As the seasons turn and the leaves crisp up for autumn, we’re swapping our summer garms for cosy knitted jumpers and winter boots.
As such, we might feel tempted to revamp our wardrobes and give them an extra lease of life – but doing so isn’t always cheap.
Now, a fashion brand loved by A-listers has launched a subscription service that allows its customers to rent as much as they please for just under £80 per month.
Any guesses? It’s AllSaints, famed for their edgy leather jackets, biker boots and long-standing connection with the music industry, having long hosted live performances inside their stores and stocked band tees across their 30-year history.
For £79 per month, customers are entitled to rent as many items as they’d like (though the brand requires a minimum of three).
However, account holders can borrow up to 20 items – which would add up to £3.95 per item (AKA, the price of a cup of Joe at some coffee outlets). How’s that for a bargain?
After creating an online account and selecting the wardrobe staples you’re after, AllSaints will post them to you and you can wear them as much or as little as you’d like.
Worried about falling in love with an item only to return it? You don’t necessarily need to part ways with it: if you decide you want to give it a permanent membership card to your wardrobe, you’ll be able to purchase it for up to 60% cheaper than the retail price.
But if you want to switch it up again with another rented piece of clothing, you can pop the item back in the post to return it. FYI: you’ll need to let AllSaints know using the return notification feature.
Then, you’ll receive another two items – and the process repeats itself. What’s more, delivery and exchanges are free, as well as dry cleaning services.
AllSaints’ subscription service marks the first of its kind in the UK, and in a world where consumers are increasingly turning to second-hand resell apps like Vinted in the name of sustainability (and crucially, money conservation), clothes rentals are increasingly popular.
AllSaints’ system is the first to introduce an unlimited subscription service, but other outlets have long provided such resources – including John Lewis, which allows customers to rent pieces for four, eight, 16 or 30 days.
Selfridges has a similar system in place, with dresses worth in the region of £600 available for rental for as little as £55. Feeling less anxious about dressing yourself for that wedding now?
Clothes subscription services aren’t just allowing customers to save money and reduce their consumption: for Lisa Maynard-Atem, renting out her clothes allowed her to pay off £25,000 worth of debt.
By 2010, Lisa had accumulated the sum, owing money from when she was a teenager because of loans, credit cards and overdrafts.
‘I think the very first loan I took out was about £1,000 for my first car after passing my test around age 19, because I didn’t have enough money,’ Lisa previously told Metro.
Then, in 2020, Lisa came across a clothes rental services – and realised she was sitting on money.
‘I found all of these beautiful pieces that I used to wear at events and I didn’t want to give them away or sell them just yet, and I came across an article about renting out your wardrobe,’ Lisa added.
‘When we started to come out of lockdown I put one dress on the app Hurr for £34,’ she noted.
Afterwards, Lisa’s list grew to 20 pieces but she ended up with so many rental requests that she had to pause them – and in the first year, she made a whopping £3,000 from items that she’d already purchased and were simply sitting in her wardrobe.
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