Rental Reviews

You might have noticed that my closet has expanded quite a bit thanks to a rotating supply of clothing and jewelry rentals. Through Le Tote, Rent the Runway Unlimited and Rocksbox, I’ve had the chance to try new designers and have some fun with my fashion, and I wanted to share my reviews.

By joining these clothing and accessory rental programs, believe it or not, I’ve actually saved money that I’d typically spend monthly on clothes. How? Because by paying one set price per month, I’ve received numerous new things and felt less of a need to go out and buy more myself.  And if I do really love an item I rent, some of these services give me the option of purchasing it at a fraction of the retail cost.

If you’ve been considering joining a jewelry or clothing rental service, continue reading my rental review after the jump. I’m providing a review of each one listed above and sharing some more of the items I managed to get as well as links to sign up. If you’re interested in hearing more about a certain service, let me know, and I’ll plan another post!

See an updated Rent the Runway Unlimited review here

I first used Rent the Runway (RTR) by simply renting one dress for a charity event (read the original RTR review here), and after having a great experience I put myself on the waiting list to become an Unlimited member. Unlimited members get access to nearly every designer dress, purse and accessory on the Rent the Runway site for $159 a month.

How It Works: After you’re accepted to Unlimited, you add items to your closet. There’s a seemingly endless selection of everything – cocktail dresses, tote bags for work, sparkly jewelry and even “Cinderella” dresses for just because. You choose four available items to be shipped at once, and they arrive several days later. They’re yours for however long you choose. Once you are finished with an item, you simply place it in a prelabeled UPS package and mail it back to RTR or drop it off at a Rent the Runway store or WeWork drop off location. You can send back 1, 2 or all of the items in a prepaid UPS envelope and exchange them for the replacements – it’s essentially a rotating closet of four designer goods at a time.

The Pros: I’m really looking forward to the months when I have several vacations and weddings or planned because I’ll be able to have new-to-me high-end accessories and dresses for a fraction of what they actually cost. I am also constantly getting complimented on my RTR pieces, and it’s exciting to answer back, “Thanks, they’re Oscar de la Renta earrings!”

The Cons: Unlike regular Rent the Runway, when you rent a dress through Unlimited you don’t get a back-up-size for free. So there have been times when one of the dresses I ordered didn’t fit. You also can’t reserve dresses for certain dates, so I’m gambling with what inventory will be available each time I try to plan for a shipment.

The Verdict: I’ve been an Unlimited member for a month and a half and already have received 12 pieces. I’ve worn them to work, for blog outfits, to Easter Sunday and date nights. This is a fun treat for myself and I see it being even more valuable with all of my summer plans. (Editor’s note: I wrote this post originally in 2015, and since then cancelled, then restarted my subscription. I’ve been a member in total for two years.)

Rocksbox is not a clothing rental, but a jewelry rental. I first signed up for Rocksbox using a free code from another blogger (you can use mine to do the same: sincerelyjenniexoxo). Once I tried one month, I had a great experience and was interested in seeing what else they had, so I signed up for a second month. (Now I’m an influencer partner so I receive the service for free.)

How It Works: Rocksbox is just $21 to receive a box of three pieces of jewelry hand-picked by stylists from your wishlist. You can send the stylists photos of outfits or requests and once your box is created, you can swap items before they’re sent. You can keep the jewelry as long as you want, and once done, return it in a prepaid envelope for a new box chosen by a Rocksbox stylist. The service includes jewelry by designers such as Kate Spade, Loren Hope and Kendra Scott.

The Pros: To me, $21 is a reasonable price to spend monthly and get, on average, 2-3 jewelry boxes within four weeks. I loved getting statement necklaces that I didn’t necessarily need in my closet permanently, but had a great time styling for the time being (examples here). My stylist was usually pretty spot-on, too, when choosing items for my box, or, I swap for items I’d prefer at that time.

The Cons: If you like the jewelry, you do have the opportunity to purchase it at a discounted price. And that discount is on top of a monthly $21 credit you have per month (the cost of the box) to put toward a purchase. However, I’ve only done that a few times because often the jewelry is more expensive that I’d spend myself.

The Verdict: I really liked Rocksbox and think it’s a great way to treat yourself at a low monthly cost. I have also found myself purchasing so much less jewelry – therefore saving money and on consumerism – because renting is just as fun!

(Editor’s note: This portion of the post was written in 2015, details may have changed slightly.) In full discloser, I first signed up for Le Tote (that link gives you a free box) using a code for 1/2 off and did not have a great experience. In the first month I received two totes and the dress I’m wearing in the top right photo was the only item that fit me or was of high quality. I stopped my subscription and wrote to Le Tote Customer Service. I’m now doing another trial month and have noticed they really listened to customers’ suggestions and made tweaks that improved the service.

How It Works: Le Tote is your personal stylist, sending you a box with five pieces of clothing or accessories for you to either shop from or rent. Once finished, return whatever you don’t want to keep in a prepaid USPS bag and then receive five new items. You can do this as many or as few times per month as you want.

To help your stylist select items for your tote, you fill out a style profile and your body measurements. Then, you create your virtual closet by selecting clothing and accessories in the Le Tote website. Before each tote is sent, you can see what’s in it and swap out items for similar product if you want.

Pros: Getting unlimited totes per month helps curb my shopping addiction. It also allows me to try several different designers or choose fun accessories I might be hesitant about owning for good.

Cons: I feel like Le Tote is still trying to get its model right. I believe it started as a “personal stylist” program, to help you shop from home. Now, it’s becoming more of a clothing rental/personal stylist program. There are other tweaks I’d like made, such allowing me to choose my own sizes for each item of clothing. As it stands now, a stylist does this for me based off of very loose measurements in my style profile. Another small gripe is that when the tote arrives sometimes the pieces are wrinkled.

The Verdict: For people who don’t have a lot of time to shop or would prefer someone else do it for them, I could see Le Tote being beneficial. But for someone who knows what she wants, Le Tote didn’t do it for me. I think Le Tote still needs to grow and work out some of the kinks mentioned above to appeal to the masses. But hey, they are making improvements and listening to the customers, so that might not be far off.

Still curious about Le Tote? Sign up for your first month free by clicking here.

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I’m curious to see what you’ve tried and if you’ve had similar experiences with these clothing rental services and your review. Please leave any questions or comments below!