Whether or not you've ever tried renting an outfit yourself, chances are you know someone who has. But while the rental fashion revolution is undoubtedly booming, many of us have only experienced this world as a rent-ee, not a renter. Of course, for there to be items to rent there must be lenders to loan, which is where a relatively untapped market for making serious money is beginning to gain momentum.
As we find ourselves looking for ways to tap into Second Hand September, now is the perfect time to look at your wardrobe as a business opportunity.
Have you got dresses you've worn once to a wedding and will likely only wear once or twice more (if ever)? Do you have some beautiful designer bags that you once loved but don't get enough wear out of any more? Have you got a universally flattering coat that you know suits everyone?
Rather than let your wardrobe gather dust (and, let's face it, clog up your wardrobe and obstruct your view to the parts of your wardrobe you do want to wear), why not see if they could unlock a small fortune?
You could could earn extra cash, make friends and be more sustainable.
We caught up with Jess Templeton, of JessWithDresses, who began renting out her clothes on By Rotation a year ago in a bid to make as much money as possible after a cancer diagnosis put her future family in question.
“I was diagnosed with stage III cervical cancer in March 2020 at 32, on the same day WHO declared the Covid pandemic” Jess tells GLAMOUR UK.
“The diagnosis came after a delayed routine smear; I was told I couldn’t have it until 12 weeks after recovery from a miscarriage I'd had in 2019, and then the delay continued whilst they did other tests and scans because they thought my symptoms were caused by a hormone imbalance brought on by the miscarriage.”
“I knew something wasn’t right with my body and I continued to push, but it wasn’t until I decided to go to see a hormone specialist privately that they got to the root cause of my health issues. I was diagnosed the day after my smear when I had a colposcopy and the doctor saw the tumour.”
An honest account, from colposcopies to biopsies.
Embarking on an intense treatment programme, Jess was quickly facing a course of chemoradiotherapy and brachytherapy.
“The main treatment was the radiotherapy which I had 5 days a week for 5 weeks in a row, and the chemotherapy helped boost its effectiveness.”
“Brachytherapy is an internally delivered radiation at a higher dose and required general anaesthetic to insert. It was the most physically traumatic experience I went through, and I am still searching for solutions to help with my resulting PTSD.”
Another devastating side effect of Jess's cervical cancer treatment, of course, was its impact on her fertility, but thanks to one family member in particular she now has hope for the future.
“As fertility services were stopped during the first Covid lockdown I wasn't able to freeze my eggs before I had to start cancer treatment, which we knew would leave me infertile.”
“My sister lives in New York and we are really close and talk most days. During one of our chats she offered us the greatest gift: freezing her eggs for us to use to make a family of our own one day. The cost to turn these eggs into embryos in the US is huge, but we were certain that we wanted to explore the chance for our family to be biologically related to both me and my partner.”
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“I started JessWithDresses a year ago and I'm delighted that the money I've made from renting my wardrobe through By Rotation has already covered all the associated costs for us to turn our donated eggs into embryos and has kicked off our journey to parenthood.”
How did the diagnosis and the effects of that treatment impact Jess emotionally?
“It was a difficult year navigating cancer and COVID simultaneously, and the lasting effects on my health - including medically induced menopause - are still challenging both mentally and physically. I find that talking about what has happened helps me feel less overwhelmed by the losses and makes me more determined to create the life I want to live.”
“Children have always been a part of the life I envisaged. During the initial cancer scans [after the miscarriage] they discovered I was actually pregnant again and needed a life saving termination to commence treatment as quickly as possible.”
“I was given the all clear in September 2020, and I’m very pleased to say that I’ve just hit 3 years with ‘No Evidence of Disease’. A year ago I hit 2 years all clear and it was a really significant moment for me. I noticed that I was able to look forward to a future life. That’s when my partner and I felt able to talk about becoming parents one day, even though the routes to doing that are different for us now. ”
It was never a guarantee, of course, that rental fashion would be the answer.
“I started renting my wardrobe to see if I could top up my monthly income and make our journey to parenthood happen more quickly, but we are a year ahead of where I thought we would be at this stage which is just incredible.”
“Since May I've made an average of £825.58 per month, and overall I've made £6,991.03 from the app. The popularity of rental is growing, and my rental requests continue to increase month on month as more people join the By Rotation community.”
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Of course, not everyone can make a success of fashion rental. What are the secrets behind being a successful loaner?
“Having a wardrobe of pieces that are flattering for your dress size and showing photos of real people wearing the actual clothes themselves.”
“My wardrobe reflects my personal style; bold and bright. I also have some really iconic pieces that people want to wear, but maybe only once which makes it a perfect rental choice, for example my Loewe red anthurium maxi dress and 16Arlington Solaria sequinned maxi dress.”
“My most rented item on By Rotation is a black Aje midi dress. It has puff sleeves, a small under-bust cut-out and can be worn on or off the shoulders.”
“It also has my favourite dress feature - pockets! The style is super flattering on my UK12 frame and renters have loved the fit too, but it's also been popular because black was the surprising colour trend this year. It's been worn to the Cannes film festival, a special meal at the Tower of London, a 30th birthday and lots of weddings.”
“It's not just about event dressing though - I have a Toteme scarf jacket which is a more everyday fashion piece as we head into Autumn.”
Take a look at Jess's wardrobe on By Rotation, and keep up with her rental journey on Instagram.
Believe it or not, the official start of winter is only just arriving.
For more from Glamour UK's Fashion Editor Charlie Teather, follow her on Instagram @charlieteather.
