Design Muse: Rent the Runway

Fancy dresses are my kryptonite….they have been my whole life. The only tantrums I can remember throwing were regarding the prospect of wearing pants for any reason whatsoever. If I could get away with an outburst of the same nature today, I might very well try. In the past, I’ve veered away from sharing fashion tidbits in the interest of staying focused on interior design…however, I’m hoping to expand the scope of Design Muse to include all kinds of beautiful things. We’ll talk more about that in January. For today, I absolutely had to let you know about Rent the Runway- specifically their first ever clearance sale . So here’s the story…two lovely ladies met at Harvard Business school, bonded over their mutual strong yet unrequited love of high fashion, and decided to build a business that would address their problem. The result was Rent the Runway, a place where financially challenged fashionistas like themselves could rent rather than buy an amazing designer dress. They offer a huge variety of dresses from nearly 100 designer collections in sizes from 0-12 and do a great job keeping the process simple. Just pick out a dress, select two sizes (both are sent to ensure a good fit) decide when you’d like to schedule delivery, and mail the dresses back within four days in their pre-paid envelope. Rent the Runway takes care of the dry cleaning and everything. Depending on the dress, the cost ranges from $50-$350. It’s a genius concept, but more amazing still is the clearance sale they’re running right now to clear up space for next season’s designs. Instead of renting these fabulous designs, they’re yours to keep. I browsed through the sale this morning and was so shocked by the prices I left a rather incoherent message on my BFF’s voicemail. Check out my favorites below.

Helmut Lang $610 Now $153