Author Spotlight
Addy Newman
The doorbell rang as I finished up the last problem on my chemistry worksheet. I hurried down the stairs and out my front door, anxious for the thrill of opening a new package. Sitting on my front porch was a black reusable tote bag made from post-consumer plastic.
I dragged the bag inside and immediately began to dig through the treasures, pulling out six clothing pieces I’d spent an entire weekend picking out. I’d ordered the clothes a few days earlier from the Nuuly website — an online subscription clothing rental store. The high-quality tops and pants were fitting to bring on my cold-weather trip I’d rented them specifically for. My December wardrobe was set.
Renting is a budget-friendly way to find clothes for a trip, special event or even everyday wear. It’s also a solution to spending hundreds of dollars on upscale brands or wasting money for low quality fast fashion companies such as Shein or Forever 21 that sell worse quality items than the plastic packages they come in.
The $98 monthly fee allows users to choose a maximum of six items from over 1,000 clothing options available — the only catch is that all items must be returned by the end of the month.
Instead of spending my Sunday night washing clothes and scrubbing out stains, I can rest easy knowing Nuuly washes all clothing items previously worn before shipping them out. In fact, most of my rentals even came new with tags.
The next month, I returned my first order, made another order and patiently awaited my new package with the peace of mind that I could cancel my subscription whenever. I again picked out six different items, this time for my spring break beach vacation, from their website and eagerly pressed the ship button.
But to my dismay, when they arrived on my doorstep, some items were faded in color, others didn’t fit true to size and overall, the clothes looked shabby and felt like they had been worn before — ironically enough.
Despite my second order falling short of my expectations, Nuuly’s large range of expensive clothes that you don’t have to pay extra for makes it worth the hundred-dollar subscription. You just have to understand you’re renting clothes, not buying new.
The first time I used my subscription, instead of paying hundreds of dollars for coats and cold-weather sweaters and jackets, I rented a black winter puffer coat, a fleece jacket, and a pair of jeans.
The first item I pulled out from the tote bag was a pair of rosie-coated high-rise wide-leg jeans, which would have been $245 if I had bought them from the Hudson retail store. I didn’t need these jeans for the entire year, and they made for a stylish alternative to my blue jeans I wear to every event.
The next item, a mixed sherpa anorak jacket in the color moss from Anthropologie, was a suitable piece for my trip that would protect me from the 20-degree weather. I’d never be able to buy an item like this knowing it would only be worn a few times, but since I was able to rent, it made for a fun addition to my vacation wardrobe.
To make matters even better, a patch pocket puffer coat from NVLT that originally would’ve been $128 provided me with much less expensive comfort and warmth.
And if you fall madly in love with your purchases, don’t mourn their one-month life span — Nuuly lets you buy them. I ended up purchasing the NVLT coat because it was just too good to turn down for just $45 to keep.
Unfortunately, my second order was much less satisfactory. With so many styles, I should’ve read the hundreds of reviews on the Nuuly website before renting.
A mini dress from Free People in the color pink came to my house and was a dull magenta rather than the blazing hot pink shown in the photos.
The fabric on a tiered maxi dress from Anthropologie was so worn it didn’t fit as advertised and ran too large on me. The colors were again faded and gave an almost dirty look to the dress. Needless to say, it didn’t make it into my suitcase.
Although the sizing and the clothes weren’t as I’d pictured, Nuuly is still a quality alternative to spending money on clothing pieces that you hate by next year.
Nuuly allows me to expand and retract my closet like the living, breathing thing it is, and I suggest all clothing-lovers try it at least once.
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