS- BUT A NIGHTMARE OUTCOME

The dress: The Vampire’s Wife The Falconetti emerald metallic silk dress, retail price £1,595, rental price £27 a day.

Rental company: My Wardrobe HQ

Number of times rented out: Once — but it didn’t make it back home.

Total cost paid by rental customers: £0 (more of which later . . .)

Total I earned: £0

At the end of October, I received the worst email a lender can get, telling me my most expensive dress had gone missing. Worse, it had been lost in August, following its first ever rental — earning me nothing (you only get paid when the dress is returned).

I’d coveted this dress ever since seeing Kate Middleton wear it on an engagement in Dublin last year, and had convinced myself lending it out would allow me to afford it.

It was not My Wardrobe’s fault that the dress went missing, though I was surprised it took them so long to alert me. But, having done so I couldn’t fault their customer service.

Within days of admitting it was lost, I was paid back the full price of the dress, so I wasn’t left out of pocket.

But as Sacha Newell, founder of My Wardrobe HQ, pointed out to me, while they will pay out if a dress is not returned (charging the renter’s card for the loss), it’s not wise to rent out pieces that mean a lot to you.

‘We always say to vendors: “Only list items that you are happy to receive the replacement price for,” ’ she explains. ‘If it is a much-loved, special dress that you can’t replace, it’s probably not right for rental.’

Happily, through some serious detective work of my own, I recovered my dress and repaid the compensation to My Wardrobe HQ.

  THE PERFECT SUMMER FROCK FOR A WEDDING

The dress: Reformation Nikita blue and white summer dress (left), retail price £248, rental price £9 per day.

Rental company: By Rotation

Number of times rented out: Four times, for 13 days in total.

Total rental cost to customers: £117 plus By Rotation fee, p&p and cleaning.

The dress: Reformation Nikita blue and white summer dress (left), retail price £248, rental price £9 per day (pictured)

Total I earned: £58.90 after commission, postage and cleaning.

Unlike the yellow nightmare, this summer dress is a doddle. It never comes back dirty and, being sleeveless, rarely even smells, though I dutifully dry clean it regardless.

Worn to four weddings by various renters and one wedding by me over the summer, the only downside was all that ecologically dubious cleaning, plus one rental which was returned unworn (or so I had to trust), because it didn’t fit the way they’d hoped — meaning I didn’t earn anything.

At this rate, it would take me just over a year to make my money back.

 MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FLORAL NUMBER

The dress: Rixo Monet Spring meadow tiered maxi dress, retail price £295, rental price £9 per day.

Rental company: By Rotation

Number of times rented out: Twice, for a total of eight days.

Total rental cost to customers: £72 plus By Rotation fee, p&p and cleaning.

Total I earned: £37.20 after commission, postage and dry cleaning.

The dress: Rixo Monet Spring meadow tiered maxi dress, retail price £295, rental price £9 per day (pictured)

One of the upsides of managing the rental of the dresses yourself is that you still get to wear them when they’re not being borrowed.

I wore this to a summer wedding, and also rented it out to another wedding guest and for an anniversary dinner.

Both transactions were worry-free for me, and re-used the same packaging I’d sent to post the dress back to me, which felt eco-friendly — and saved me buying new padded envelopes or boxes. However, at this rate, I’d have to rotate it for two years to make back the purchase price.

 NEVER BLUE OVER MY NICE LITTLE EARNER

The dress: Alessandra Rich polka-dot silk midi, retail price £1,560; rental price £26 a day.

Rental company: My Wardrobe HQ

Number of times rented out: Twice, for 14 days in total.

Alessandra Rich polka-dot silk midi, retail price £1,560; rental price £26 a day (pictured)

Total rental cost paid by customers: £342 plus p&p.

Total I earned: £187.20

A brand favoured by the Duchess of Cambridge, whose look is very popular on rental platforms, this dress proved to be a huge success. And as I had bought it in the sale for two-thirds of the retail price, if it continues to rent out at this rate, I will have made my money back in under 18 months.

 A SEQUINNED SPARKLER FOR THE FESTIVE SEASON

The dress: Needle & Thread sequin diamond mini, retail price £360, rental price £9 a day.

Rental company: My Wardrobe HQ

Number of times rented out: Twice, for eight days total.

Needle & Thread sequin diamond mini, retail price £360, rental price £9 a day (pictured)

Total paid by rental customers: £72 plus postage.

Total I earned: £25.20

A disappointing result so far; at this rate, I won’t look set to make my money back for more than two-and-a-half years. But I think this sparkling winter dress will come into its own over the coming Christmas party season, and may prove very popular.

 RENTERS NOT TICKLED PINK BY PUFF SLEEVE MIDI

The dress: Rixo Delilah puff-sleeved midi dress, retail price £275, rental price £8 a day.

Rental company: My Wardrobe HQ

Number of times rented out: 0

Rixo Delilah puff-sleeved midi dress, retail price £275, rental price £8 a day (pictured)

Total paid by rental customers: £0

Total I earned: £0

I’d have expected this hot pink number to make me some decent money over the summer months, during wedding season — but if it didn’t earn me any money then, it’s very unlikely to make me anything over the winter or even next spring or summer, when it will be very much last year’s look.

 MY verdict

Total value of dresses: £4,588

My earnings: £396.40, or 8.6 per cent — not a bad return on my initial investment!

So, will I keep doing this? Despite some disappointing earnings from certain dresses and the temporary ‘loss’ of one, the answer is . . . yes. After all, with a return of 8.6 per cent over four months, it beats the stock market, although it is a lot more hassle.

But there are caveats. I’ve learned not to lend out anything precious, and always to charge for postage and cleaning.

And while I preferred sending out the dresses myself, for the simple reason that I got to wear them myself between rentals, my advice to others thinking of joining the rental market would be this: make sure you butter up your dry cleaner first.

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