Try Before You Buy: Rent the Runway Is Now On ShopStyle

Rent the Runway, the startup that finally lets girls borrow a smarter style idea from the guys (formal rentals), is now on shopping search engine ShopStyle.

We first noticed tiny “Rent It” signs popping up next to dresses a few weeks ago, but the two companies made it official yesterday.

“Our vision for ShopStyle is to connect women with the best designer fashion brands and retailers, serving as the single source for a woman’s wardrobe whether she is dressing for a cocktail party or the boardroom,” said Melissa Davis, VP of ShopStyle, US. “This partnership expands on this vision by allowing us to give women greater access to designer dresses and the flexibility to rent v. buy depending on her fashion needs.”

Depending on how tightly Rent the Runway inventory is integrated, we’d really be interested to see if the rental option has any effect on normal sales. A current search for Badgley Mischka dresses turns up a ruffled gown that’s selling at Zappos for $750 for $100 at Rent the Runway; the catch, of course, being that the Rent the Runway dress is only yours for a few days.

In the best case scenario for everyone, a percentage of the women who rent dresses will decide that they want the item permanently and return to ShopStyle to search for a merchant selling it outright. Worst case, shoppers spot the more expensive dress, and talk themselves into the more sensible option of renting, rather than owning a dress that may not get much wear.

Even then, we can’t see it as a total loss for the traditional retailers. While there’s no data on how significant a problem it is, the placement of obvious tags on formal dresses in some department stores leads us to believe there are at least a few people who’ve found a way to “rent” for free by tucking the tags of a dress inside, and returning it after they’ve worn it. And, if we had to guess, we’d say there are people who’ve probably done the same with online stores. So, in the end, even if the lower rental price cannibalizes a few traditional sales we’d guess that it probably saves on a few returns as well. In turn, that saves traditional merchants from having to pay for postage for people who only plan to keep the item for one night anyway.

Rent the Runway added $15 million to a previous $16 million round in May, and recently begun selling cosmetics through a partnership with Lancome. Fortunately, that’s new makeup and not a take on the (gross) trend of used makeup swaps and sales. It also further solidifies Rent the Runway’s positioning as a place to try new designers and items, which could help in securing more varied and expensive brands who want the customer introduction without actually discounting prices.

Not quite a fashion library, but not a bad way to expand on the model either.