What Our Clothing Experts Really Think

Your picks will arrive at your door in a reusable tote bag (pictured here), but bulkier items like coats may come in a box instead. Now it’s your turn to try on all of the styles, host a small fashion show for your cats and plan your outfits for the month. And don’t worry about stains or accidental damages — the cost of your Nuuly subscription covers incidentals, and the brand has its own professional facility where they take care of laundering and repairs for you.

At the end of your 30-day rental period, if you can’t imagine life without one of your picks, you have the option to purchase your rentals for a discounted price — sometimes more than 70% off of retail value. I’m a sucker for a deal, so I’ve definitely given in and purchased a few pieces since I started renting, but they’ve become some of the most-worn styles in my closet. Pack the rest of your items up in the reusable bag and drop them off at your closest UPS store. As soon as your returns are scanned, you can unlock your shopping bag for the coming month and start filling it with new picks.

If you ever want to skip a month (or up to three months), you can pause your subscription, and you always have the option to completely cancel your membership with the click of a few buttons.

On-trend options

Nuuly’s inventory is full of fun and fashionable options, and I and other GH staffers can’t get enough of it. I’ve been able to branch out and make bolder fashion choices since I started renting because I’m able to try out the latest trends without breaking the bank or having to commit to them long term. Whether the current craze is flower appliqués, bows, shirring, puff sleeves or the color red, you’re sure to find a piece or two on Nuuly to try out for yourself too.

Updates editor Elizabeth Berry says her favorite aspect of renting from Nuuly is wearing styles from popular brands she’s been dying to try as well as discovering new brands in the process. Nuuly stocks styles from URBN’s in-house brands like Maeve, Free People and Urban Outfitters, but also carries pieces from other iconic and up-and-coming designers like Lisa Says Gah, Farm Rio, For Love & Lemons and Damson Madder. Plus, Nuuly collaborates with some of its most popular designers including Rachel Antonoff, Selkie and Anna Sui to create exclusive collections of clothing only available to rent on Nuuly.

Simple searching

Some clothing rental sites can be a pain to scour through, making it difficult to find what you’re actually looking for, but that’s not the case with Nuuly. Every GH editor and analyst I’ve spoken to is impressed by how simple it is to navigate Nuuly’s website. You have the option to search by product category like you would when you’re normally shopping online, and you can sort through the categories based on price, the newest drops and what’s most popular. My favorite way to sort is “For You,” which shows you all of the styles Nuuly thinks you’ll love the most based on your former rentals and search history.

Nuuly also comes up with carefully curated closets called featured edits for you to shop like “Ski + Beach” or “Spring Outfitting.” They’re full of on-theme pieces and make browsing a breeze. Commerce editor Jacqueline Saguin explains, “Nuuly is great about sorting its offerings into helpful categories. Need a dress for a vacation? Or want to tap into Barbiecore? The brand has likely already pieced together a collection of related pieces.”

Real-user reviews

Before selecting pieces for the month, freelance writer Raena Loper emphasizes taking a “close look at the reviews,” and I highly agree. Nuuly renters leave thorough, honest reviews complete with details like typical clothing size, bra size, height, weight, body type and age, and they often share images of themselves wearing their picks for you to reference.

As a 5’11” woman, I’m always grateful to find out a dress will be too short on me before I make the mistake of renting it for the month. As Loper is plus-size and tall, she was able to gauge how garments would fit based on other renters’ experiences. “The pieces I picked that had LOTS of reviews fit better than the pieces that didn’t have any yet or very few.”

No swaps

Unlike with some other popular services, Nuuly only offers one rental plan, and there are no item swaps included. This means you keep the initial six items you choose until your 30-day rental period is up. If you receive an item that doesn’t live up to your expectations, isn’t comfortable or doesn’t fit well, you don’t have the opportunity to trade it in for something new. And if you want to order an item in two sizes to make sure one of them will fit for your big event, both of them count towards your six items, limiting your other options for the month.

Damaged items

In my experience, the overwhelming majority of the clothing items I’ve received from Nuuly are in great condition, and I’d say about 50% of the items have actually shown up brand new with tags. GH contributing writer Jessica Hartshorn, who has been renting with Nuuly since 2019, describes receiving clothes with tags as “a thrill,” though she notes that she has received a well-worn piece every now and then since the platform is growing in popularity, and some of the clothes have been in circulation for years.

If you do receive an item that’s damaged, faded or missing a button or two, I highly recommend reaching out to the customer support team. I and my fellow GH analysts and editors agree that Nuuly’s customer service is a 10/10. They’re responsive and willing to help by replacing items, offering discounts and crediting your account when things don’t work out.

Limited availability

When you’re exploring all of the options available for rental, what you see isn’t necessarily what you get. Other renters are scrolling through the same styles as you and adding them to their closets and shopping bags in real time, so an item in your closet that you’re really excited about wearing may become unavailable before you place your order. Senior analyst Emma Seymour adds, “I save a ton of pieces to my closet, and usually only a small fraction of them are available at a time. I’m a size medium, so I find that it can be tough to get pieces in my size since it’s pretty common.” Seymour recommends browsing the site regularly to “have a large closet of pieces saved up and ready to go when it’s time to place a new order.” That way you aren’t scrambling to find a replacement piece.

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Nuuly vs. Rent the Runway

Nuuly and Rent the Runway are the two most popular women’s clothing rental subscription platforms on the market. Rent the Runway has been around for more than a decade and offers additional options and plans that you can’t find on Nuuly, including the opportunity to rent accessories like bags and jewelry, the ability to swap items out during your rental period and the opportunity to rent anywhere from five to 20 pieces a month. Plus, RTR offers one-time rentals and carries tons of high-end designer styles.

Nuuly only focuses on clothing, and there’s just one rental plan available, but Nuuly is more cost effective than RTR: Nuuly is $98 a month for six items, while RTR is $94 a month for five items. I’ve also found Nuuly’s website interface to be easier to use and the rental options to lean younger and more trend-forward that RTR’s inventory.

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The final verdict: Is Nuuly worth it?

Yes! If you’re always on the hunt for something new to wear, love trying out the latest trends or have a special event coming up, a subscription with Nuuly is definitely worth it. For $98 a month, you gain access to thousands of styles from well-known brands, and many of the pieces are valued at more than $98 at retail, so you’re able to try out items that you may not regularly be able to splurge on.

I will admit: I spend a little too much time scrolling through the Nuuly site looking for the perfect pieces that I actually want to wear, so know that it can be a bit of a time commitment, especially if you’re a picky shopper. And while Loper found plenty of plus-size options that she loved during her rental period, it can sometimes be more difficult to find extended size items that will fit tall, plus-size and petite bodies.

For the last two-and-a-half years, I have been singing Nuuly’s praises to my friends and family members, and I’ve converted many of them into loyal renters along the way. I will continue to recommend Nuuly as a fun, more affordable and more sustainable alternative to buying new clothing every month. If you ever feel like the cost of renting isn’t in your budget, you’re always able to pause your subscription (something I’ve done a few times), or you can completely cancel the membership without penalty.

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Nuuly clothing rentals I’ve loved

These are some of my absolute favorite Nuuly rentals. I’ve even gone on to purchase a couple of them:

• Gingham Midi Skirt, Hutch: I have never received so many compliments on a piece of clothing as when I wore this skirt during my rental period, so I naturally had to buy it. I sometimes dress it up with a blouse, but I love pairing it with a band tee and chunky boots.
• Victoria Midi Dress, dRA: Perfectly oversized but lightweight, this puff-sleeve midi dress was so breezy and comfortable during the summer. I loved wearing it with bright pink sneakers, but it also looked incredible with some subtle white sandals.
• Lauren Cocktail Maxi Skirt, Lisa Says Gah: This kitschy maxi skirt is covered in a vintage cocktail glass motif that’s so fun. I also ended up buying this one after being encouraged by friends and family, and I have no regrets. The rainbow color palette means I can wear it with nearly every top in my closet.
• Shine Midi Dress, Dhruv Kapoor: I didn’t expect to get so much use out of a more formal pick like this, but I wore it several times during my rental period — for a themed bachelorette party, a work holiday event and on a date night out. It fit perfectly, thanks to the stretchy shirred bust and adjustable tie straps.
• The Avery Pleated Wide-Leg Trousers, Maeve by Anthropologie: As a tall woman, it can be difficult to find wide-leg pants that don’t hover above my shoes. Since this pair is available in tall sizing, I was able to style it with heels! It comes in a few variations with different prints and materials that I also love.

Amanda (she/her) researches and reports on products in the Good Housekeeping Institute‘s Textiles, Paper & Apparel Lab, ranging from clothing and accessories to home furnishings. She holds undergraduate degrees in apparel merchandising and product development and advertising and marketing communications, as well as a master of science degree in consumer sciences from The Ohio State University. Prior to joining Good Housekeeping in 2022, Amanda was a lecturer for the fashion and retail studies program at Ohio State, where she taught fashion and textiles courses.