Celebrating My 40th in a Tropical Crisscross Sheath 

 

It’s been months since I rented a dress from Rent the Runway for an event! My most recent designer dress rental was last October (and I LOOOVED that dress). This past weekend my dad and I had a joint dinner party in St. Louis to celebrate our milestone birthdays this summer. I recently turned 40 and my dad will be turning 80 in a couple weeks, so we gathered friends and family to mark the occasion!

As per usual after deciding to rent a dress, I went down the rabbit hole that is RenttheRunway.com. I always find it tricky to find just the right dress for the occasion. This time around I wanted something summery, short, and colorful. We had decided the attire should be “dressy casual,” so I didn’t want anything too fancy or fussy. The Trina Turk Floral Ace dress that I selected was EXACTLY what I was looking for!

Designer dress rental: Trina Turk Floral Ace Dress | Rent the Runway

When I was doing my party makeup, I fucked up my eyeliner and had to wash everything off and start over. So I ended up being in a rush and forgot to have someone take a photo of me in the dress before we left for the venue. We took pics at the party before guests began to arrive but the lighting in the private event room was a little harsh for photos. So unfortunately, the pics of me wearing the dress aren’t as good as I would have liked. I also forgot to take a closeup pic of my makeup because I was rushing! Blogger fail!

Here’s how the Floral Ace dress is presented on RTR’s website:

As you can see, the fit was pretty spot on for me. I did get a backup size of the same dress (included in the rental cost) just in case my usual size didn’t fit. The dress was quite comfortable; the first time I sat down in it, it felt a little tight. But I hardly even noticed after that. We didn’t do any dancing at the party so I can’t speak to how well this dress would fare on the dance floor.

Designer dress rental: Trina Turk Floral Ace Dress | Rent the Runway

I really loved the crisscross/shoulder cutout style of this dress! The cut is slightly sexy without showing too much skin. And the bright tropical floral print was PERFECT for a summer dinner party! I always find myself gravitating toward blue dresses on Rent the Runway so I’m trying to branch out into other colors. Though this dress’s background is blue, it has enough other color going on that I decided to allow it.

The Styling

I styled this dress with my Tarte mermaid makeup bag as a clutch. The makeup bag actually works perfectly as a festive mini purse!

In terms of jewelry, I of course wore my trusty old Urban Outfitters bunny ring. It’s my special occasion ring (I even wore it to my wedding)! Because the dress itself was a bit of a statement, I kept the rest of my jewelry simple. For earrings, I picked out a simple pair of sparkly v-shaped studs and wore my Artisan Stretch Bracelets from Stella & Dot. With the dress’s neckline, there was no need for a necklace.

As far as shoes go I kind of wish I had just said fuck it and worn sneakers, because standing around during cocktail hour was painful even in the Payless sandals I selected. It was my own birthday party..I should have just sneakered it up! Ah well.

The Damage

The Trina Turk Floral Ace dress came in at a completely reasonable $72.49. The dress rental itself was $55 and the total included $5 insurance, tax, and $9.95 shipping. This particular dress retails for $288. I never spend that much money on one item of clothing, so renting is definitely the way to go!

I felt SO great in this rental dress and received many compliments from my party guests. I’ve written about Rent the Runway multiple times and I cannot recommend the service enough! It’s so great for weddings, galas, or any sort of celebration that calls for getting a little gussied up. And because the rentals are insured you don’t have to worry too much about minor spills or damage.

Have you ever rented a designer dress? If so, did you have a good experience with it?