There was once a time when the "rent or buy?" question applied only to the gaff where you were going to live and to DVDs in XtraVision, but all sorts of new (and sometimes surprising) rental markets have started cropping up in recent years.
There are now few major cities that don't have a public bike rental scheme like Dublin Bikes. We haven't had a car for about 18 months, since living in a huge city with great public transport links means we don't really need one, and instead we're members of a pay-as-you-go car sharing club. We rent a community car when we need one, usually for furniture runs, and don't have to worry about maintenance costs or living somewhere with a parking space (an expensive extra in central London.) I use on-demand streaming services like Spotify and Netflix, from whom I basically rent my music, movies, and TV shows as I want them.
This shift away from physical ownership towards what's being called the subscription economy could have an impact on your wardrobe, too. Of course, blokes have long rented their tuxes and formal threads, but while renting bags, dresses, and accessories online for delivery to your door is old news in the States it's a service that's really only starting to gain traction in Ireland and the UK.
I love the idea of renting rather than buying potentially expensive clothes and accessories that are one-off wears I'd struggle to find a second occasion for. Unfortunately, most of the stuff available was initially gick - think nipple-skimming debs wear with thigh-high slits or dipped hems and greyhound fronts that the cast of Tallafornia would refuse to wear on the grounds that they flashed too much skin.
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Happily the offerings have now been refined considerably, to the point where I'm seriously considering renting outfits for a couple of big weekends I have coming up (one has Chelsea Flower Show, a communion, two flights, and the Book Of Mormon packed into the space of 24 hours; the other is the wedding of one of my most stylish friends for which I quite seriously have NOTHING TO WEAR.)
I'll be pulling from a London-based crowd for the first, but I'll be home for the wedding so I've been taking a wee squint at what's on offer from Irish online dress rental agencies. And, as ecommerce interfaces go, it has to be said none of these homegrown sites feel nearly as slick as their UK or US counterparts.
That might have something to do with the fact that I could find only one, Frock 'n' Fabulous, that's truly online online. It has the functionality to take bookings for your desired dates directly through its website, arrange to try items on at home, and return something that doesn't fit on delivery without penalty.
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If I was actually at home and spending a lot of time in Dublin city centre, I'd drop into Covet's Powerscourt Centre showroom to play dress up. Their stock looks fashion-forward and they carry a selection of jackets and coats in addition to designer shoes, jewellery, handbags and headpieces available for hire.
Have you tried renting a dress? Would you? Let me know your experiences and thoughts in a comment!
