Okay so I decided at the beginning of the year to really give a rental service a try. In my head this was a good 6 month period, half a year. About three seasons around here — winter, spring and the beginning of summer. With each passing month, I feel good about this 6 month review process. February I rented spring clothes too early, March I had a change of heart with my vacation pieces, and April…well let’s get into it!
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If you are new here, I wanted to try out a clothing rental service and I chose Nuuly. Nuuly charges $98 once a month and you get to choose 6 items to wear all month long then you send the pieces back. You can check out the Nuuly website here.
Each month I calculate the cost per wear for each pieces in my nuuly box. Here are the numbers: each box is $98 for 6 pieces. (For consistency, I’m leaving out taxes here since it will differ for each state.) So if you take the $98 divided by the 6 items, it’s about $16.33 per item, if you wear each item one time. Every item’s cost of $16.33 will be divided by the frequency of wear. (i.e. Cost of item rental ÷ times piece was worn = rental price per wear). Just to go a step too far, I’ve also broken down each piece with a rating system and a review for each item below.
MY RATING SYSTEM:
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ = would consider buying full price / will miss it when it’s gone!
⭑⭑⭑⭑ = really liked it, would prefer to buy on sale
⭑⭑⭑ = on the fence, liked it but can’t see myself wearing that often / buy on sale only
⭑⭑ = liked but didn’t wear it at all or found it hard to style
⭑ = didn’t like it / didn’t fit
So let’s get to the 6 items below — the good, the bad, the borrowed:
MAEVE BUBBLE HEM TOP | ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
TIMES WORN OVER THE MONTH: 2
CONDITION: NEW WITH TAGS
Cost Per Wear: $8.16
Okay hear me out because I know it’s a butter yellow tube top. And truth be told, I didn’t know I’d like this top so much. It was kind of a last minute add on but I really liked this top. In fact when I was packing my box back up, I just *almost* kept it.
So let’s talk the pros: It’s super soft; the bottom part feels like a vintage tee with the top band is a stronger poplin fabric. It actually stayed up (!!) which is wild because as far as I could tell it wasn’t elastic. It also didn’t ‘dig’ into me, it was really comfortable. Not sure how it stayed up but I’ll take this magic any time.
The cons: I don’t know if you’d consider this a con, but this kind of super soft fabric, even brand new looks used. I thought this was in pretty well used condition but it had tags on it, so I’m assuming it was a newer piece. I think it’s just the nature of the fabric. Again, is that a con or just an observation? The other con is that it’s a bubble hem, which I tend to buy and tend to regret said purchase. But I actually like this bubble hem because it was easy to wear as it was more of a ‘loose’ hem meaning you could kind of manipulate it to be smaller or bigger, if that makes sense. The soft fabric really worked for the bubble hem, as it wasn’t too poofy, as poplin cotton can be. Ultimately though it went back to Nuuly, I just couldn’t decide which for me if it’s not a YES, it’s a no.
This top isn’t available in the yellow but is available in a pretty white! Find it here.
Side note — I loved how almost an exact match this skirt and top were! This is last year Madewell but I’ve rounded up a few yellow silky slip skirts here. This Zara one seems to be the closest in color to the Madewell one.
THE GOLDIE COTTON SWEATER TOP | ⭑⭑⭑⭑
TIMES WORN OVER THE MONTH: 4
CONDITION: LIKE NEW WITHOUT TAGS
Cost Per Wear: $4.08
I really loved this one — this was another one where I thought ‘should I keep this?’ I honestly don’t know why I didn’t as I’m writing this. I have no bad notes about this gal, I think I just felt like my time to wear sweaters is limited and I can always rent her again. I loved the loose fit, the casual millennial drape. It’s my favorite silhouette to be honest and I like the orangey red hue, as well! I grabbed the medium and it was a loose but true to size fit.
AGOLDE V CUT DENIM SHORTS | ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
TIMES WORN OVER THE MONTH: 4
CONDITION: NEW WITH TAGS
Cost Per Wear: $4.08
So as you know, with Nuuly I like to rent denim the most or in this case, denim shorts because at the end of the day I can least try them and see if they’re for keeps. This pair ended up playing for keeps. They are the V Cut Baggy Shorts, however I don’t know if I’d call them ‘baggy’ on me but I love the fit. It is definitely more relaxed, but they fit just like most Agolde denim shorts! You probably know Agolde shorts are my very favorite — I’ve worn them for years. And that’s the thing — they LAST for years. That’s why I never mind spending a little more because I can usually wear them for years. I still have a pair from 2018/2019 that I still love and they look great, to be honest. Perfectly worn in. Is this me justifying the fact that I kept this pair? You bet it is. But I liked how they fit and I got 25% off for keeping them and so I did.
Before I thought I would keep them, I ended up washing them for the next person. (I have no idea how Nuuly sanitizes their items, but I don’t think they wash them. I try not to think about it and I try to get new pieces as much as I can.) So I washed them on cold and hung to dry and then when I put them back on, I realized they were for keeps. The reason I’m telling you this is that they washed out beautifully and didn’t shrink one bit. Fit like a glove yet again. Highly recommend!
MAEVE FLORAL DRESS | ⭑⭑
TIMES WORN OVER THE MONTH: 1
CONDITION: NEW WITH TAGS
Cost Per Wear: $16.33
Aw this dress, I wanted to love it so much but it’s just not for me. I loved the colors, the floral print and honestly the shape but I should probably realize that this cut is never a favorite of mine. It’s just that I love a romantic little dress but this one was not built for me, nor I for it. I don’t really like a midi cut on a flare or flowy dress — it feels too in-between for me. I don’t always feel comfortable in a spaghetti strap and this dress has a touch of a ‘corset’ look and so it flared out just a touch at the hips which creates a boxy look for me overall. At the end of the day, it just wasn’t for me. If you have a smaller top, this dress would look amazing on you! But for me, it’s sadly a pass. I wore it one night but ended up tossing that red sweater over it. It was fine, but it wasn’t mine.
However it does have amazing reviews, so I think it’s a me problem. 😉 Shop the dress here!
MAEVE BUBBLE HEM DRESS | ⭑
TIMES WORN OVER THE MONTH: 0
CONDITION: NEW WITH TAGS
Cost Per Wear: $16.33
I felt like a baby. Or a baby doll? Either way it wasn’t good. Overall the dress is fine, it just was so much bubble. From the side I just looked like head, arms, legs but no body. All pillow, no person. I don’t know what I expected but maybe I should have known?
I will say that the reviews are pretty good so again, maybe it was a me problem. Find it here!
VARLEY SWEATER | ⭑⭑⭑⭑
TIMES WORN OVER THE MONTH: 3
CONDITION: NEW WITH TAGS
Cost Per Wear: $5.44
This one is such a yes! And actually I used to own this sweater until I sold it in my pre-loved shop. I had it in white and remember liking it, but then I just thought that I didn’t want to wear it anymore? I don’t know but I rented it and this time in the navy. Actually really like the navy, maybe more than the white, even. Of course it doesn’t matter because I don’t own either now. I liked pairing this sweater with my pickleball skirt from Athleta (size up!) because it felt like such a set.
I am in the medium of the sweater and it does fit true to size. However, if I were to buy this you know what? I’d think I’d go up a size. I like the idea of it being looser and longer. So your TTS will be a tailored fit, size up for a looser / longer look.
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See my other Nuuly reviews here! You can sign up for a Nuuly here and get $30 off your first rental!
