About a month ago, I decided to sign up for a FashionPass subscription after seeing a million Instagram ads (shoutout to FashionPass’ marketing team). I tried out Rent the Runway a few years ago, and had a positive experience, but at the time I remember a majority of clothing options were pretty formal and nothing really enticed me to keep my membership. I have also tried Stitch Fix on two separate occasions and ended up cancelling relatively quickly because my stylist kept sending me pieces I didn’t love. Plus, with Stitch Fix you can’t wear the clothes and return them when you are ready for something new, which is the basis of FashionPass’ business model.
August 8th, 2024 Update: The business model recently changed for FashionPass, which I think is definitely a con. Now the only option is $125/month where you get 2 orders per month and can pick 5 items each time. My initial draw to FashionPass was that you were able to return items as many times as you want each month. There were some months where I was able to get 3-4 new orders of clothes for almost half the price of the current rate. Granted my subscription included less clothing items, but that made the most sense for my use case (outfits for the weekend). When I decided to cancel my membership, part of it was due to the lack of options. A lot of the new items would sell out asap, and it felt like I was constantly seeing the same clothing items when it was time for a new order. It was actually very difficult to find 5 items that I liked. Anyway – with that, some of this review is still very relevant, however, keep in mind the change in pricing and monthly order limit.
After doing a little bit of research, I signed up for the Socialite subscription, which is $79 a month at the time of this post (my first month was $69 by using a referral code). This subscription includes 2 clothing pieces and one accessory each order. I am not a big accessory gal and would rather have an extra clothing piece in my order, but the next tier was significantly more expensive so I figured why not try out some fun jewelry or bag rentals. In today’s post, I wanted to share the pros and cons of FashionPass in case you are debating signing up. And no, this post is not sponsored, but hit me up FP’s marketing team if you are interested in collaborating!
Pros:
Fast Shipping: It probably depends where in the United States you live, but historically I have dropped off my return on Sunday and the next day when FedEx scans the package, I get an email from FashionPass letting me know I can place my next order. I place my order Monday mid-morning and that evening I have a shipping confirmation email in my inbox. So far, with the exception of a snow storm in Colorado last week, my order arrives Wednesday night. Side note – if you return your package on any other day besides Sunday, I am sure you can place your next order same day. The FedEx site in my local Walgreens does not do pickups on Sunday.
Free shipping both ways: Unless you need to rush your order, FashionPass includes free shipping in your membership. You also receive a pre-paid shipping label and return package with your order. With how quickly I get my next order, the only other option would be overnight and I don’t foresee myself needing a new outfit that quickly.
Trendy clothing: One of the big driving factors for signing up was the clothing options. I mentioned that with Rent the Runway I found a majority of the options to be more formal. While things probably have changed, I find the FashionPass target demographic to be more aligned with my style. FashionPass has everything from sweaters that are WFH-approved to dresses you can wear to a wedding. With some of my recent orders, I been loving trying out different style jeans and tops while the weather is still chilly in Colorado. It has been fun to pick out an outfit Monday morning with upcoming weekend plans in mind and then ship it back Sunday.
Unlimited rentals: Some clothing rental companies have a set number of returns and rentals you can do each month. I love that FashionPass is unlimited so if your order arrives and the outfit does not fit well or you end up not liking it, you can literally drive over to FedEx and return it. The current schedule I am doing makes it so I have a new outfit to wear each weekend and that includes a few days of my rental sitting in my closet waiting to be worn.
Potential to save money & shop sustainably: If you are like me and love to buy a brand new outfit for an event, wear it once and stick it back in your closet for who knows how long, I recommend looking into FashionPass. I can definitely see myself saving money by not purchasing these one time outfits and instead using FashionPass. I have a few upcoming trips that am excited to plan for with trendy clothing rentals, while saving money.
Discounts: If you fall in love with your rental, you can purchase the clothing outright. Members get pretty significant discounts, and while the clothing has often times been worn, everything I have received so far has been great quality and I can see myself purchasing in the future. I have even been the first time renter and had to remove tags.
Cancel/Pause your membership at any time: If you want to skip a month or cancel completely, you can pause or cancel your membership at any time. The only caveat is you will need to return your order before the end of your current billing cycle for the cancellation to take effect.
Other perks: Your membership includes free insurance, free dry cleaning (you send back unwashed clothing and FashionPass takes care of the rest), and the option to chat with a stylist for recommendations.
Cons:
Membership tiers: Honestly, it is pretty hard to come up with cons. I will say that I wish there was more flexibility in between membership tiers. I have the $79/month subscription which includes two clothing pieces and one accessory each order. The next tier is $109, which is significantly more money to get three clothing pieces and two accessories. It’s clearly not a deal breaker, but more flexibility would be nice.
Drop offs at FedEx Ground locations only: If you don’t have a FedEx Ground location near you, definitely take that into consideration. FashionPass is clear that FedEx Ground is the only option to get the return routed back to their warehouse asap and you cannot use a FedEx drop box. Luckily the Walgreens a mile from my house allows FedEx returns so every Sunday I see the same Walgreens worker when I am dropping off my package. He has yet to recognize me, but we have the same exact conversation each Sunday when he is scanning the return.
Conclusion:
I’m sure it is pretty clear based on the number of pros and the one con I have that I am a big fan of FashionPass. If you are interested in signing up, I have $15 off your first month’s membership if you use the code OLIVIA19C.
Want more Miss Olivia Says? Check out my latest posts HERE and HERE and HERE
xoxo Olivia
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