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This year I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the National Television Awards as a guest on ITV’s This Morning. It was my first time attending.
Shortly after the rush of excitement came the inevitable panic: “What the hell was I going to wear?” amongst the glamorous TV stars I was going to be rubbing shoulders with.
My trusty tuxedo has been with me for over two decades at formal events, but it’s practically a family heirloom now – not a modern treasure, that’s for sure.
I also have a nice selection of outfits at home, but nothing seemed special enough to celebrate this momentous occasion.
The designer makes a profit – Dan with his £4,000 suit and NTAs – but ultimately it’s a rental investment
So, I needed to go on a sartorial quest to discover my perfect red carpet outfit.
After hours of browsing my favourite shops, nothing satisfied me, so I decided to take a stroll through the menswear department at Harrods.
I was dazzled by the sheer beauty of a Dolce & Gabbana outfit covered from top to bottom in sparkling sequins.
As I fell more in love with it, I looked at the price tag and was stunned: almost £4000.
I love designer clothes, but I usually only justify the expense on accessories like belts and shoes, which I pair with streetwear.
I couldn’t even begin to wrap my brain (or my bank balance) around the idea of paying that much money for an outfit, but that’s when it hit me: I shouldn’t be thinking of this as a money-losing purchase, I needed to change course and turn it into a worthwhile investment.
After all, in my book, Money makerI dedicate an entire chapter to renting out their items for profit so that this equipment can pay for itself and start generating additional income.
I quickly calculated the rental cost of the suit to understand how many times I would have to rent it before covering my initial outlay and happily walked up to the counter to make my investment that would also serve as a fabulous outfit for the NTAs.
I quickly calculated the rental cost of the suit to understand how many times I would have to rent it before covering my initial outlay and happily walked up to the counter to make my investment that would also serve as a fabulous outfit for the NTAs.
I expect to easily double my money within 12 months by renting it out.
The clothing rental industry has seen explosive growth in recent years and is expected to reach a value of £2.3bn by 2029.
This is a result of the social change in our way of life: as the cost of living continues to put pressure on our pocketbooks, but our desire to live life and enjoy the moments we can, rental fashion has quickly become the economic resource to turn to.
It also has a greater impact as we all strive for a more sustainable way of living, allowing us to reuse, repurpose and recycle.
It is a very accessible market for us, as we all have clothes. Whether it is formal or casual clothing, there is usually a market where you can rent good quality clothes.
It is estimated that there are £30 billion worth of unwanted clothing in Britain, equivalent to a value of £500 per household.
It’s thought that 350,000 tonnes of the stuff ends up in landfill every year, worth a staggering £12bn, so how can you turn your finery into riches?
This Morning: Dan attends the NTAs as a guest of ITV and This is Morning, pictured with presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard
Wedding dresses and designer clothes rent well
First, we need to look at what you could rent. Go through your wardrobe and remember everything you have that might be desirable to others. Remember that it’s not just about formal wear – most items you would wear to an event (birthday, a date, a job interview) will have rental value.
If you are lucky enough to have designer items, these have great rental value because very few can justify the expense of buying them, but would be happy to rent them for a special occasion.
Wedding dresses are a particularly untapped market – many brides keep their wedding dress, but only 7 per cent rent it out, so there is a large group of people missing out on a market that charges between £50 and £200 a day.
Seasons also need to be taken into account, as obviously a ski jacket probably won’t be useful in August, but it will be a source of income in January.
Next, you’ll want to set a rental price, but you’ll need to do some research to decide.
Look at your competitors on rental sites to see how much they charge for similar items. The material, style, and brand of your items will all impact the price, but a general rule of thumb is that you should be able to rent your clothing for 10-20 percent of its original retail price.
This means that after five to ten rentals of an item, you should have recouped your original investment and be comfortably on the profit train.
Hurr Collective and By Rotation are the best places to start
The next step is to find the perfect rental platform. Street for rent and Cocoon Club They are good, but I have summarized the two that I like the most:
Hurr Collective It is one of the most recognised and reputable platforms on the market. They also have a pop-up boutique in Selfridges.
The criteria for using them are simple: your clothes must be less than two years old and have a recommended retail price of £120 or more. In exchange, they calculate how much you will earn from your initial investment over four or five rentals.
They offer insurance which covers any minor damage up to £50 and any major damage will result in the tenant being charged the full recommended retail price.
You can also charge the tenant a cleaning fee on top of the rental price. Return postage is the tenant’s responsibility; there is a £25 per day fee for late rentals, but be aware that if the item doesn’t fit the tenant, they won’t have to pay for it.
Hurr takes a 12 percent commission on your charges.
By rotation is another great option. It launched in 2019 and aims to make fashion circular and accessible. They have 60,000 items available for rent.
I love the way you can browse their site and choose from categories ranging from ski wear, dresses, wedding dresses, and black tie.
This site encourages tenants and lenders to resolve disputes related to loss, theft or damage directly.
However, if the item is not returned or is damaged beyond repair, the renter may be charged the market value of the item.
Rental periods can be one day or longer, and return postage is the renter’s responsibility, with late fees set by the lender. However, if the item does not fit, the renter still pays the applicable fees.
On rotation we take a 15 percent commission on your charges.
In the rental platform overviews, you will see that there are other factors to consider and do your due diligence on.
Each platform is a business and will charge a fee to facilitate your transaction, but these vary depending on the amount of work you want them to do.
For example, My HQ wardrobe manages the entire process from start (photography) to finish (return of clothing) but they take 40 percent.
It may seem like a lot, but if you’re short on time, it’s not bad to get 60% of the rental income for doing nothing. If you’re willing to do a little work, the average commission is around 15%.
Each platform is a business and will charge a fee to facilitate your transaction, but these vary depending on the amount of work you want them to do.
Whatever platform you choose, make sure you have adequate protection.
You need to make sure you are covered for any eventuality – loss, damage, etc. Most reputable sites have comprehensive coverage, but each one is different, so you should always check the terms and conditions.
However, whichever platform you choose to rent your items, always check the company’s market size and performance, customer satisfaction rating, what coverage is offered in case of loss and damage, and who covers the cleaning of the items.
There are a couple more considerations to keep in mind when renting clothes. You will need to market it properly so that the photographs and written description can do all the work for you.
Taking good photos with good lighting will help sell the property and make potential clients more inclined to rent from you.
Within the description you should add as many details as possible to avoid unwanted back and forth with questions and queries.
Please provide all details; fabric type, color(s), size, key measurements, hand feel, number of pockets and zippers, formal or daily use.
If you have questions, try to respond as quickly as possible. In such a competitive and growing market, people will soon move on to another provider if you don’t get back to them quickly.
Once the NTA is over, I’m going to upload photos of myself in the D&G suit to a rental platform so I can start recouping my original investment.
Send us your modern treasures
Dan Hatfield: Our columnist is ready to value his modern treasure
Dan Hatfield is This Morning’s money-making expert and pawnbroker. He is an international specialist in antiques, jewellery, diamonds and collectibles.
Dan’s first non-fiction book, Money Maker: Unlock Your Money Making Potential (£16.99, published by Hodder Catalyst) is out now.
This Modern Treasures column from Money seeks out your items and collections for valuations.
Please send as much information as possible, including photographs, to: editor@thisismoney.co.uk with the email subject: Modern treasures
We are only looking for post-war items and may contact you for more information.
Dan will do his best to respond to your message in his biweekly column, but he will not be able to respond to everyone or communicate privately with readers.
Nothing in their answers constitutes regulated financial advice. Posted questions are sometimes edited for brevity or other reasons.
As with anything, if you are looking to sell items and collections, it is wise to get a second and third opinion, not rely solely on Dan’s suggestions.
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