Requesting an outfit from Rent the Runway has always called for a pinch of luck and a big dose of trust. The typical experience: Choose a dress from the site’s list of designer duds; read every review, scour each customer-submitted photo; submit order. Commence double-crossed fingers that when that box appears at your door, you’ll have lucked out on the perfect fit and a flattering hue. It’s a great concept—though not always foolproof. Until now, that is: Starting in mid-November, Rent the Runway opens its first brick-and-mortar showroom in Washington, where shoppers can scope out their picks and get help from in-store stylists.
Yesterday afternoon, developer/investment partnership EastBanc and Jamestown announced that the online rental company has signed a ten-year lease to open in the Georgetown shopping nook Cady’s Alley, where it joins a handful of other fashion retailers, including fellow web-based showroom Bonobos. At 4,354 square feet, the new Washington space is more than double the size of Rent the Runway’s only other freestanding showroom, which opened in New York’s Flatiron District last week.
Rent the Runway’s showroom joins a number of new-to-DC contemporary fashion brands that have recently popped up in western Georgetown—an area that used to primarily house upscale home-design stores such as Boffi, BoConcept, and Design Within Reach—within the past year, including such designer lines as Steven Alan, Calypso St. Barth, and the soon-to-open Alice + Olivia. Does this mean west M Street is taking over as Georgetown’s hotspot for designer fashion labels? We’ll be watching.
Rent the Runway. 3336 M St., NW. Opening mid-November. For more fashion news and tips, follow Shop Around on Twitter at @shoparoundblog.
