Have you tried it?
A dress was posted on one of the wedding threads and I am having fun checking out dressed for an event next month.
I love that you can see photos of real people in real varied sizes in the dresses, but I am wondering, some people talk about trying several different dresses- do you get to do that somehow or have to rent all the ones you want to try?
A friend of mine’s D has used it several times with success. On her recommendation, D was about an hour away from choosing them for prom, but in the end chickened out. The way it works is you choose a style and can get a 2nd dress in the same style but another size for free. If you choose another style AND another size, it’s an extra $32. The website says you can even have yet another option overnighted if neither option works out, but I assume you pay extra for that. I suppose if money is not a problem, you could rent a dozen or so.
What we liked was that you can filter by shape, size, style and more AND see real people wearing the dresses. D is very busty and it’s just awful finding things that fit. We were able to find several rented by girls built like she is and see photos of them wearing the dresses in real life situations. The reviews and photos really made the difference. Had D not found a prom dress at the very last store we visited, she had two dresses at RTR bookmarked and ready to go.
I was probably the one who mentioned it in the MOB dress thread. D has used it several times now, twice when she came home for events, so the dresses were delivered here. They arrived on a Thursday or Friday in two different sizes, she wore them, then we had to drop them off at the UPS store on Monday, which was no big deal… three miles away. She has been very happy with what she has ordered and gotten.
But she has also adapted the philosophy put forth in the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, so she has no desire to buy new dresses for every dressy event she has these days and have them sit in her closet. So this is a win-win for her. It really seems so easy - the hard part is narrowing down which dress you want!
I should have added that there is a Rent The Runway store in Chicago, so D was prepared, if the dress was really a horrible choice for her, she could run into the city and find something that works.
My D used a RTR a few times over the holidays for dressy events. She did what was mentioned above (ordered 2 sizes of same dress) after checking photos; knew she could run to the store in Chicago if needed.
She was happy with her choices…and the cost.
It was certainly a thing with the young women at my son’s wedding last weekend. Four women I knew were wearing REnt the Runway dresses. The dresses looked fantastic. The women had been using the site for awhile, and most had had at least one glitch over that time. A dress arrived with a rip, or with a stain, etc. In every case they had been able to resolve the issues in time for their events.
I guess it is like renting a tux or a car. It is important to try it on (give it a good examination) and give yourself enough time to resolve issues before you plan to wear it.
D had several good experiences, but on her last rental, RTR delivered four days late, resulting in our driving all over town to try to borrow a dress that fit D from friends (and when that failed, an expensive last-minute trip to Nordstrom). RTR customer service was difficult to reach and eventually offered inadequate compensation (think it was along the lines of a $25 credit on a future rental). I would give them another chance only if you have a backup in hand!
My daughter rents RTR “special occasion” dresses - for weddings, formal work functions, etc - but it does add up. At $80+ a pop, it’s certainly cheaper than buying “nice” dresses even on sale… but a steal, it’s not.
Looks like our daughters have all had success with RTR; I know mine has. While I haven’t looked for myself, I was wondering if the styles were geared more for those under 50, or if there were enough styles for the more mature woman 
No RTR store in HI. I’d be concerned about shipping delays – they occur frequently around here. I don’t attend many events where significant dressing up is called for and have outfits that will serve well for rare events when I am attending major dressy events.
@snowball when my D was looking at dresses, we saw many “real life” photos of mature women in quite a few of the dresses she looked at. One of the downsides to needing lots of “topside” coverage is a lot mature styles were suggested.