Rent The Runway

If you need a high end dress for an event RTR can be a great option. However you must read the reviews carefully! Sizing varies greatly depending on the designer. Measure yourself and really understand what you are renting. You will need to have your under garments on hand when the dress arrives. You will only have the dress 1-2 days before your event. You can pay for a longer rent period but the idea is to save $.
I did order a dress for purchase and it was too tight they refused to exchange for a larger size even though they had the larger size on hand.

Rent the Runway is a great idea and I have used it in the past and enjoyed wearing a few new things to the office. Although the last couple of times has left me more frustrated - you aren't able to see what's currently available until AFTER you purchase a membership. Once you purchase the membership, a lot of the items that you saw before and wanted to order are unavailable in every size. This was very frustrating as now i'm stuck and don't like any of the other dresses available for a specific event I have. I won't be using RTR in the future.

I rented a dress from them very recently. The dress ( and the replacement) did not fit and I was able to have another replacement dress sent to me and was only required to pay the shipping. Fair enough! I got the dress and it was gorgeous! I ship it back and all is well. And then decide to take a look to see how much the replacement dress costs ordinarily. I found that there is a significant difference between the dress that I ended up with and the one that I originally ordered. So I called the company to find out if a credit would be proper in a situation like this. I was told by customer service that company policy does not provide for credits for replacement dresses when size is an issue. I ended up paying double for the dress. Prior to this, I've had no issues with them and would recommend them at the drop of a hat. At this point, if you are going to order from them, be absolutely certain about the size that you want.

I have used RTR twice in the past and my dresses came no problem. But this most recent time I received a notification 1 day before my dresses were supposed to arrive that the style I had ordered was not returned on time by the previous renter, so I was sent what a "stylist" considered a "reasonable replacement." The replacement dress fit, but was not flattering and not a style I liked, but this all happened 2 days before the event so I had no choice but to wear it. I tried contacting customer service several times via online chat and email, and did not receive responses until the day of the event, and even then they were unhelpful. They also do not provide a phone number, so I couldn't actually speak to a real human.

Finally, the day after the event I heard back from a RTR customer service rep who agreed to refund my order in full. I think this was an appropriate response given the frustration of my situation, and am grateful they refunded me.

Overall, when it works, this service can be great and is a good idea, but when it goes wrong, it's very frustrating.

I was excited to try Rent the Runway. While you do get what they say you get, I was expecting household, high end name brands. What I had to select from were mostly brands I didn't know. I also had a hard time finding items I liked. They give you the option to buy the item if you want, but only for a very small discount (not worth it). One item I could buy for the exact price I could buy it new. It was also confusing figuring out when my clothes were due to send back. I still don't know. 2 of the 4 hangers they came on broke as soon as I took the clothes off them. All in all, the app wasn't as user friendly as I'd hope and the clothing selection was disappointing. I was pretty disappointed with the whole experience.

I was an original RTR customer. I have belonged since 2006.

In the beginning it was great. Dresses were shipped with garment bags. Always pressed and clean. Excellent condition. Exchanges, last minute picks and panic about what to wear few and far between.

Around 2014 I started to notice a decline in service. First, second and third choices did it arrive multiple times. Replacements picked by stylists were not done based on preference or style - just size. More and more dresses were arriving late and damaged.

Around this time - and as the service worsened, I noticed a trend of "new" RTR users online. Whining about late fees and being charged for tearing garments. Screaming when the dress didn't fit right (and they didn't call customer service by the evening deadline). I can't help but wonder if their service has declined because their clientele has.

Gone are the women like me who worshipped their rental like Carrie Bradshaw would. Taking great care not to spill wine and rip trains. Making sure my gown was in the drop box the next day, so the next girl in line would be able to have her Cinderella moment too.

I am so sick of the pitfalls of being an RTR member. I have had unlimited for sometime, trying to let the positive outweigh the ugly, because this is a fun way to wear new designer clothes each week.

PROS
- new arrivals weekly
- selection of high-quality clothing, specifically dresses

CONS
- the CEO only cares about making money and not about customer experience. Designers have declined to be a part of RTR because she isn't a good business partner.
- RTR consistently closes the store at the busiest hours to hold private company events. They are a $1B company and they can't rent a venue for their company parties? They choose instead to inconvenience their members so they can have a party celebrating how much money they make.
- the employees at the store ignore you unless you ask for help.
- so much HASSLE. I constantly have to contact customer service to fix something- whether its a bug in the app or a delay in shipping. They cannot get their logistics together and the customers have to do all the legwork
- 3rd party couriers. They use these terrible couriers that attempt to deliver at 10pm- showing up on a bike or an unmarked van. There's no way to mark an address as a business and so they show up trying to deliver to a closed office.
- items are always unavailable. Its hard to find something to rent. They knock items out of your cart or tell you it became unavailable
-they've grown too big without the support to handle it. The store is always too crowded and stressful. There's been delays in shipments since they offered additional spots in the rental subscription. Don't offer it if you cant support it!
- communication is SLOW. They don't tell you until 4+ hours later that one of the pieces you ordered is unavailable. When you email customer service, they respond days later once you've had to resolve the issue for yourself

At this price point, I'd expect a luxury experience. Instead its a chore to arrange everything.

I ordered a dress in two sizes, months before my event, and NEITHER of them were shipped! They communicated the lack of stock WHILE they were supposed to be shipping, so no time for me to make a substitution though them. (Or to find something on my own.) Their 'stylists' just randomly sent two other dresses. The dresses did not even match the style of my event and my original selection or anything i had favored on the site. Just whatever random dresses they had around, probably the styles no one wants to rent. They didn't even fit. Customer service is no where to be found, even during business hours. The e-mail says, 'just reply if this doesn't work out for a refund' but no one responds. I also tried chat and phone. My 1 star rating of the dresses they sent (for being terribly ugly and poor fitting) never got posted to the site. So all the positive dress reviews you see are all filtered first! They also hide the ability to post reviews on Facebook, so that is a telling sign too. I think I will refute the charge on my credit card, since the products ordered were not delivered. Let the credit card company deal with them.

Update: RTR refunded all but shipping on my purchases and offered a 20% off coupon. It took about 3 days for them to respond. So I updated my review to 3 stars. I would still never use them for an important event. But I was refunded once the dresses were returned.

The dresses arrived on time. One of the dresses was packaged on the hanger with the inside slip twisted so when I put it on, it was up to me to untangle the bulge of fabric underneath the dress. Also, the smaller sized dress reaked! It smelled like someone had urinated in it. Not sure what the cleaning process is, but maybe they should invest in a deodorizer. Curious to know how carefully the dresses are cleaned/assessed prior to being shipped to a paying customer.

I've had an unlimited membership for almost a year. When the service works well, it's great--beautiful dresses, easy delivery and return. Unfortunately, it's very slow. If I return something on a Tuesday, it's the following Monday before I can reorder, then it takes another week to get to me. So if I need something for a particular date, I have to plan way ahead. I've been excited about getting a dress only to have them tell me days later that it's not available. Some of the items are poor quality. Customer service is pretty good. I really want them improve. I love the idea of this company, but they HAVE to get better. Seems like an opportunity for a competitor to emerge.

I've been using rent the run way for 3 years now, i have to agree with some of the comments here, the site is convenient in terms of not having to purchase a dress for every function, however, once you order a dress make sure is new by looking at how many plp wore the dress in order to get good quality, a part from that, cross your fingers that the dress arrives in good condition, there is no guarantees. All based on luck lately. I believe that there should be some quality control once the dress is received at RTR that someone takes the time to inspect the dress and be able to tell whether this dress should be used again. I think they are washed and re hung for the next customer and not caring whether the dress is in good shape or not, poor business, waste of money for the company as well since they would have to rush or overnite another dress, thats if there is time. Good luck.

I'm going on my 5th out of 5 weddings this year. December was a very busy month for me so I decided to Rent the Runway and try their subscription process. I overall, after my experience, would advise you that it is not worth the money. My number one issue was with shipping. This being the holiday season, shipments were ALWAYS late and especially the day of traveling, causing me to have to stay HOURS waiting for a simple shipment before I could leave and destroyed plans that were the whole intent of this shipment. I thought after the first time I would give it another chance and just plan ahead. When customer service seemed to be helping me when I mentioned my experience they didn't even take into consideration to do next day air or arrival by 3 pm. So, instead, I waited until 11:30pm at night to receive my shipment for the last wedding. I completely ruined my night and unfortunately never plan to rent the runway ever again due to lack of clarity and consideration. If you pay for a service, I think the least they could do is ensure you get it first thing the next day? That is quality customer service. Not what they are currently offering.

RTR is a great concept for some people, but for me, just hasn't made sense and I will be canceling. I really wanted it to work.:)

I joined RTR Unlimited because I hoped it would help curb my compulsive online shopping (at least a bit) and my constant dry-cleaning bills. I'm someone who spends several thousand dollars/month just on clothes and accessories. Not Kim K by any means, but I do spend.

PROS:
- Great customer service
- Fun experience, it's fun to browse and pick out your wardrobe.
- Probably will save you some money, if you frequently buy new clothing
- Convenient

CONS:
- You get 4 items at a time with the basic unlimited plan. 4 items at a time, is not enough. Let's see... jacket, pair of pants and a top. That's 3 items right there. Basically I get 1, maybe 2, outfits in a shipment. The shipment needs to be at least 6-8 items. What am I supposed to wear all week?... I upgraded to the 5 item plan, but still felt like I needed more.
- *THE BIGGEST ISSUE* Too much downtime between shipments. When I drop off my shipment, it takes 2 days to get back to RTR. Assuming I pick out my next items right away, then 2 MORE days to get the next shipment to me. That's 4 days of me being naked. It would be so much better if RTR would let you pick out your next shipment, when it gets scanned at UPS, to keep things moving.
- The clothes are just - ugly. They are the designers' cast-offs. The items that made it in the clearance or never made it to the showroom. I love some of the designers... Theory, DVF, etc. But don't be thinking you're getting the beautiful, current, full-price stuff in the stores. It's more like weird colors, cuts and styles... maybe this is how RTR gets to work these designers? There must be some kind of arrangement.

And finally... the clothes often look beat-up. Many of the items; it's obvious they've been dry cleaned 100 times or more. It doesn't look fresh and new. Clothing can't take that much.

The problem with only getting 4 items at a time is you're not going to like all the items or they won't fit. Typically, I only like 1-2 of the items...

I think Rent the Runway is great for one-time rentals for special occasions, like that $3,000 gown you don't want to buy. RTR Unlimited may be a good fit for you if you have tons of special occasions every weekend (like weddings) and need to wear a different dress, and aren't picky on what that is.

I have been an Unlimited Member for over a year now. Overall, I like it and will continue to use it because I love being able to rotate my wardrobe so much. However, I very much agree with other reviewers who have expressed frustration with not being able to rent items they like. The inventory of clothes is just not large enough given the amount of members, in my opinion. It's really difficult if not impossible to get the items you like because they are usually unavailable when it's time to rent. I find this is especially true when trying to select a more formal dress. Slim pickings. Making lists ahead of time is a waste--none of those items will be available. If you are admiring something, so is every other member. The Unlimited customer who will have the best experience is the one who is very flexible about what she wears. I do find that customer service is helpful/supportive and they respond in a timely manner. I have also been happy with how quickly my items arrive at my home. I hope that RTR will continue to improve upon this great concept it's started.

It is very difficult to cancel your order, once placed. I think you have to cancel 14 days in advance. I removed 3 dresses from an order, and it still arrived. I called shipping department and said, okay I will pay for this order, but need to keep it through Saturday night. I want to cancel the second order. So they said they do not see it in my orders. So today I get an email confirmation that the second order is being delivered tomorrow. Obviously I am not in the mood to pay for an order already cancelled. When I try to reply to their e-mail it does not go through. What is the e-mail address for Rent the Runway?

When you need to get in touch with the co, stay on the line my wait was 1 hr and 2 hr the second time, once got through they were very helpful.

So I rented a dress recently for my bridal shower. It was supposed to be here in Friday by 8pm. Somehow FedEx screwed up and instead of going from NJ to NY it went to TN. I called the number listed because I didn't want to pay for something I couldn't wear and then pay for late fees returning it. I waited on hold for a little over 20 minutes for someone to talk to. In the end they rerouted the dress back to them and refunded my money without a fight. They also offered to talk to FedEx and have the dressed guaranteed to me by 10am the next morning. I declined due to the fact that I would already be out of town for my shower by then. FedEx even called me to verify if I was home to have it delivered. While the transaction wasn't ideal I would be willing to give them another shot if needed. FedEx on the other hand, not so much.