Rent The Runway & So Much More

Being a broke communications undergraduate student who is highly interested in fashion, sucks. From one stand point, professionally, it allows you to look at the industry in a unique light, seeing beyond the designs and hard works and analyzing the way it's sold, pr and advertising. From the other, the consumerist view, it is absolutely terrible because you have no money to go out and get fabulous dresses or the new "it" bag. Then I realized that you don't need to buy a dress you are only going to truthfully wear a few times and it is far more cost effective to rent it from Jenn & Jenny at Rent The Runway.

With an ever growing arsenal of RTW and couture, the Rent The Runway crew is ready to have you looking fab. I have had a plan ever since I joined RTR back in August 2011, to rent a completely unattainable and chic-to-death dress for FNO, BNO & NYFW (Fashion's Night Out, Bloggers' Night Out & New York Fashion Week, for those unfamiliar with the aforementioned acronyms ). For these uber-fashionable nights wearing a last season leftover hanging in your closet is simply a mistake and when you can go and rent a look for under $200, how could you go wrong?

According to their site, the co-founders of RTR felt the same way when they started filling their ultimate closet. The two were roommates in Harvard's business school and on a trip home, Jenn witnessed her sister's struggle to find something chic to wear out. "What if, Jenn thought, the Beckys of this world could have access to their dream closet – a new dress for every occasion? And what if designers were able to get their pieces into the hands of young, fashionable women and build an addiction for designer fashion," asked their about page.

Upon arriving back to Harvard, Jenn pitched the thought to Jenny and the two jumped into creating Rent The Runway, a  community designed to fill the needs of women just like Jenn, Jenny and Becky—women who know and love high fashion, who want to look glamorous for all their nights out and experiment with new brands without the anxiety of investing in piece after piece. With the added advantage of online stylists and advice of other members of the site, finding the perfect dress for any occasion is just a click away.

RTR also has one of the greatest sales I have yet to stumble upon. In order to unload last season's looks and make room for new couture, a few times a year they deeply discount the older pieces and put them up for sale in whatever state they are in. This sale is one of the few times per year that something I would normally splurge on is completely--cheap. Most dresses are under $150, with several under $100.

Rent The Runway

Besides the rare formal occasion, RTR is a quick one-stop-shop for the attendees of a wedding or a graduation, two events that are all too common during the months of May and June. Once you join the site, you can click on the tab "Occasions" and choose from a selection of event sorted options. I clicked on "Graduation" and quickly came across an array that would be prefect for the grad and their guest. Had I been a member of RTR a few years back, I would have been walking the stage in this lacy sheath by Moschino. While few 18 year olds can foot a $1595 dress bill, a $200 rental for this perfect dress in completely reasonable.

Rent The Runway

Guest of the grad should look just as fly and in this jade Nanette Lepore dress you are sure to leave a good impression no matter where the event is being held. I had so many different dresses when I graduated from high school and searching for the right one was a long and arduous process. I went to store after store looking, a white dress for graduation mass, something different for the graduation ceremony and finally a dress for my party. After ordering dress after dress online I became so frustrated that I went to the mall and bought the first dress that fit, a black polka dotted number with a pink band at the waist. I found an ivory 20s-esk dress on a clearance site somewhere or other and ended up ordering it a size big and finally for the party I wore a coral BCBGeneration sundress I bought on an impulse when out with my friend Annie. My life would have been ten times easier had I just rented on RTR.

The same year I graduated several of my relatives decided to get married. Typically I adore an occasion to shop but after the graduation dress debacle I just wanted an easy out and dressed out of my expansive closet.  Jenn and Jenny must have had a similar experience because on the top of their site there is a special section just for weddings.

Rent The Runway

Within the wedding boutique page you can select the type of affair you will be attending, whether it be a beach ceremony, engagement party, wedding brunch , etc (we all know that no wedding these days can be simply one event) or even a LWD for the bride-to be. With picks from "The Knot", a bridal magazine and website as well as the entire RTR closet, any attendee can find the look they desire and at a fraction of the cost. My favorite thing is that thanks to new collaborations and a growing clothing selection, you can even rent the accessories you need to wear on that big day.