Hiring fabulous frocks with Wear the Walk

Despite our best intentions, we all end up with clothes we don’t wear. We make an impulse purchase, in-store or online, and forget to return it when it doesn’t fit. Our bodies change, rendering parts of our wardrobes uncomfortable or even unwearable unless our bodies change again. We feel compelled, by peer pressure or social expectation, to buy new clothes for weddings or parties, and those same pressures make us uncomfortable about repeating an outfit.  

The expectations surrounding (especially, but not exclusively) feminine clothing can leave us out of pocket, our wardrobes overrun with clothes “for best” that we never have the opportunity to wear. We take it for granted that hiring a suit is always an option for masculine clothing, but there are fewer hire options available for fashion-forward womenswear. 

I’m all in favour of outfit repeating, but if you want a one-off, showstopping outfit, head for clothing hire service Wear the Walk. Founder Zoe selected brands with an element of sustainability to their business practices; whether they are a designer manufacturing in the U.K. and paying a living wage, or using sustainable and recycled fabrics. But as well as their ethical credentials, these are also clothes that have been selected for their design flair and ability to turn heads. Wear The Walk HQ is a treasure trove of colour and texture, the clothes rails full of beautiful garments that demonstrate the creative use of pattern cutting and fabric manipulation knowledge that is pretty much absent from the high street. 

If you’re not a fan of bold colours or loud prints, there are expertly tailored jackets and dresses in more muted tones and styles, but for those of us who like to stand out from the crowd, Wear The Walk is a dream come true. 

I was looking to find an outfit to wear for Nine Worlds; and stylist Chloe showed me around the collection, revealing the wealth of imaginative clothes on offer. I was speaking on a panel about Historical Accuracy in Costuming and found the perfect dress by Korlekie. This gorgeous fringed gown has an element of 1920s anachronism to it (did you know that fringed flapper dresses were largely a Hollywood invention as the movement of the fringing looked so good on film? Evening gowns from the Roaring 20s were more likely to be beaded, but the beading was too noisy for the sound equipment used in early “talkies”!) and just looks and feels fabulous to wear. The dress is stretchy, so one size fits plenty of different bodies, and the holes in the fabric make it tantalisingly revealing without revealing too much.

Wear the Walk charge from between £30 to £100 for an individual hire, depending on the garment, and also offers a subscription service, from £60 per month for two hires. Who am I to resist the siren song of extra clothes? I also picked out a gorgeous green gown from Riona Treacy; another stretchy shape that was easy to wear and felt almost indecently comfortable for something that could be worn for a fancy occasion. 

Speaking of... after my appointment I was heading to a friend’s birthday do. London was in the grip of a heatwave and my carefully selected day-to-evening outfit was looking (and feeling) like a limp lettuce leaf. With a great sense of relief I was able to change right then and there, and I left wearing one of my Wear the Walk hires, and feeling much better about my appearance!

With returns and dry cleaning included in the hire price, I think Wear the Walk offers a useful and affordable service for anyone who wants unique, one-off outfits. At the moment a lot of their stock is restricted to sample sizes (8-12 in UK sizing) but they are working with the brands they stock to introduce a greater range of sizes. I hope everyone who loves being creative with clothes will be able to hire something splendid very soon; being able to enjoy an extravagant outfit without contributing to the exploitation of people or the planet was a wonderful feeling.