Adarsh Alphons was looking at his closet one day when he noticed a tuxedo he had worn once.
“I paid a couple hundred dollars for it,” he recalled. “And I thought, ‘You know if there was a guy or gal around my size who wanted to borrow this and I got 50 bucks for it, they don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars and then lead to other manufacturing and waste.”
“Moms and daughters, sisters and best friends: People have been sharing for forever,” Alphons said. “So can we bring that into the digital world and add some software around it, and a user experience that feels authentic?”Â
Pring decided to partner with Wardrobe to lend out some of the items she wasn’t ready to give away but also didn’t want sitting there gathering dust. The company allows users to upload pieces and set a price for rentals. The items are stored in a network of local dry cleaners, who care for the garments. When someone decides to borrow an item, the dry cleaner prepares the goods for local pickup or shipping. Customers ship it back and the process begins all over again.
The model found herself accumulating tons of clothing from photoshoots, gifts, and events she’s attended over the years. While she has a walk-in closet that some New Yorkers may consider to be the size of a bedroom, it’s full to the brim with beautiful items that are rarely worn. Instead of spending that disposable income on more clothing, she said she can save up for other things like investments or property in upstate New York. She’s also rented items from the website herself, including purses.
“Celebrities, people rent all the time, and whether or not they’re speaking about it, it’s been something that’s happened for ages and especially when it comes to jewelry or bags or shoes,” Pring said. “I think it’s time we just really sort of normalize it and take the stigma away from sharing.”
“‘I’m always showcasing things on social media,” Mesa admitted. “So I buy a lot. But it’s easy to know that you have Wardrobe. At least for me, I stopped buying all of this stuff.”
Overall, everyone ends up a winner, Wardrobe’s Alphons said.
“Instead of making that impulse purchase that you’ll probably only wear once or twice, just borrow it,” he pointed out. “It’s good for your wallet. It’s good for the planet. And everybody wins.”
