This weekend I was doing my normal “save money” surfing and ended up checking in at Yahoo! personal finance and this post about ways to save thousands of bucks a few minutes at a time. It’s not a new concept, as we discussed here and here recently. (It really is amazing how many quick and simple savings methods are right in front of us!)
But what caught my attention was the suggestion to “rent designer duds instead of buying,” using the example of renting a Vera Wang Grand Entrance gown for $250 instead of buying it for $1495.
I just talked with a friend last week about renting dresses for multiple weddings this year. She was not having any part of it. I know it can be creepy to think you’re wearing something a stranger pranced around in all night. But I also know a few woman who have rented dresses (and guys rent tuxes all the time).
But my other reaction was “wow – rent for $250.” Can’t you buy a nice dress for less than $250? Are there any events when you really need a “Vera Wang Grand Entrance” gown. Also what the heck is a Vera Wang Grand Entrance gown? (Apparently it’s this - nice dress for sure, but I’m not sure it would look right on me…)
So I was left with three questions.
First, would you rent clothes?
Second, would you rather rent a $1,500 dress for $250 or buy a $250 dress?
Third, if you decide you would rather buy a $250 dress instead of renting a $1,500 dress would it make more sense then to just rent that $250 dress (presumably for something like $65)?
Before you slaughter me in the comments, I know the style of the $250 dress example is not the same as the Vera Wang one – I just picked any dress with a retail price around $250 to see what the approximate rental price is.
I have the slippery slope problem. If I were a woman who decided I would be comfortable renting, but would rather buy a $250 dress than rent a $1,500 dress for $250 I would then just rent a $250 dress for $65 unless I was knew of at least 4 places I could wear it.
What about you? Back in the day I know some of my women friends wouldn’t mind rewearing dresses as long as they were to events in different circles. But now with Facebook pics and tagging I’ve heard more people go with the one-and-done method. Does this help the case to rent?
Until next time, put your credit card down and slowly step away from the mall!
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
If you can afford to a rent a Vera Wang dress for an event, you probably don't have money issues. If you have lots of cash and spend it poorly, I'm not sure it matters. For regular folks, it really comes down to the wedding issue. I am in favor of renting wedding gowns, but even if you buy one, it's one time in your life (if all goes well), and I guess that's okay. But I suggest selling the gown on the back-end–otherwise, you'll pay someone to clean it, you'll get special storage materials for it, and you'll never look at it again.
I liked the Yahoo article. There were several good tips, and many of them I already do. But the "text for free" one is kind of silly, considering you could only text on WiFi, unless you're already paying for data on a smartphone, and usually those costs are more than the texting plans. Still, overall, some good ideas.
But about renting a dress, I can actually get a $65 dress at the mall (gasp! hahaha) that is perfectly fine for any even I can imagine going to, so I don't think I would ever consider renting a designer dress.
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Seriously, people are worried about wearing a dress twice because they may get 'tagged' on facebook? Oh, horrors. I don't know if I could ever show my face again if someone figured out I wore the same dress to two different weddings (I'm being sarcastic) Doesn't everyone re-wear clothing?
I'd definitely buy a dress for $65.
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I hear ya Kooz! I've heard of people renting wedding gowns and I'm all for it. But I'm really cheap and, of course, could never understand. We spent $750 on a wedding dress for my wife. She looked great, but I almost choked when I heard how much it cost! (And from what I understand that's a pretty good deal). I have no idea where the dress is now. I think she might.
The mall?!?!? Haha. It's OK Lindsay. $65 for a dress and you're styling – even if you get it from the mall. Just don't get one of those $4 pretzels when you're there, ok?
I've never been a fan of the texting apps, either. I think texting is a big problem area and if someone comes up with a 3G texting app where you can roam but not use "data" somehow, that would be fantastic. Maybe there's something out there, but I don't know.
Good choice! Me too (yeah, I know… I'd look just as silly in a $65 dress… haha). Yeah, apparently getting "tagged" on Facebook wearing the same dress is a problem. I'd make a game out of it and see how many times I could get away with the same dress (or I'd just untag myself if I really cared).
By the way, love the drawer divider. Our drawers are an odd depth, so I may try to put one of those together. I'm loving the sweater hanging…