If, like us, your December diary is delivering a flood of outfit anxiety, you're not alone. With Christmas work dos, festive brunches and even New Year's Eve on the horizon, the need to plan multiple looks is already on our minds. But while buying a new dress for every upcoming occasion is not only expensive, it's incredible wasteful with the wear-once culture a lot of us are accustomed to. In fact, 1.7 million tonnes of textiles ends up in landfill in the UK, each year. And eBay has found that 7 million of these discarded items are sequins, which of course will mainly be around party season. Luckily for us all, though, there's an alternative to shopping en masse at this time of year: rental fashion. And we're here to help you find the best online dress rentals, including alternatives to dresses such as jumpsuits, mini skirts and fancy pyjamas.
Once only relied upon for black-tie events, now, the rental market is bigger than ever. Just last week, Kate Middleton wore a green Solace London dress to the Earthshot Prize ceremony which she rented from Hurr – one of the most-known rental sites – and you can wear it too (here) for just £74 for four nights. If it's good enough for a Princess, hey?
You may have already heard about peer-to-peer rental community By Rotation – it's basically the best way to be able to wear the exact outfits you love on Instagram, from people you may already follow. Then there's Rotaro, this site has the coolest Scandi brands and also has a selection of bags – including Prada, Rejina Pyo and Jacquemus – you can borrow (for a small cost). And this has to be one of the main perks about renting. Instead of splurging on designer brands, you get to wear them for a cut of the original price. We all know this is one of the most expensive times of the year, so it's worth finding ways to save money, while simultaneously contributing to saving the planet – which is of course the most important reason to rent instead of buying new.
There's also new sites such as DCEY (it's huge in Turkey and has just launched in the UK), but a huge breakthrough in the world of rental is sites such as Selfridges and Matchesfashion joining the revolution. While Selfridges has had a Hurr pop-up in-store since 2021, matchesfashionrental.com has just launched last month. With both powerhouses in the industry now having some of its top designers – think Taller Marmo, The Vampire's Wife and Nensi Dojaka – available to wear, borrow and give back, this is huge news to shout about.
So next time you get flustered with knowing what to wear for all those upcoming festive affairs, why not try renting a whole outfit – for one night or even up to a month for Cocoon's designer bags – and we fully back you wearing this same outfit, on repeat, for the entirety of the rental period. Keep scrolling to see the best outfits to borrow for party season, and beyond.
RENT: The Best Party Season Rental Outfits
1 of 18Taller Marmo, Ubud One-Shoulder Dress
HURR
The driving force behind Matchesfashion and Selfridges both joining the rental fashion army, Hurr is the site helping shape the industry. With so many incredible brands, you can rent dresses, suits, bags and even jewellery online and you can even lend your own wardrobe to other people, too. The likes of Aje, Rixo, Reformation and Ganni pieces can all be borrowed for 4, 8, 10 or 10 days.
If you have Instagram, no doubt you would have seen one of the feather-adorned Taller Marmo dresses. Loved by A-listers, fashion editors and influencers alike, they're the ultimate 'wow' dress for a super special occasion.
Worth: £1,500
Rent: £145 for 4 days
2 of 18The Vampire's Wife, Lamé Mini Festival Dress
A favourite worn by everyone from Kate Middleton to Alexa Chung, you can't go wrong with a The Vampire's Wife dress. This shiny, ruffle-detail mini dress would be the perfect NYE look.
Worth: £1,395
Rent: £172 for 4 days
3 of 18Marques' Almeida, Back Bow Off The Shoulder Recy
**MATCHESFASHION RENTAL
**New to the rental world, Matchesfashion is the latest to get on board. Online and with a pop-up at the London store, the curated buyer edit includes exclusive pieces from 16Arlington and Nensi Dojaka as well as dresses from Cecilie Bahnsen and Taller Marmo. These can be rented for 4, 8, 10 or 20 days and most styles are available in different sizes.
Forget bringing a present to upcoming parties, you'll be the gift in this mega bow-detail dress. It's 360-degree perfection so we bet you won't want to take it off for the full rental period.
Worth: £728
Rent: £97 for 4 days
4 of 1816Arlington, Adelaide Asymmetric Dress
The newly-launched rental site has hand-picked designers including The Vampire's Wife, Saloni, Paco Rabanne, Cecilie Bahnsen and 16Arlington.
Worth: £995
Rent: £122.70 for 4 days
5 of 18Attico, Zelda Tie-Front Crepe Top
ROTARO
If you're a fan of lesser-known, emerging brands, Rotaro is particularly good at having these all under one roof. If you schedule in a rental before midday, you'll also get next day delivery so it's a saviour for those last-minute party plans.
Not feeling a dress and want to go for the 'nice top' and jeans vibe? This Attico tie-front style is ticking off so many trends in one, and you can borrow it from just £25.
Worth: £365
Rent: £25 for 4 days
6 of 18Attico, Lea Leather Mini Skirt
The festive season is the best time to jump on the mini skirt hype. You could wear this leather Attico style with the cut-out top for a full #Barbiecore look – yes, pink is still huge news.
Worth: £578
Rent: £40 for 4 days
7 of 18Prada, Hobo Re-Edition 2000 Crystal-Embellished Shoulder Bag
RITES
Whether you want to sell, rent or borrow an outfit, Rites is the do-it-all site. If it's rental you're after, then you can get the likes of Rixo, JW Anderson, Saks Potts, Self-Portrait and Kitri for 4, 8, 10 or 20 days at a time.
It's not just outfits you can borrow, either, you can easily just hire a bag for a few days to elevate all your existing outfits. Naturally that Prada rhinestone style is first on the wish list for party season.
Worth: £1,950
Rent: £95 for 4 days
8 of 18Reformation, Breslin Metallic Stretch Midi Dress
Is this, or is this not the most festive dress? Go all out and add sparkly accessories – we're talking earrings, bag, heels, the lot!
Worth: £200
Rent: £45 for 4 days
9 of 18Self-Portrait, Sea Holly Jumpsuit
MY WARDROBE HQ
Founded back in 2019, My Wardrobe HQ is one of the most-known rental sites. You can either choose between the subscription service and borrow two items (for £59) or four items (for £79) each month, or, you can just rent an item as and when you need it. If you love what you've tried, you can even choose to buy it when you're sure you can give it a forever home.
A ready-made outfit that needs little styling is the jumpsuit. This one-piece-wonder can be thrown on with a pair of heels and instantly look party-ready.
Worth: £400
Rent: £20 a day
10 of 18By Far, Python Print Leather Boots
Sometimes, all you need to make an outfit look that little bit more exciting is a great pair of boots. These snake-print beauties are here to transform even the simplest LBD.
Worth: £500
Rent: £11 a day
11 of 18Retrofete, Camden Dress
**DCEY
**This rental site is the most well-known rental site in Turkey, and it has just arrived in the UK. There's a whole host of recognisable designers, as well as some new ones to discover. For 4, 8 or 16 day rentals, you're guaranteed to find a dress, bag or necklace for party season.
Dresses with gloves are definitely a thing this year, so this dress is an easy way to be able to try out the trend before you fully commit.
Worth: £815
Rent: £80 for 4 days
12 of 18Rachel Gilbert, Xavier Mini Yellow Dress
Can we take a moment for these sleeves? We're seeing this with spotted tights and power platforms.
Worth: £925
Rent: £100 for 4 days
13 of 18Ghost x M&S, Satin Midi Dress
**HIRESTREET
**For high street rentals, Hirestreet is our go-to. M&S, Nobody's Child, Nine by River Island, all are available with rental periods of 4, 10 or 30 days.
The Ghost x M&S collections are always so popular, they of course sell out quickly. Rental is a great way to be able to get to wear items that may have slipped through the net and this dress is one you'll get so much wear out of over the festive period.
Worth: £79
Rent: £16 for 4 days
14 of 18Nensi Dojaka, Pleated Panel V-Neck Dress
**SELFRIDGES RENTAL
**Selfridges has a rental pop-up via Hurr, but has also launched its own platform, Selfridges Rental. Its partywear section - which includes Harmur, Rotate Birger Christensen and 16Arlington - is unrivalled.
One of the most talked about brand of the year, Nensi Dojaka, is now available to rent at Selfridges Rental. The cut-out styles are bound to make sure you make an entrance at the party.
Worth: £1,475
Rent: £176.24 for 4 days
15 of 18Sleeper, Pink Suit
**BY ROTATION
**By Rotation is probably one of the most popular peer-to-peer apps, with more than 40,000 designer items available to borrow for as little as two days in some cases.
It wouldn't be Christmas without fancy pyjamas, would it? Whether you wear them for at-home plans or take them on a night out with heels and a sparkly bag, no doubt you'll wear this Sleeper pair on repeat.
Worth: £275
Rent: £52 for 3 days
16 of 18Paco Rabanne, Iconic 1969 Chain Shoulder Bag in Gold
**COCOON
**Cocoon, the luxury platform where you can borrow designer handbags, is the membership anyone would appreciate. It's the cherry on top of every outfit, after all.
If you choose the 'premium' subscription, you can get this Paco Rabanne style for a whole month. Or, you could even choose to swap it during this time for a Bottega Veneta, Prada or Gucci iteration. It's the most affordable way to try out the latest designer bags.
Worth: £685
Rent: £79 for a month
17 of 18Loewe, Logo High Rise Jeans
**FRONTROW
**Front Row has launched a pioneering new scheme with Covett, allowing its customers to actually co-own luxury bags with like-minded accessories lovers by investing in a 20% share. Genius, no?
Avoiding sparkles, glitter and full-on festive fashion all together? Make way for these Loewe logo jeans that are about to create the best high/low outfit. Wear with a bandeau top and add heels for those more laidback party plans.
Worth: £725
Rent: £105 for 3 days
18 of 18Rixo, Tyra Sequin Wrap Dress
**GIRL MEETS DRESS
**If you don't do separates, Girl Meets Dress is the rental platform for you. It also has a brilliant selection of maternity dresses, which is great if you don't want to spend money on a wardrobe that you'll only wear for a limited period of time.
We all know sequins aren't great for the environment, but if you want to wear them, renting is a more eco-conscious way to do so. If you missed out on this dress a few years ago, this is your time to shine.
Worth: £385
Rent: £99 for 7 days