Style

When I embarked on my trial of Rent the Runway Unlimited, I did it with a lot of excitement. I couldn’t wait to share my killer outfits with you all and I had a lot of optimism about the experience. After trying it for about two months, I can clearly and definitively say that the service isn’t for me. Literally, it’s not designed for people like me who are living in a bigger body in this world.

Before I hop into the reasons why I’m cancelling my membership, I do want to highlight some positive features from my experience:

• Great technology. Shopping on the site is really easy. I love that they have integrated pictures of the pieces on ‘real’ people via the pictures submitted with reviews. When pictures were available, this helped immensely to see how the outfit would fit different bodies.
• Good operations. The pieces showed up reliably in 2-3 days. I really liked the reusable garment bags and the pre-printed shipping labels that would slot into the garment bags. Bonus points for the recycling of the bags and hangers. I appreciated that they handed those details and did what they could to make their company more sustainable.

Now, for my main issue with Rent the Runway Unlimited:

They don’t serve bigger bodies well.

I didn’t realize how much of a discrepancy there was between their larger offerings and their straight sizes until I saw this post by Emily Henderson where she reviewed the service and had some really cute stuff to share. I never saw items remotely that good! I typically have to dig and dig within the site to find four items that I think could work well for me and my body. I usually ended up renting really generic stuff that had flexible material with a hope that it would fit me. When I tried to go with pieces that were a bit more ‘fashion forward’, I always paid the price for that risk because the pieces that were sent to me in my normal size were too small. To see the cool, fashionable stuff available to Emily because she is living in a smaller body really made me angry because they are charging me the exact same amount to use their service and they are under-serving me compared to more conventionally acceptable body sizes.

And…

I’m about to crawl up on my soap box here, but I’m technically a ‘normal’ sized woman! I wear a size 14, which is literally the average size of an American woman these days. So, they are a company that claims to serve women and be size-inclusive, but it is just lip service because they do not provide a reliable and comparable selection that accommodates all women. I go to their website and see that they are claiming that their mission is to make women feel empowered and and self-confident, but I really had to check myself while using their service numerous times and remind myself that my size isn’t my self-worth and there isn’t something wrong with my body because it doesn’t happen to fit into the clothes they decide to buy for their customers.

I do not enjoy being a critic. I went back and forth numerous times about even writing this post, but telling the truth about my experience with the service is my responsibility because I literally signed up for Rent the Runway Unlimited to write about it here on my blog. I feel that they are doing a poor job being inclusive with their offerings and I believe they have a responsibility to address these issues or they should simply not offer clothing for women of my size or larger because to take our money without offering a comparable service to us isn’t ethical.

However, I don’t want to just sit here and complain without offering solutions. I’ve thought of a few ways they can improve their offerings for women in larger bodies:

• Match clothing offerings to actual body measurements. For example, the last time I used the service to go on our vacation to Hawaii, I ordered two different tops all in XXL because I wanted to make sure they would fit me. One top was so tight on my arms I couldn’t wear it comfortably while the other was so big I was swimming in it. If they had matched those tops to my actual measurements and then recommended the correct size, I could’ve avoided multiple issues with their service. This benefit would help all of their customers because it would ensure that rentals fit, thus making more happy customers.
• Stock the work of incredible designers who already serve larger bodies. Christian Siriano is amazing. Asos Curve has kick-ass product. Maria Rinaldi has clothes I covet. Eileen Fisher! Why are these amazing brands not on Rent the Runway Unlimited in a major way in my size? At the very least, reward the designers who are creating compelling clothes for bigger bodies.
• Demand that designers offer inclusive sizing by refusing to carry them on Rent the Runway unless they make their offerings more size-inclusive. I have to imagine that RTR has become a powerhouse buyer for some of these brands like who are notoriously non-inclusive. Why give them a seat at the table if they do not deserve it?

If you’re living in this world in a smaller body, this post probably seems a bit dramatic. Maybe you’re even thinking that a great solution would be for me to lose a few pounds instead of demanding that Rent the Runway Unlimited change its practices. Trust me, I tried for most of my life to fall within a more socially acceptable body size, but I just don’t. That’s what we call victim blaming. My body isn’t the problem. The problem is a company that is claiming to be size-inclusive and happily taking my money without providing a fair exchange for those dollars. Further, this is a KNOWN complaint about their service that they are not addressing. Just look at the comments on Emily’s post to see the numerous people above a size 14 complaining about the service.

I tried my best to be non-ranty in this review, but I’m not sure I was successful. In short, please do not spend your money on Rent the Runway Unlimited whether you are in a ‘bigger’ body or you’re in a more ‘conventionally acceptable’ body until they truly address these major concerns with the service and do a better job of serving ALL of their customers.

I’m considering trying other rental subscription services to see if they provide a better offering for me, but to tell you the truth I’m just a bit tired right now. I think I’ll take a little break from clothing rental for the next few months.

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts about this post. What could I do better? How do you feel about Rent the Runway Unlimited after reading my review?