I’m pretty sure I am the inventor of girl math and girl dinner. And I think I invented them the same day at the Christiana Mall.
As a teen, I used to go to the mall with friends, $20-25 cash, crinkled up, lip balm, and a pack of gum. The limited amount of cash was an attempt to control myself yet, it was never enough money for a Saturday afternoon at the mall. So I often ordered one item off Taco Bell's $1 menu for lunch and packed water, so I could spend the full twenty dollar bill in my sparkly purse on clothes and accessories! You know, rather than frivolously on something I didn't get to take home with me? Lunch. In 2008 the math was mathing, we just didn’t call it that.
Fast forward to present-day me and almost nothing has changed! I still want the hottest trends but don’t want to shell out big bucks. I live in an apartment, so closet space is precious and doing closet clean outs when the clothing actually still fits, feels really bad. When I get rid of clothes, I never know where they really go. Which makes me feel worse. If I could just be a little more creative maybe I could find a cool way to repurpose older items. And thanks to working in the retail industry for many years and just the out pour about the trauma fast fashion causes our planet, I want to come out on the right side of history; so I rent my clothes. If you’re still a Shein girlie, watch Brandy Hellville on Max. It’s eye-opening. My desire to shop all the time, is not going to go away. At this point it is a personality trait, so renting clothes allows me to pick out new items all the time and then return them to get cleaned and to go to a new home! It’s so fun!
I rarely buy clothes to permanently keep from my rental because it is expensive and kind of defeats the point of renting. However, there are always exceptions to every rule and the items below were so exceptional, I just knew we couldn’t ever part again!
1.Tabloid Jacket: I mean c’mon!?!? This was the first item I ever decided to permanently keep off Nuuly and I still look at it in my closet with the same glimmer in my eye of when it had tags on! This multimedia jacket has old magazine covers all over it and though it is multi-colored though, it reads mainly pink. It is by Rebecca Antoff, a cheeky designer carried by Anthropologie known for life-like prints. I had to have it! I would never buy something so pricey just outright but, once I had a little trial period I realized how much it already works within my closet! I typically like to size up for jackets but the M was unavailable and since I thought I was just renting I still ordered the S. It's oversized enough that I love wearing fuzzy mock neck sweaters, denim, and metallic middie boots with it just as much as a crewneck sweatshirt, leggings, and sneaks!
2. Pink Fuzzy Jacket: If The Pink Ladies roamed the earth in 2024, I declare myself the Rizzo of the group and I pick this to be the jacket we wear to school everyday! Jackets are actually my favorite type of garment to rent because in just a one month period, you can rewear them the most compared to say a top. When you go to return the items, Nuuly, the rental company typically offers the biggest discount to buy the jackets due, to jackets being a slower inventory turner. A double win! A pet peeve of mine is when fuzzy jackets, hats, sweatpants - fuzzy anything is only fuzzy on the outside for looks and not on the inside for feels! This jacket is so soft and warm and the perfect fit! I love wearing it in Fall and Spring to add an extra dose of pink to my looks.
3. Butterfly Floral Shorts: It takes commitment to find a decent pair of jean shorts! Every summer it's the same story. I try on a million, nothing quite works, I get frustrated, and continue to wear my one trusty pair that seems like it's going to go threadbare soon! So, if you find a pair of jean shorts you love, do yourself a favor and never let them go? Since this pair is printed with butterflies, flowers, and ladybugs I was surprised how many tops I had to pair with them!
4. Tulle Tank: Splurging on a tank top inherently does not make sense however, how I like to think about my shopping budget is, I am willing to spend more on clothes I will get more wears out of. Yes, this means spending less, or just renting for wedding guest dresses that I will likely only wear twice and spending more on a staple black tank top that I will love year-round.
Olivia Rodrigo Sweater-Shirt: I’ll admit it! Sometimes the timing of rentals can be tough to plan and unfortunately I didn’t quite time this one out for the specific date I needed it. If you recall I went to the Sour Tour in Denver, Colorado. (I wrote an article The Fashions at an Olivia Rodrigo Concert that you can read here. It was one of my most popular articles of 2022!) With the flames, the nesting hearts, and the dichotomy of black and white, I felt like this tank was the perfect nod to 90s grunge in the same way that Good 4 U feels like it should be on a cassette. But, at the same time, the sweater material and the overall silhouette of the tank: mockneck, at a cropped length still feels today. The 90s resurgence doesn’t seem to be going anywhere so I figured this was safe to buy!
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