Nuuly, launched in 2019, is a clothing rental subscription leveraging inventory from the entire URBN family of brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie & BHLDN, Free People & FP Movement. Over the last few years, their inventory has expanded significantly, covering casual vacation wear to formal events. They also have a thrift marketplace, but I haven’t tried that myself yet.
After getting targeted with ads for the better half of a year, I finally caved and decided to try them out this summer. While I’m generally happy with my millennial-neutral capsule, I like the idea of trying fun trends and color through rentals.
How It Works
The service is fairly simple: $98/mo for 6 styles, 1 shipment per month. Bonus items can be added for $20 each, up to 4 items or 10 total for a shipment.
If you return your shipment early, you will need to wait until your “unlock” date to request the next shipment. At any time, you can browse styles and bookmark them to your “closet”, which makes it much easier to select the 6 pieces come shipment time.
Similar to RTR, if you fall in love with an item in your shipment, you can purchase it at a discounted price. The price typically depends on the condition of the piece – more worn, or older styles, tend to have a steeper % off. From what I’ve seen, these can range from 15% off (new styles) to 75% off (older, more expensive retail price styles).
If you’re interested in trying them out, you can use my referral link for $20 off your first order. Note, I’ll get $10 off as well, so thank you!
Inventory
Nuuly focuses primarily on women’s clothing. Unlike Rent the Runway, they don’t currently have accessories or jewelry – I’d love if they could eventually add bags to the mix.
They have a sizable selection of brands, ranging from their private labels BDG (Urban), Maeve (Anthro), etc to external brands like AGOLDE and Farm Rio. There’s also a well-curated collection of vintage pieces under Nuuly Vintage brand, which is pretty unique. This vintage YSL jumpsuit would be perfect for the upcoming Yayoi Kusama exhibit in SF. And this vintage Celine dress is undeniably classic.
While not everything was in stock at the time of placing my new shipments, I found that there was still enough inventory to shop from. With the exception of vintage pieces, which are one-of-a-kind – I’m still waiting to try these embroidered Levi’s!
My Verdict
To spare you some time, I’ll give you my verdict first. Overall, I’ve been pleased with my Nuuly experience! It’s a fun way to mix up my wardrobe, while increasing the overall utilization of each items. Not every order will be perfect! I’ve adjusted my benchmark to count 4 hits out of 6 items to be success. I don’t think I’ll subscribe for all 12 months out of the year, but perhaps for a few months at a time.
As for the cost – at $98/mo, it’s less than my usual monthly clothing expenditures so for me, it feels like a decent value. If you generally work in a much more conservative work environment, or have a lot of black-tie level events to attend, you may run out of options quickly. In that case, it may make more sense to space out the rental months.
What I’ve Ordered
Here’s a quick rundown of the 3 Nuuly’s I’ve ordered so far, along with quick reviews on each item in case you are interested as well. Similar to RTR, most items have user reviews with pictures and measurements. Incredibly helpful when an item may have fit nuances.
Shipping has been pretty quick – I’m based in California, and have been able to receive my Nuuly packages within 2-3 business days of ordering.
Box 1
In my first order, I was focused on a variety of styles and also (I can’t help it) maximizing “value”. All in all, the retail price of these 6 items came out to $1,206, with most pieces exceeding $100. I was able to wear all of these at least once, and I wore this trench at least 10x!
- Roselyn Crop Top Retails for $80. This was a fun top to wear on weekends, and paired easily with a variety of shorts and jeans. I’m glad I rented this, as I wouldn’t see myself wearing it a ton to justify the price tag if I purchased.
- High-Rise Colorblock Jeans Retails for $220. I LOVED these jeans – such a unique design, but still easily wearable. Based on the reviews, I ordered up one size and it still fit a bit snug. I’m very tempted to re-rent these another size up (28 vs my usual 26) and maybe keep them…
- Marcia Belted Romper Retails for $425. Another one I’m glad to have rented – the print and linen is lovely, though the leg openings were a smidge tight.
- Sydney Cropped Trench Retails for $155. I wore this so frequently, both for weekends and in-office, and was very tempted to purchase but I resisted!
- Sierra Striped Button Up Shirt Retails for $148. A classic, button-down shirt – I already have many white ones, so it was nice to mix it up with stripes.
- AGOLDE Criss Cross Denim Shorts Retails for $178. I’ve been intrigued by the criss-cross waistband from Agolde – I’m glad I tried these, but I think they may not be for me long-term.
Box 2
In this order, I continued on the same trend of maximizing “value” and variety of styles, with a total retail value of $1,223. Unfortunately, it was a bit more of a miss for me – but I hope you can learn from my experience!
- Leila Half Zip Sweater Retails for $98. This sweater was great. Unfortunately, we went through a major heat-wave period and I never had the desire / chance to wear it. I may re-rent this in the fall.
- Plaid Cutout Midi Dress Retails for $125. The perfect dress for watching the Barbie movie, and other summer activities. But not one I would pay retail for, as the material is quite thin with delicate construction. The side slit was already starting to split/fray, even though it didn’t seem to be worn many times.
- Lisa Says Gah Robyn Jeans Retails for $159. Ha… I read the reviews, I knew they ran really small, but the only size available was 1 up from my usual. I couldn’t even get these halfway up my thighs. But I love the color, so I re-ordered it the following month.
- Patchwork Quilted Shirt Jacket Retails for $190. I love this. I decided to include one fall-y jacket in here, with the intent to buy ahead of the season at a discount. Nuuly had a $20 off purchase promo, I got this for $50. Super cozy, I can see myself wearing this both at home and in the office.
- Draped Denim Shirt Jacket Retails for $138. Like last month’s trench, I wore this a lot! It’s a softer denim, which makes it very comfortable to wear.
- Moroccan Moment Maxi Retails for $513. The reviews were mixed on this one – I took a gamble and ordered this a size down in XS, and didn’t run into any of the gaping-top issues that others had. However, I just didn’t love the fit on me – I think this works best for those with greater waist-hip definition.
Box 3
My most recent box – I decided to go with fun given it was the last month of summer. And I threw in one item in preparation for Beyonce’s Renaissance tour concert :) Overall, I’d say this one was a hit, with a lower retail value of $711.
- Lisa Says Gah Robyn Jeans in Paisley Bandana Retails for $159. I learned from my past month’s mistake, and sized up a total of 3 times… and it fit perfectly. Again, I’m normally a size 26 and got these in a 29.
- Lisa Says Gah Robyn Jeans in Retro Quilt Retails for $159. Same as above, I rented these in a 29. I wore both pairs several times throughout the month, they were such fun prints.
- Classic Shirt Jacket Retails for $130 | I love the pattern, but I wasn’t expecting the fleece-terry like material. It’s very cozy and I still wore it a few times.
- Find Me Now Colorblock Ruffled Cardigan Retails for $88. I’ve recently been obsessed with this brand. The ruffle detailing is fun without being too twee for me, and the colorblock detailing makes it unique.
- Find Me Now Colorblock Ruffled Tank Retails for $85. Another variation, this one in a punchier lime-vanilla combo. The material is thicker than I expected, in a good way!
- Mesh Midi Skirt Retails for $90. A sharp 180 from the rest of this box, but this looked perfect for Beyonce’s concert. My first choice was this skirt, but it wasn’t available at the time of my shipment. Alas, it’s a bit long (I should have read the description) at 37”, I may play around with different shoes to see if I can make it work. Taller ladies and gents, this one is for you!
And that’s a wrap! Hope you found this review helpful. Again, if you’re interested in trying them out, you can use my referral link for $20 off your first order. Note, I’ll get $10 off as well, so thank you!
