So Fresh So Floral: Rent The Runway Free Dress Rental

Hello Readers!

Last Friday, I received something very exciting in the mail. But before I tell you what that was, I should tell you a bit more of the story.

Last spring (March 2011) I needed to find a dress to wear to my cousin's (Joe) wedding. I had dresses in my wardrobe, but nothing to wear (so to say). All of the dresses I owned were dresses I had already worn to previous events, but I wanted something new. After a random Google search, I found a website named Rent The Runway, where customers could rent designer gowns (way beyond my price range) to wear to events like weddings for a fraction of the dress' actual cost. A perfect solution for my dilemma.

Since then, I've told friends and family members about Rent The Runway (RTR), but I haven't used their services (although I do check their website on a weekly basis to see what's new). A month or so ago I completed a survey about RTR with the incentive of receiving a FREE surprise dress rental on a weekend TBA. I chose 2 possible weekends and 5 dresses for each weekend, and waited for the email to inform me that my dress (a surprise until I opened the box) was in the mail.

My surprise dress was AMAZING! The RTR stylists did a tremendous job choosing a dress that I loved wearing and a dress that was long enough for long legs! Ready to find out which dress it was?

The So Fresh So Floral Maxi by Shoshanna (Rental, $100; Retail $615)
There really is so much to love about this dress, but the colors are probably my favorite. Shoshanna makes dresses with impeccable patterns and oh-so-alluring colors, patterns and colors I've only admired from afar until this free surprise dress rental from RTR (thank you, stylists!)

I would have loved to wear this dress to a wedding, but since I had no weddings that weekend (or other "special" events) I decided to make a special event of the dress by wearing it to church on Sunday as well as Sunday dinner at my grandparents' house. And I LOVED wearing it! At church I paired it with a cardigan from Zara and a sparkly belt from Anthropologie. My experience with this dress (thanks to RTR) was thoroughly splendid. In the midst of an arduous search for a job, this lovely blue and purple dress showed up on my doorstep to lift my spirits and boost my confidence.

Here are a few pictures of me in this lovely dress! Enjoy!

I love this dress!

The church-appropriate version of the dress (with cardigan)

So Fresh!

The weather was (finally) perfect for a breezy maxi dress!

I look like I'm swimming the butterfly! Subconscious tribute to the Summer Olympics? 

I couldn't stop smiling! 

"The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind. . . "

Thank you, Leslie, for taking these pictures!

Retail Details:
Blue and Purple So Fresh So Floral Maxi Dress: Shoshanna (free surprise dress rental)
Grey and Rhinestone Belt: Anthropologie
Dark Silver 'Chirp' Pumps: Seychelles via Nordstrom Rack

Rent The Runway. . . Sure!

Good Morning Readers!

Last Friday I attended my cousin Joe's wedding, which took place in the Starved Rock Lodge located in the very picturesque Starved Rock National Park in Utica, Illinois.  I had such a fun time at the wedding, meeting new people and catching up with family that I haven't seen in over a year (much too long!), and of course- being there to celebrate the wedding of Joe and Paula (his very beautiful bride!)

For this occasion, I felt the need to buy a new dress.  After all, every dress that qualified in the running to be worn at an occasion this important was already photographed and posted on facebook or on this blog.   After a search for dresses within my price range proved unsatisfactory, I became frustrated- but determined nonetheless, I broadened my search by exploring the option of dress rental.

Dress rental? You can rent dresses?  Apparently. . . Yes!  Why didn't I know about this until now?  I looked at a couple of sites that offered this service, and chose to enlist RentTheRunway.com to solve my dilemma based on unbiased positive reviews, and a wide selection of dresses to choose from.  

How does it work?  Well, RentTheRunway.com works a lot like a time share, but instead of paying for space, your purchase secures a span of 4 days to use the dress.  What I love most about this company is that they send you 2 sizes of your selected dress (the second is complimentary) to ensure that you get the right fit to look wonderful at whatever event you attend. And, the best part is that you get to wear a designer dress for a fraction of the cost of a designer dress.  Wonderful!

They also send you a pre-labeled envelope for you to use when it's time to send the dress back- a touch that makes the process even more simple and easy.  The dresses come in a garment bag (which you get to keep!), with a return date reminder/checklist, and information sheet about the company, and my package even came with free samples! Wow!

The dress was absolutely spectacular, so spectacular that I almost couldn't bear to send it back at the end of my rental period.  The dress I selected was a Rebecca Taylor piece, and it was even more beautiful in person than how it appeared on the website- the only big surprise was that both of my dresses had straps but the picture of the dress on the RentTheRunway website did not.

The dress ran much smaller than I thought it would be.  At Banana Republic, Anthropologie, J. Crew, and almost everywhere else I wear a size 4, so that is what I ordered, but it was so tiny that I could hardly zip it up! Thankfully, I had the size 6, and it was a perfect fit!

Here I am with my dad (my date), my cousin Emily (sister of the groom), my Uncle CJ (father of the groom), and my Aunt Sue.

I love this dress!

Oh the agony!  I wasn't ready to send it back!

I was sad to see the dress go!

Overall, this was a great experience!  I was a bit hesitant to give it a try, but it satisfied my hunger for a new dress, and I was able to wear a dress that I otherwise wouldn't purchase.  If you find yourself in a situation similar to my own, I highly recommend RentTheRunway.com! A 5 star experience!!!!!

Too much sugar!