Clothing rental review: My honest experience and insights
POV: your birthday is fast approaching and you want the dopamine and confidence boost of wearing a new outfit, however, you’re taking part in the 90 Day No New Clothes challenge, of which you are successfully three quarters of the way through - and don’t want all of your hard work so far to be for nothing by splurging on a new outfit!
This was my exact situation a couple of weeks ago.
I am a true believer in fate (well and luck, I do have a 777 tattoo after all!) and while I was going through my emails, trying desperately hard to ignore the countless promo offers and birthday discount codes I was being offered from clothing brands who’s mailing lists I really should unsubscribe from, I came across an email from By Rotation, a rental app I’d heard about within the sustainable fashion space, downloaded once, signed up to and forgotten about.
There it was, my get out of jail free card! It’s not technically breaking the No New Clothes challenge to rent, right? So I thought I’d give it a go, despite having been sceptical about using rental platforms in the past. Here’s my honest experience and insights.
How it works
Clothing rental platforms, such as By Rotation, allow you to borrow clothes, bags and accessories (usually these are designer, expensive, or in-demand items) from others who already own these items and are willing to rent them out. You can normally borrow them over a set period of time and the items are shipped to you by the person who owns them.
Rental platforms have been created to try and reduce the negative environmental impacts of fashion overconsumption, offering consumers the chance to borrow items instead of having to buy new. It’s almost like shopping someone else’s wardrobe but giving the clothes back once you’re finished.
Renting helps to extend the lifespan of clothes, allowing them to be worn over again by a number of people, which is much better for the planet than if everyone bought the same item new.
Renting clothing, particularly luxury items, can also remove the barriers of access for people who might not be able to afford these items outright if bought new, but are able to pay the reduced cost of renting such items for a short period of time. This helps to make designer items more accessible.
Clothing rental can also help you make a more informed decision before investing in a luxury piece, as renting allows consumers to ‘try before they buy’ to see if they like the item before splurging on owning it outright. The person renting out their items also benefits from charging a fee for others to borrow their things.
The clothing rental process
One of the barriers stopping me from using clothing rental platforms was my perception that the process would be complicated or long-winded. However, my experience of By Rotation was the opposite.
First, you need to create an account by signing up using your email - simple enough. Then, you can browse the website or app, which I found to be really user-friendly and split into different sections such as style, clothes size and brand, making it easy to find exactly what I was looking for. There are also inspiration collections, such as Y2K, which show you items available to rent in a particular trending style.
I’ve been loving Jacquemus pieces recently that I’ve seen on my insta feed and Pinterest, so I decided I wanted to rent something from this brand. I simply searched for the brand name and it bought up all of the clothes, bags and accessories people had listed for this brand.
Similar to Vinted, those renting out their items have a star rating out of 5, so you can see if their items are good quality and if they are a reliable user, which I thought was an added bonus to the platform. You can also favourite items that you would be interested in renting and come back to them later in your favourites tab, so if you see something you love but you don’t have the occasion to rent it just yet, you can easily find it again and come back to it later.
After some scrolling, I found a 5 star renter offering the Jacquemus Seamless charm logo cardigan, which has an RRP of £370 on the official Jacquemus website, and I decided this was going to be the item I would rent for my Birthday celebrations. The cost of the rental was £40 for 3 days including delivery to me, which I thought was extremely reasonable considering the RRP of the item.
To place a rental, you need to request the dates you would like to borrow the item for. You can check the person who is renting out the piece’s diary to see when an item is available and how long for (in case someone else has rented it etc). On the By Rotation app, there’s a space for you to provide some information to the person renting out the item, for example I added that I wanted the item to wear for my birthday dinner. This sends a message to the person renting out the item and they can choose to either accept or deny your rental.
Luckily, the person I rented the top off was very kind and had great communication, accepting my rental on the same day. All I had to do was input my postal address and the parcel was on it’s way to me. So far so good!
Once posted, the person renting you the item uploads a tracking number to the app so you can see when it is expected to be delivered and by which courrier. My item was being delivered via Royal Mail Special Delivery, so it needed a signature. Knowing this information, I made sure someone was going to be home to receive the delivery.
However, my doorbell wasn’t working so I missed the delivery! Now, I was starting to panic, but because it had been sent with special delivery, it got redelivered the next day and I was able to track the parcel via the tracking code within the By Rotation app, which (slightly) put my mind at ease.
Overall I found the rental experience to be a positive one, with By Rotation offering a user-friendly interface, with information regarding the Ts and Cs of the process clearly explained after purchasing the rental.
The T&Cs
Once the item arrives, you have to take time stamped photos and videos of the condition of the piece within 24 hours of receiving it, so that when you send it back, if there is any damage, both you and the person renting out the item can prove the item did/did not already have these issues when it was sent/received.
If there is any damage when you receive the item or send it back, you can raise this within the By Rotation app and they will work to remediate the situation. It must be noted that you may have to pay the RRP price of the item to the seller to replace it if they can prove you caused the damage.
Whilst the cost of delivery is included in the initial rental price, you must cover the cost of sending it back, using a reputable provider that comes with insurance covering the cost of the item. This protects you if the item gets lost in the post and will reimburse the person renting the item to you for the full RRP value of the piece.
The person renting you the item is responsible for cleaning it upon receiving it back from the renter, unless otherwise stated, however, I’d say it’s generally good practice to make sure you’re sending it back in good condition, which may mean washing it before sending back as per the label instructions. If it doesn’t need washing, maybe consider spritzing it with some perfume (this is what I did!) so it maintains freshness for the person you’re sending it back to.
The returns process
To return the item, you need to purchase a return shipping label, which you have to cover the cost of yourself. I wanted to ensure it got back to the person I rented it from quickly, so I opted for Royal Mail Special Delivery, which included insurance that covered the RRP of the top. I did this via the Royal Mail website, as they have lots of different shipping options, and you can use other providers but the delivery must be able to be tracked and signed for. This set me back £9.95, so the overall rental cost was £50 for 3 days, but I felt this was justified given the RRP of the top.
The return shipping address is available in the By Rotation app, so you simply input the other person’s details and buy the postage label. You can even get the parcel collected from your doorstep for return by most couriers and this is what I did, so my postperson came and collected it from me, saving me having to go all the way to the post office. You can select this option at the checkout when you buy the shipping label.
I then neatly packaged the item in a mailer bag and sent it on its way. Once I had the tracking number, I uploaded this to the By Rotation app for the other person to see.
Then, a few days later, my heart sank. I received a message from the person I’d rented the item of saying they hadn’t received it - my literal worst fear had come true and issues like this were one of the reasons I’d been sceptical about rental platforms in the past. But, I tried not to panic and remembered that the delivery was tracked, so I went to my emails, where I found a proof of postage picture and signature.
One plus of the By Rotation app is that you can openly message people and send attachments, which is really useful as I was able to send them screenshots I had proving the item has been delivered and showing where it had been delivered to, luckily it turned out to just be with a neighbour!
Final thoughts
Would I use By Rotation again? Yes absolutely! The app is user-friendly, there’s lots of choice and I found the process straightforward as there’s lots of information in the app.
However, I would probably only use it for items that will be one-off, short term wear. As, I must say, the thought of having to pay the RRP for the top made me extra cautious when putting it on not to stretch or rip it and not to spill anything down it, making me slightly paranoid when wearing it, to the point I could not enjoy wearing it to its full potential. This was not too much of a big deal for the occasion I was wearing it for, as it was only a lowkey birthday meal that lasted a few hours, but I’m not sure I would want to wear it for an all-day event or if I was going out partying for example where something could get spilled down it.
That said, By Rotation is a fantastic option for those special occasions when you want to wear something unique without the commitment of buying. It’s perfect for one-off events like weddings, dinners, or even just trying out new styles without filling up your wardrobe or committing to splurging the cash. However, for longer or more active events where the risk of damage is higher, I’ll likely stick to outfits I already own.
Overall, I highly recommend giving By Rotation a try if you’re looking for a sustainable and stylish way to refresh your wardrobe for those one-off occasions!
