Beg, Borrow... Rent?
Beg, Borrow... Rent?
Avoiding 'party season' clichés, how to make rental fashion work for you, and the winter coats I've got my eye on.
Greetings Spendthrifts!
This month I’m exploring the concept of rental fashion by way of my partywear picks for the festive season, and sharing a few of the winter coats I’ve got my eye on to replace a slightly rundown old fave - plus, accessories! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how a good accessory, the right accessory - a necktie perhaps, or an interesting belt, or maybe a choker - is a fun, low-stakes way of making old clothes feel new again. I tend to neglect that side of my wardrobe, focusing instead on the more obvious components of an outfit, so right now I’m trying to build up a few accessories to add points of interest.
But first, the reason we’re gathered here today - it’s time to talk partywear.
I should start by confessing that I’ve always slightly resented the way fashion media talks about ‘party season’ as though the period from mid-November through to January 1st is a non-stop procession of champagne-fuelled bacchanalia. Even as someone who ends up at ~fancy~ events with some regularity on account of my job, I still probably end up having maybe two or three events around Christmas time that I feel the need to properly dress up for. Does that a ‘season’ make? I’m not so sure.
The phrase ‘party season’ makes me feel as though there might be people out there whose entire December looks like that party scene from The Great Gatsby, which quite frankly gives me terrible FOMO. I go to a few nice dos around the Christmas period, but Nick Carraway I ain’t.
Still most of us will have at least one dressy event between now and New Year’s Eve where we want to push the boat out a little - maybe a work Christmas party, or festive drinks at a friend’s house. Then of course there’s Christmas Day itself which can be fun to dress up for, especially if you’re spending it with extended relatives or your partner’s side of the family - and it’s at this time of year that I think the concept of fashion rental really comes into its own.
I’m going to be honest - it’s taken me a LONG time to get on board with the concept of renting clothes. I am an inherently acquisitive person, a collector - I like to own things. I like to admire beautiful clothes hanging up in my wardrobe, to run my hands over a cashmere jumper and get distracted by an impromptu try-on session when I really ought to be searching for a clean t-shirt. To open my shoe-drobe™ and gaze lovingly at my collection for a few minutes before bedtime. It can all get a bit… Gollum here at Uwagba Towers if I’m honest.
I’m also the opposite of an early adopter, an unabashed Luddite, a shunner of change for change’s sake. So even though rental has been around for a few years now, I was never that motivated to give it a go… until earlier this year when I was prepping for an important event. With only a few days to go and “nothing to wear”, I was feeling unexcited about many of my usual go-to brands. I wanted to mix things up a little, and I also wanted to wear something with real wow factor, given I was to be hosting the event in question. In a moment of desperation I started idly browsing various rental websites, more for inspiration than anything else - and then I stumbled across a mint green tulle dream of a dress and immediately thought yes.
The process was remarkably hassle free (another misconception that had previously put me off the idea of renting) - I actually messaged the lender and arranged to pick up the dress in person as I’d left it so last minute I wasn’t sure it’d arrive in time via DHL, and she happened to live about 15 minutes from me. Once I was finished with the dress I simply took it to the post office and sent it back. Simples!
It felt like a bit of a revelation - suddenly I had access to an item that was much too expensive for me to justify buying outright for just one night (and not available to purchase even if I’d wanted to, as this dress is a few seasons old). I can probably see myself renting outfits once or twice a year now, and I realised then that I’d identified the ideal use case for rental: big occasions where you want to wear something absolutely showstopping that you know realistically you’ll likely only ever wear once or twice, and where the cost-per-wear feels a bit too high to justify an outright purchase.
…Enter ‘party season’.
As I write it’s dawning on me that what I actually find most tedious about the mainstream fashion approach to party season is the sort of clothes that tend to be recommended. Party dressing seems to exclusively consist of the sequins, velvet and feathers trifecta - and don’t get me wrong, a bit of that can be nice! I’ve included some très chic selections along those lines below. But a lot of the partywear looks that dominate at this time of year are also just basic AF. Whither thou leather? Or latex?? Every time I think about the fact Jenna Lyons thought to combine a black latex long-sleeved Saint Laurent top with charcoal pinstriped trousers and bare feet on a magazine cover, I have conniptions (the good kind).
I’d happily wear that combo to a Christmas party (here’s a very affordable SKIMS version) with some crystal-embellished heels (e.g. these, or possibly these) to counterbalance my top half. And I think we can all agree that Alexa Chung looks sensational in this In The Mood For Love-inspired custom latex number:
What I’m trying to say is that if you’re not really a sequins and feathers kinda gal from January through November, then the notion of spending the final month of the year suddenly veering wildly from your usual personal style because ‘Christmas’ makes a lot of party season fashion guides feel pretty alienating. When I’m getting dressed up for a special event I still fundamentally want to look like myself, i.e. Cool - just a more amped up, glamorous version of myself.
And lest we forget, party season in the UK also tends to coincide with inclement weather. It means potentially traipsing across town in the wind and rain, which means picking an outfit you can comfortably slip a coat over - ideally something that’s reasonably weather-proof and warm (like… latex hehe. Okay fine I’ll stop now). Unless you’re entertaining at home, now is not the time for gossamer thin straps or tissue paper chiffon that’ll tear the second a stray umbrella spoke comes its way. You want something sturdy enough to withstand hopping on the tube or climbing in and out of taxis, something you can stand AND sit down easily in (on two separate occasions in my life I have bought dresses that fit me perfectly, and never once thought to check if I could sit down in them until the moment I tried to get into an Uber and realised that no, actually, I couldn’t. Learn from my mistakes).
And finally, you want to stand out, right? Sure, you could wear the same five dresses from the same five brands that everyone else is wearing this winter - or you could wear something people haven’t seen a million times before on Instagram, and get compliments all night long.
This newsletter is full of the latter.
HURR
HURR seems to be the most established rental website out there at the moment - certainly, to my eye, it seems to have the most extensive range of items, sizes, and brands.
This newsletter isn’t in any way sponsored by HURR but when I realised how many items I’d selected from their website, I got in touch with their team to secure an exclusive discount for Add To Wishlist subscribers. Paid subscribers - please enjoy 30% off HURR rentals from now through til December 31st using the voucher code: