Menswear rental sites
The rental space is a totally new world to me and one I've not experienced at all, but in honour of the upcoming Second Hand September (where Oxfam encourages everyone to only buy second hand clothes for the month) I thought it was something I should explore.
I must admit it's a concept that I haven't quite got my head round yet. But thinking back to when Net-a-Porter first started, and how I couldn't imagine people would buy high end designer clothes online, and when eBay first appeared and we couldn't quite understand how it seemed to be built on trust and feedback, then I'm sure the rental market will gather speed and become the norm in no time at all. Maybe I'll even have to adapt my business to include shopping for rental pieces and styling your new "rents" with the things you already have in your wardrobe?!
Here are the sites I've found that have menswear items available. There seems to be a slightly limited choice but as the concept as a whole (and particularly the menswear sector) is in its infancy, I'm sure it'll grow rapidly very soon.
The Devout - this service is based on a membership model. You pay £39 per month and can choose 3 items to rent for that month. Delivery and cleaning are included in this, so no need to pay extra, and you're also covered if the item gets damaged.
If you'd like to rent more than 3 things per month, there are other packages available, and if you don't like something or it doesn't fit, you can swap it for an extra £10, as long as you let them know within 48 hours.
The items they have available are mainly more high street to mid market brands, so useful for everyday dressing.
Garmentry - this is the only place I've come across that is solely focused on menswear.....woohoo! It's set up differently from the one above, in that it's a peer to peer rental platform - think of it like eBay but instead of buying or selling your clothes, you're renting them.
So if you have an expensive item in your wardrobe, that you bought for a special occasion, or thought would suit you and doesn't, then instead of letting it sit there making you feel guilty, you can get some money back on it. The Garmentry takes 15% commission from this.
As the lender, you're responsible for dry cleaning or washing and you include this in the price. You're free to set the rent at what you want but it's recommended to be about 5-10% of the original price of the garment. I'm not sure if delivery costs should be included or if you add them on.
MyWardrobeHQ - in womenswear, I believe this was one of the first rental places and now they're expanding into menswear. Currently though, it's limited to renting Belstaff jackets, but hopefully that'll expand to match the womenswear offering soon.
Prices are shown per day, and there's a minimum renting time of 4 days and maximum of 14 days, though you can contact them if you'd like to keep it for longer. Delivery is £8 and returns are free. If the item doesn't fit, they'll refund the fee, minus £5...you need to contact them within 24 hours in order to get this.
And make sure you send your rental jacket back within the agreed time, otherwise you'll be charged a hefty £50 per day!
Selfridges rental - As you'd expect, Selfridges have a reasonable choice of high end clothing and accessories to choose from, including a couple of suits. At the moment, it's around half the selection the women have but I imagine this will grow fairly quickly.
The minimum time you can rent an item for is 4 days and maximum 20 days. You don't need to wash or clean anything before sending back - they handle all that. Some higher price items, you have to pay a security deposit - a refundable charge that's held on your card for the duration of the rental period. I can't see if you have to pay a delivery charge on top of the rental but I think returns are free.
By Rotation - This is another peer to peer rental platform that you use via a mobile app. The menswear offerings are very streetwear and trainer heavy, but I did spot a few more formal jackets and suits amongst the listings too.
Minimum rental time is 3 days and like the others, the rental fee is set by the lender and they're responsible for cleaning. By Rotation take 15% of the fees earned by the lender. They do offer a wardrobe management service to their ‘time-poor and wardrobe-heavy’ users which presumably they charge a fee for, though I can't see where this is listed.
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Do you have things sitting in your wardrobe going unworn? Book in for a wardrobe edit below and we can figure out why you're not wearing them......maybe they need altering? Perhaps you don't know what to combine them with? Or maybe they're just not you and they could be rented out or resold?
A wardrobe edit is not always about throwing things out, but finding new ways to wear things and repairing or reviving what you have. And once that's done, we can build a much more targeted list of what you need, so you're not just buying randomly, making it a much more sustainable way of doing things.
If you'd like to keep your clothes going for longer and save them from landfill, then check out these posts too. They have lots of info on repairing, rejuvenating and reselling:
Recommendations on repairs, alterations and how to restore your clothes