I Tried Renting from Nuuly So You Don’t Have To

No, Nuuly is not the latest and greatest in nu-nu innovations for babies (I can’t be the only one that thought that!). In fact, it’s for the adult in your life, you specifically! Nuuly is a clothing rental subscription that is partnered with some of the hottest young adult brands like Urban Outfitters, Free People, Anthropologie, as well as offering authentic vintage apparel from various retailers.

I tried out this service with my very own dollars, and I wanted to share my review of Nuuly, because I could barely find any information on the service! It just started in 2019 and is considered a rival for Rent the Runway, although I think they serve very different purposes. Let’s get into those deets and who I think this service works best for.

What is Nuuly?

Cost: $88.00 per monthly box (you can skip boxes as often as you like, it will only come when you choose it to)

Number of items: 6 items that you get to keep for a month

Do I pick? Oh yeah, pick to your heart’s desire.

Can I keep it? Yes, for a discount, too!

Shipping: Free and Fast, my friends.

What can I get? This is your spot for separates and casual pieces, this is not a formal one-stop rental shop like Rent the Runway.

Sizes Available: Petite 0P-16P, Standard 00-18, Plus 14W-40W

Who is this for?

This is for someone who wants some fun in their wardrobe and maybe overshops a little bit. You want new items to freshen up your wardrobe, but the cost of always buying might be getting to you. With Nuuly you can rent those pieces and try them out for a whole month, after which you might decide you’re bored with the piece or you absolutely love it and want to buy it for a discounted price. It’s a win-win. I also love that it lets me feel a little better about buying from non-sustainable brands like Anthropologie. Nuuly also seems aware of the environmental factor and has great, reusable packaging that doesn’t include any unnecessary plastic wrapping.

How it Works

Getting your first Nuuly box is super simple, though I am unfortunately not aware of any discount codes at this time, so it will be the full $88. You’ll go the Nuuly website and it will direct you where to sign up. During this process you’ll provide normal account information, billing information, and select what sizes of clothing you typically wear.

Since this is not a service where someone picks the clothes for you, there is no style quiz to get a feel for your style. I’m a fan of this, but if you want someone else to do the work for you, don’t worry.

Once you’re all signed up, there is an option in the menu to browse “Looks”, which are basically curated style sections that vary on the time of year and hot trends. So, if you get shopping paralysis, check out the Looks section and it will give you some good ideas.

Now, are you stressed that there are so many beautiful things and you can only get 6?!

That was me when I first signed up! Luckily, there is a feature called your “Closet” where you just tap the little hanger in the right hand corner of an item you see and it will be added to your closet. Your closet is where you can store items that you might want in your box at a later date, if you want to save something that isn’t available in your size right now, or if you just want to compare items. Trust me, I made great use of this feature.

Once you’re all set up, you can start adding items to your closet and/or your next box. You’ll add six items, no more no less, and then you can place your order. And if you’re DYING to get these items, the shipping is fast, and not you have to pay for it fast. I got my box in about 2 days, and I was pretty shocked. Sure, Amazon can do it, but I don’t usually get that service from other brands.

This is what your box will look like! I love that it’s a reusable bag that you don’t have to rip tape off of to send it back, and it’s a plus for the environment. Notice that none of the items are plastic wrapped, but they are all clean and freshly laundered! Get this, you don’t even have to wash them once you’re ready to send them back. They take care of it.

And, if you happen to get a stain or rip, there’s no extra charge, so have no fear about treating this like you would your own wardrobe. No one is going to come after your credit card account for any stain fees here (and goodbye dry cleaner).

I also love this little kit that was included with the box, first because I am a sucker for good packaging and second because I love tiny items. But also because it’s really handy. This little kit would be handy to keep around in your purse/car if you don’t really end up using it (that’s my plan!).

The Kit includes:

• A genius reusable lint brush

• Deodorant remover spong

• Double sided hem tape

• Static Remover

• Wrinkle Remover

Returning the Box

After you’ve worn your box to your heart’s desire for a month (or more), you just ship it back in the same handy dandy box and slip the included return label in the sleeve on top. It is shipped with UPS, so you will need to go to a UPS drop off point, although pick up may be an option.

Don’t be leaving yet, though! Keep scrolling to see what I got in my box and my shopping strategy for Nuuly.

What I Got in my Box

So, what’s in the box? While I am going to show you each piece I got, I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time on it, because I think what is more important is the service concept. The items come from already-known brands like Anthropologie, so I don’t feel like I need to assess quality or what was good/not good about the items. I’m also not going to share sizing information, as that is really brand dependent and not a reflection of Nuuly. I got my normal sizes in each of these brands, and they fit true to size for those brands.

If I had bought each of these items from a retailer I would have spent $990!

Needless to say, I loved only spending a tenth of that. I really enjoyed being able to wear the items several times, particularly the skirts! I’m incredibly picky about skirts, and there was one skirt that the first time I put on I LOVED it…but as I wore it throughout the day and subsequent days it was also slipping down, which means I would just never reach for it if I kept it. I hate having to fiddle with my clothing all day.

On the other hand, I found a skirt and dress that were incredibly comfortable and fit perfectly, but honestly I might never have picked them up in store. That’s the beauty of renting. You get to try things out of your comfort zone.

Overall, I liked the Miele Midi Skirt (which was more like a maxi skirt on me), the Taleen Textured Midi Dress, and the Augusta Tulle Midi Skirt the best. I liked the other three items like the blouse and velvet dress in theory, but they did not work for my body.

I almost kept all three of these, but ended up only keeping the Tulle Midi Skirt, because how could I not?! It’s the most beautiful skirt I’ve ever seen. I did love the floral midi skirt, but it was the skirt that was always slipping. The textured midi dress was another favorite, but I realized a week or so in that the crewneck top was perhaps not all that flattering on me.

So, the original price of the skirt was $180, and I was able to keep it for $102.60, which I think is a reasonable price. I’ve paid less at other resalers, but those usually involve more work in finding gems on my part. If I had wanted to keep the Miele skirt it would have cost me $91.50, and the Textured Midi Dress would have been $97.50.

My Nuuly Strategy

I think using this service you need to go in with a strategy that works for your life. I think most of the items available or statement pieces or upgraded basics. If your wardrobe needs basics, use this service to try out some different basics with cool details to find your favorites.

If you’re trying to bring more fun into your closet (this is me), then order some off the wall things you wouldn’t normally try. This is also a really good way to determine your style if you’re struggling and can’t always spend money on things you aren’t sure will really be your style.

If you’ve got your style down pat, then I would suggest you use Nuuly to keep up with trends. You can rent a hot item and it doesn’t have to stick around in your wardrobe after the newness wears off. I would really only suggest you use it for this if you are aware of your style and feel comfortable incorporating trends, otherwise just getting trendy pieces might confuse you even more on what YOUR true style is.

Overall Rating

Potential Cons

• You can’t get more than one box a month. This is a pro and a con for me. On one hand it forces me to try out items more than once and not just quickly exchange for the latest and greatest, but on the other hand if there are some items I truly don’t like I can’t exchange them until the next month. Although, it should be noted that you can keep your box for more than a month if you’re head over heels for it.

• Not every item is immediately available. This doesn’t really bother me, because when I’m searching I just filter to see only items that are currently available in my size. That way I don’t get upset about something I can’t have.

• Since these items aren’t rented, you can’t alter them. Maybe this is just a con for me, but I got a dress that a safety pin and hem tape just wouldn’t fix. The dress shoulders were too low for me and overall too big. While obviously, it’s a rental and you can’t make it fit just you, it’s a little disappointing if you get an item that straight up doesn’t fit. But, on the flip side I got a skirt that was slightly too big in the waist and a well-hidden safety pin made it perfect.

• My most minor complaint is that I would love to see safety pins included in the little kit. Sure, I have my own safety pins and I did end up using them, but it’s something that not everyone might keep on hand.

The Rating

8.2/10

Pretty great service overall, but as mentioned above a few kinks that make it not perfect. I would love to see the option of having someone pick your items, because I could see that being useful at times. I would also like to see different tiers where maybe I can get two boxes a month or unlimited items like Rent the Runway.

One major plus that Nuuly has is their size range is wayyyy better, at least for petites. I could never find anything in my size on RTR, but Nuuly had pretty much everything I wanted in my size. My final plea would be for an app! I love a good app that sends me reminders of when I can get a new box, when things shipped, maybe even sharing fun style articles.

All in all, give the box a shot. I think you’ll find it worth your while, even if it’s something that you don’t keep up monthly, maybe you do it quarterly or just when you’re feeling bored with your closet (this is my plan).