NYC- Rent the Runway Experience (The good, bad, & ugly!)

A few weeks ago as we were preparing for our NYC trip for our cousin’s wedding, there was only one major component to our planning… “WHAT ARE WE GOING TO WEAR?” Obviously. Not hotel, itinerary, travel plans, or budget… our wardrobe was the biggest concern. #typical

For special occasions, we have both used Rent The Runway several times. Weddings, events, bridesmaids dresses, you name it. For the most part, we’ve had good experiences and as their inventory and business has grown, we had nothing but good things to say. So, for this event, it was our first go to. Also, we knew the RTR flagship store was in Manhattan and so we thought it would be super fun to actually visit the store, just in case we didn’t love our rentals. Fool proof plan, right? Isn’t there a quote about “best laid plans?” Bless my heart.

Amberly and I both rented two dresses each. We had them shipped to Chattanooga on Thursday since Amberly was driving up to fly out with me on Friday morning. Amberly’s dresses actually arrived on Monday of that week, and I immediately called her for her to check if she had clicked on the wrong rental date. She checked her order and called RTR. They said that sometimes if the order’s ready, they just go ahead and send it early. Wow! Cool. Great start for Amberly’s rental.

Here are the two beautiful dresses Amberly rented:

Halston Heritage

Badgley Mischka

Her dresses arrived EARLY, exactly how she ordered them, and both looked beautiful. She ended up wearing the Halston, dressing it up with some black jeweled Kenneth Cole shoes, great statement earrings, and a Lauren G Adams bracelet. She rocked it! And it was an easy process!

  

WERK IT GIRL!

My experience went a little differently. I also rented two dresses several weeks in advance. Here are the two dresses I rented:

Badgley Mischka

Adrianna Papell

On Tuesday night, I was sent an email telling me that the size I ordered in the Adrianna Papell was not available either because it was stuck in the dry cleaning process or not returned on time. That was frustrating but they let me include another dress. On Wednesday night, I was sent ANOTHER email and was told the Badgley Mischka was also not available and since it was too late for me to choose, they just threw a random dress in there for me to try. When I received my order on Thursday, I had not received any single correct size of a dress I ordered. It was so frustrating. I loved the Adrianna Papell, and had I been sent the correct size I ordered, it would have been perfect. All the other random dresses were too short. At 5’11” and curvy, I’m a hard fit, which I why I was strategic in my original choices and hemlines. But NO ONE PANIC! Even though the event was in a day and a half, we were headed to NYC and we were going to get to go to their flagship store, and surely we could find something to switch it out!

  

Our schedule was tight on Friday because we had already made makeup trial and rehearsal dinner plans, so we knew we had to get off the plane and head right to RTR. We had a 4AM wake up call, a long flight, cab ride to the hotel, then a 20 minute train ride, and 10 minute walk to get there. Needless to say, after lugging four huge dresses all that way, by the time we got to the store, we were sweaty and exhausted. When we walked in, we signed up for a dressing room and were encouraged to browse to find some items to try on. I’m going to be really honest, the selection of formal wear was poor. If you’re a size 4-6 regular.. it’s a dream closet for you. But for the girls with curves and height, it was very disappointing. When they called me back to a dressing room, the stylist was as sweet as she could be and did her best to bring some options for me. With a small selection, and a VERY busy dressing room, it was not an ideal situation. I felt very defeated and then did ACTUALLY panic, because the wedding was the next day, and naked is not my best wedding look. Call me extra, but I kept fighting back tears. After leaving the fitting room, I turned all my dresses in, and they issued a refund. At the end of the day, the staff was very kind and did try to help. I have no complaints of people being rude or not being willing to work with me. It just is what it is. The dresses I ordered were not available and the selection at the store was not for me.

Thankfully, my sister brought another option she had found at our friend Alexia’s store in Montgomery called Splurge. It was a black neoprene dress that fit, and I was SUPER grateful that my sister let me wear it. Shout out to Big Sis for always saving the day! I grabbed some Vince Camuto strappy shoes from Bloomingdales and some matching Baublebar earrings. Success!

  

After it’s all said and done, Amberly had an easy and successful experience with Rent the Runway. Mine was a bit more frustrating, and only because everything was so rushed and last minute. Had I known, I would have found a dress weeks before. I guess my advice would be, try it! I’ve had very successful experiences in the past, but if it’s a really important event, then make sure to have a back up plan!

Gratefully, we each felt pretty in our choices, and we loved everything about the night. We’ll just leave out the part about when I got into the cab to go home, and the split in the back just kept on splitting all the way up to my lower back. That was probably the most awkward/breezy stroll through a hotel lobby of my life. Just send me the bill, sis! But I guess when you end the night of dress drama with a laugh so hard you’re crying– its been a great day.

Have you ever used Rent the Runway? Give us your thoughts in the comments below! Love, Whit <3