No, I’m not suggesting some dodgy take-your-dress-back-to-the-shop-after-wearing-it scheme! I’m taking about dress hire. Remember in the Sex and The City Movie when Carrie’s PA Louise has the best designer handbags on her arm and an assistant’s wage in her purse, baffling Carrie into asking how she has got hold of her waiting-list-only arm candy? Louise proudly tells Carrie that it’s rented and we all wondered how long it would be until a service like this arrives in the UK too. Well, it’s here right now! Yes, I’ve found out that you really can hire designer dresses, coats and accessories from Wish Want Wear.
Like Louise from the SATC film, I found an array of gorgeous handbags but immediately worried about creating pen-leaks and lipstick stains inside and being charged for the damage, so it’s definitely a service for special occasions rather than everyday use. But if I ever feel the urge to wear a £1650 Hervé Legér bandage dress, this is the place to come! When I discovered this website, I began thinking about all the events I need to go to this year; weddings, christenings and parties and started doing the mental arithmetic on how much a new outfit for each special occasion would cost me to buy. Now, I’d never be able to buy afford designer dresses but even so, the cost of an outfit soon adds up. I imagine that someone who attends a lot of work functions would get a lot of use out of this service, but would be right for me? As you know, I’m a thrifty kind of girl, so I looked at the lower-priced rental outfits and found a few at bargain rates.
Let me give you an idea of the prices – the first gown, Tracy Reese’s ‘Natures Garland’ dress has a value of £385 – something I could never ever afford to buy – but I can hire it for 4 days for only £29. The other dresses from left to right are: two Alice Temperly dresses at £370 and £360 respectively. I love the classy style of the green dress and the soft drape fabric pleats look gorgeous. I especially love the pattern of the central dress and the flared skater shape is ideal for me. The teal Milly dress is just my style with lace and covered arms but would set me back £415 if I wanted to buy it. I am confident in saying that the only way I’ll ever get to wear this value of dress is if it is hired!
The final red dress is Just Cavalli at £740, yikes! My only reservation about choosing this dress is the strapless top with keyhole detail: this is definitely a bra-free dress and that’s not possible for me! So I’d need to grab myself a ByeBra, which is a stick-on up-lift bra that’s fab for wearing underneath strapless gowns and backless dresses.
I would definitely need to think carefully about hiring a dress and what hazards there might be at the event – Am I likely to spill anything on it? Will I have children climbing all over me? What will I be eating at the event? Is it an outdoor or indoor venue? I don’t want to ruin a dress and then get charged for it! So for my niece’s christening it will definitely be more sensible to buy a cheapy dress that doesn’t matter if it gets child-sized jam-and-cake hand-prints all over it. But for a day at the races, hiring a hat from this company would be very sensible, because I don’t have the space to store a hat that might only be used for that one occasion. I’m still weighing up the pros and cons of hiring: accessories, yes, because they are less likely to get damaged; dresses, maybe but not if it’s going to be a mucky occasion! Anyway, I’m just pleased that the Sex and The City film is coming true!
This article is a sponsored collaboration. The pink links in the content indicate a sponsored link or information source. The blog post reflects my own experience and the sponsor hasn’t had any control over my content 🙂
