To rent or to buy?

I love finding things on the Internet that I never would have come across otherwise. There are so many great ideas out there!

I came across the site Rent The Runway the other day. At first, I was skeptical - why pay $200 to rent something when I could buy something cute for that amount of money and own it forever? But then I thought about it a little... sometimes, we have events that we need a specific sort of dress for, and we probably won't wear it again. Not only that, but if an event is truly black tie, it's sometimes difficult to find an appropriate dress for less than $200.

Now I'm thinking that I'd like to try the website. It seems like a pretty good deal - you choose the dress you want, and they ship it to you for your event. You get a second size for free, and if you want a back up dress (in case you don't like the way the first one looks on you), you can get it (and a second size in it) for $25. You stick it in the mail the day after your event. No worries about dry cleaning. My friends are having a black tie wedding at a fancy hotel in October, and I'm thinking I might give Rent the Runway a try! I'd love to have a fancy designer dress, even if only for a night. If you sign up for their emails, they send you some pretty nice coupons, too. Here are two looks I'm considering:

Look #1 by JanAlyssa featuring silver jewelry

I love that one-shoulder dress! You can also rent accessories through Rent the Runway, but I am such a jewelry hoarder that I probably have everything I need.

Look #2 by JanAlyssa featuring silk handbags

I love the red shoes here, and the dress is elegant and classy - simple with a slight twist.

So, what do you think? Have you ever used Rent the Runway? Would you consider it?

While we're talking Internet phenomena, has anyone tried Birchbox? They send you a box of deluxe samples for $10 a month. I'm curious enough to try it for March - I can't get enough of that kind of thing.