How I fell in love with “Rent the Runway”

Does it ever happen to you that a simple product or service touches you in a way that is much deeper than you’d expected? It rarely happens to me, but when it does, it is a wonderful experience. In the winter of 2016 I was traveling to the US for a wedding. Dress code: black tie. Typical Israeli reaction: @!$#%!!!



This may be a good place to pause and state what might be obvious to some of you: Americans, in general, can sure dress up! They have dress codes, galas, banquets, and formal parties. Dressing up for an event is simply part of the culture. It’s amazing to see how, sometimes, American life seems to be identical to a Hollywood movie. Israelis, on the other hand…. literally show up to weddings in flip-flops. To say Israeli culture is casual is an understatement. To sum it up, I needed help!

Enter Rent the Runway. A friend told me about this service, and it sounded great from the get go: rent a designer dress (at a fraction of its original price) for 4 days, then drop it off at any UPS drop box in order to return it.
When I went online to their website, I found the most user-friendly site I have ever experienced! The filtering options were superior to all other fashion sites I’d previously tried. I knew that I wanted a full-length dress preferably with a boat neckline and in a dark color, and I found just that - in seconds!
Filtering options include not only color, size, and style but also less trivial categories like weather, body type, embellishments, age range, etc. Each of these categories is perfectly broken down into subcategories that cover every need or desire you may have. Pictures of other customers wearing the dresses are available, and you can sort them to match your needs. I could see how the dress looked on women my height, weight and body type (and read their feedback), so when I tried it on I already knew how it would look on me!

Even though their website is outstanding, I would say Rent the Runway’s greatest strength is that they really put their clients in the center. They understand the needs of a woman that needs an outfit for an event, and it was so refreshing to have my expectations met and exceeded! They offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and they were willing to overnight a different dress to me if I was not happy with what I get.
I wore a beautiful $930 dress that only cost $76 to rent, and had so much fun in the process. I also loved the ecological plus of not buying an item I would only use once. There are many more surprises and fun options on the site. I look at my rental experience with them as one of the best customer service experiences of my life, it was really a glamorous one! If you are planning a visit to the US and may use a fun, new outfit or a dress for a special occasion, I highly recommend checking them out! www.renttherunway.com