I admit spending $98 a month on clothes you don’t even get to keep seems like a stretch — until I tried it.
I had heard a bit about clothing rental companies here and there over the years, but one name kept popping up over the past few months: Nuuly. The clothing company was founded in 2019, and has really taken off in the last couple years as people have emerged from pandemic-era life ready to embrace budget-friendly yet bold style choices.
“We like to think we are bringing joy and discovery to our customers each and every day when they are getting dressed,” says Sky Pollard, head of product at Nuuly.?“We love that subscribers can experiment using Nuuly and find their personal style and confidence during all stages of life while being easy on their wallets and the planet.”
After doing a preliminary browse through Nuuly’s catalogue of chic styles, I knew I had to try it. It was almost too easy to picture how I would incorporate the clothes that caught my eye into my existing wardrobe. So with that, I signed up and have been renting with Nuuly for several months now.
Ahead, I delve into my experience with Nuuly, how the process works and the pros and cons of renting clothes.
Nuuly's monthly subscription includes six pieces of your choice, sent directly to your door. With tons of trendy, unique styles, as well as everyday basics and statement pieces, it's fun to "shop" through the pages of brands like Free People, Anthropologie, Kate Spade, Levi's and more. Once your rental term is up and you send your pieces back, Nuuly takes care of laundry, dry cleaning and repairs (covered in the cost of the plan), so there's no need to worry about anything but how you're going to style your pieces throughout the month.
What is Nuuly and how does it work?
Nuuly is a clothing rental platform that offers a $98 subscription where customers can choose any six clothing items to keep and wear for a month. It’s especially great for seasonal styles that take up a lot of bulk in your closet (like coats and jackets), as well as formal dresses and outfits for special occasions that you may only wear once. But your pick of pieces is really up to you — it can be six tops for work, a mishmash of trends you’ve been wanting to try or whatever your closet desires.
Nuuly’s catalogue of clothes covers a wide range of styles and occasions. “Because we are part of Urbn which is home to brands including Anthropologie, Free People and Urban Outfitters, which all serve a customer’s entire lifestyle, we view Nuuly’s assortment similarly, intuiting that customers want to have newness injected into their both their everyday wardrobes as well as their more dressy events,” Pollard notes.
Once your month is up, you ship the clothes back to Nuuly in order to unlock your next round of pieces. If you fall in love with a piece of clothing (or a whole outfit) you can purchase them at a discounted rate and simply keep them.
The company also takes care of laundry, dry cleaning and minor damages at their professional cleaning and repair facility, so there’s no need to worry if you have a minor spill or stain.
In addition to its rental subscription, which helps divert overproduction and overconsumption in the fashion industry, the company also launched the Nuuly Thrift platform, which is a resale marketplace for customers to buy and sell second-hand clothes.
What we liked about it
Tons of styles to choose from, with helpful search parameters
When you first sign up for Nuuly, you enter in your profile information, including your typical sizing and optional stats like your height, weight and body type. Then, as you begin browsing the virtual racks, it will automatically filter by your preferred sizes. There is also an Available Now toggle, so you don’t waste time pining over a piece that’s sold out in your size (that’s when the My Closet feature comes in handy and you can save styles you like — more on this later). I found that having specific pieces to look for greatly helped me save time while scrolling through the pages and pages of products. For example, for my first Nuuly bag, I knew I needed at least two wedding guest dress options, as well as pieces I can wear to work events.
In fact, this is a common theme among Nuuly renters, as Polard notes. “We see that subscribers typically sign up for Nuuly initially to try the service for a special occasion or event, travel or a life change, but they choose to continue renting?with Nuuly for access to our very well-rounded assortment.” In other words, they come for a special reason to get dressed up, but stay for the wearability and fun of the fashion.
Nuuly also curates seasonal edits, which helps narrow down the selection and provide inspiration. Throughout the site, pieces are styled in cute and trend-inclined ways, which prompted me to be a bit more adventurous in my own choice of styles — another theme among Nuuly renters. According to Pollard, a customer survey revealed that “about half of customers said they fill their Nuulies with the intention of trying out new trends, while the other half were looking for more classic styles.”
Honest, helpful reviews from other renters
Besides the cute clothes, my absolute favorite part about Nuuly is the candid and helpful reviews from other renters. With feedback on sizing, silhouettes, color and more, renters will give their unfiltered experience about their pieces, helping other renters make informed decisions about the pieces they add to their selection. Lots of reviewers also post pictures of themselves wearing the pieces, which is helpful for visualizing what the garment looks like on different body types.
“When we first launched, Nuuly and Urbn employees and our customer success team did an amazing job of writing the first reviews with their truthful and thoughtful opinions,” Pollard says.?“This set the tone for how helpful these would be for customers to find the right style and size, so customers see it as part of their Nuuly process.”
The reviews have helped me choose accurate sizing on everything I’ve ordered to date. Plus, Nuuly added a new feature where you can filter the reviews on each piece by size rented, height, body type and more, allowing you to streamline your search and find feedback relevant to your own body type. The valuable reviews also encouraged me to leave my own constructive feedback when it came time for me to review my first lot of clothes.
Easy to save pieces for later — and keep them organized
As you browse Nuuly’s pages of dresses, tops, bottoms and more, you can add them to My Closet. This feature allows you to bookmark pieces for later, and within My Closet, you can create lists to keep them organized by event, type of garment or whatever category you’re shopping for.
Now that I’m a couple months into my subscription, My Closet will be an easy way to revisit styles that previously caught my eye and serve as a good starting point for my next Nuuly bag.
Fast shipping, easy returns
In my experience, my Nuuly orders have arrived promptly, within a few days of placing them. This may be because I live in a city where it’s already popular (when I dropped off my first Nuuly bag at UPS for returns, I spotted four others ready to go out), but it’s been consistent and reliable.
I also like the convenience and sustainability of the reusable shipping bags that the clothes are delivered in. They are durable, ensuring the contents aren’t damaged in transit. Plus, it’s easy to repack the clothes for return. The prepaid shipping label is included and ready to affix to the outside of the package, and then you just have to take it to a UPS drop-off location.
What we didn’t like about it
No swaps
With Nuuly’s subscription, you’re locked into the six pieces you choose for the month. If a size or silhouette doesn’t fit quite right, you have to wait until the end of your rental period to send all the pieces back together. Moreover, if you fall in love with a style and want to order it in two different sizes, each of those count as an individual piece in your bag.
And beware, some pieces are more well-loved than others. One dress I received had a strap that was mended — a small detail that was only noticeable up close, but a clear sign that it had been worn previously. Another top in my second order had a very subtle stain that had clearly been spot-treated and laundered, but nevertheless was evident enough to keep me from wearing it.
On the flip side, a handful of the clothes I ordered in both my first and second shipments came new with tags. This balanced out the worn-out garments — it feels a bit special to be the first to wear a piece — and made the overall value of the orders seem worth it.
Only one type of subscription plan
Another limitation with Nuuly’s subscription is that there’s only one plan available. If you want more pieces, you can add up to four additional picks per month, at $20 each.
How it compares
Nuuly has become a leading competitor to Rent the Runway, which has been around since 2009. They operate on similar monthly subscription models, however, Rent the Runway has a few features that Nuuly doesn’t. Namely, Rent the Runway subscribers can choose from different plans, allowing them to choose from five, 10 or 15 pieces each month. Rent the Runway’s inventory also includes accessories, so jewelry, handbags and sunglasses also count towards your rental items.
Price-wise, the cost of Nuuly is comparable to Rent the Runway and even offers better value if you stick with Rent the Runway’s most basic plan. At Nuuly, it’s $98 for six pieces per month, while Rent the Runway’s five-piece plan is $94 per month. So for just $4 more, you receive a whole additional wardrobe piece with Nuuly.
Bottom line
I ended up liking Nuuly more than I thought I would — and I even found some new closet favorites that I’ve kept. It’s a convenient and fun way to add more variety to one’s day-to-day wardrobe, or find standout pieces to wear for special events. Not only did it suit my personal wardrobe wants and needs, but the styles I tried also fetched a lot of compliments. Strangers on the street complimented my Nuuly pieces on multiple occasions, making it an instant win in my book.
After testing Nuuly for several months, I think the subscription is worth its value. Nearly $100 a month adds up, but considering many of the clothes offered retail for far above that, you can wear pieces that might be out of your typical price range and upgrade your wardrobe overall. Plus, it gives you the gratification of getting to play with new clothes every month without the commitment, while still being kinder on the planet than a typical shopping spree.
