Last week I was invited to Oh Rent Me to try out a couple of outfits and pick one out for rental. I have been following Oh Rent Me on Instagram for a while now and there have been many of these companies popping up around NZ offering designer outfits and accessories for rental. I personally think its a great idea for people who would like to wear something special for an occasion, event or just a night out and you don’t want to spend heaps of money to buy a dress that you would probably only wear 2-3 times a year.
Personally, my first rental experience with designer fashion was at least 8 years ago. It was an NZ-based company renting out designer handbags (I have forgotten their name) and I rented out a Miu Miu handbag for a road trip. That was a nice bag, but the postal and return process was a little tedious so I haven’t rented anything out after that.
Until 2018, I started seeing many Instagram posts of people wearing really nice outfits and they were tagging these rental companies. Naturally, I took some interest and starting browsing through many websites. Oh Rent Me and another company really stood out from the rest. They have so many different outfits (over 400!), a variety of sizes available (from size 4-16) and the ease of the entire process!
Saejung Oh – owner of Oh Rent Me
So basically, you can either do a postal try-on (for a fee) or an in-store try on (their new shop in Parnell) before you rent something. I went in-store to select the outfits I wanted to try and picked out one of my favourites. I met Saejung at the store and there were so many to choose from! All the garments were organised according to size and colour and there is even a big mirror for you to do some selfies!
First one is the Ruby Joni Mini Dress ($50 rental). It is a cute blue and white off the shoulder short dress with a string-tie waist. This dress can be worn without using the tie at the waist and have it as a flowing mini-dress, or use your own belt instead of the string that comes with it. Fluff out the bust area above the tie and to make it look more pouffy. Mid-length sleeves and the entire dress has a sort of chiffon material that is lined, so you don’t need to wear any slip underneath or worry about your undergarments showing through.
Ruby Joni Mini Dress
Sizing for this dress is very forgiving, if you are larger at the waist, tie it loose around the waist, or even better, use it without the tie! The length of this dress gives the illusion of longer legs so even at 156cm, I look taller than I usually am with a pair of heels.
You can easily style this dress for a summer day with a pair of strappy heels, or flats even! A pair of black pumps or strappy black heels would make this a lovely evening look. Pop on a blazer at night or a denim jacket during the day, so easy to style!
Ruby Joni Mini Dress
The next outfit I tried on is the Zimmermann Folly Whimsy Playsuit ($85 rental). This one is a pretty blush pink chiffon jumpsuit with an elastic waist and shoulder. It can be worn one shoulder or off on both shoulders. There is also a tie at the waist of the same material, just a wider band compared to the Ruby one above. This playsuit is a similar length as the Ruby one but I love the ruffles on this playsuit – around the hem and on the sleeves.
Zimmermann Folly Whimsy Playsuit
Zimmermann Folly Whimsy Playsuit
The sizing of this one is quite forgiving. I would say that it can fit size 8-14. The elastic waist and the material and ruffles do distract you a bit from the tummy area, so this one is a thumbs up for me. If you have nice shoulders, this is the dress to show them off! I wore this off one shoulder and it looks so so cute!
I would pair this with nude heels or pumps or maybe something like lace-up platforms! So nice for a garden wedding, an evening out with friends, brunch, dinner date, etc.
Zimmermann Folly Whimsy Playsuit
The last outfit is the Zimmermann Lovelorn Black Flutter Dress ($95 rental). This one here is a really chic dress. It features a deep V in the front with impeccable loop details around the collar. I did not wear a bra for this dress and you probably couldn’t with this low neckline. There are 2 rows of loops at the waist to show some skin and the loop detail is everywhere on this dress. This cotton and lace dress is actually quite heavy and it is lined on the inside. The sleeves are see-through to give you that classy, lace-like look. A long zip at the back so your back is covered. I would say that this dress is probably suitable for someone that is a bit more bustier than me to fill up the bust area.
Zimmermann Lovelorn Black Flutter Dress
The sizing is a little tight so I would say this is more on the smaller fit. If you have bigger boobs, it would look amazing with some cleavage, but a smaller waist would make this look even more amazing because you don’t want anything squeezing out from those loops that run all the way around! Sadly, this one isn’t really for me.
Zimmermann Lovelorn Black Flutter Dress
I would strongly suggest wearing a strapless bra and a pair of heels if you plan on trying these out in stores. You might not be able to find a certain outfit you saw online because they might be rented out already but if you know what size fits you and you are determined to rent it without trying it on, you can apply for rental on their website.
Applying is easy, just select the outfit you want in your correct size, select the dates you want to wear it, and they will arrange the outfit to be sent to you 1-2 days before and allow time for you to return it after the day you wanted to wear it on.
Zimmermann Folly Whimsy Playsuit
Zimmermann Folly Whimsy Playsuit
The end process was really easy and straightforward. I just pop it in the black courier bag and head to my closest post shop to get it scanned. DO NOT PUT IT IN THE MAILBOX! I don’t even need to wash it. There are instructions on their website as well as the information card that come with the package.
Oh Rent Me package
Thank you so much to Oh Rent Me again for the collab, the experience was fantastic and it actually does pay to try out some potential outfits in store, you know which size and style look great on you, then order the rental at a later date.
They also have a membership program where you pay a certain amount to get a number of outfit rentals for a span of a few months. It’s a better value if you do plan to rent a couple of outfits during a certain period. Works out to be as cheap as $35 per outfit! They also have a loyalty club program as well – check out their website for more details! I already have my eyes on a couple of outfits!
If you have any questions at all, feel free to comment below or slide into my DMs on Instagram!
