Picture this: You wake up one morning with the realization that you have nothing to wear, and what’s worse is that you also have nothing to wear to a work conference at the end of the week, and a destination wedding the following weekend. Enter Nuuly, one of many clothing subscription services that has been reinventing closets — and UPS storerooms — across the country.
After years of hearing friends and strangers namedrop Nuuly, I wanted to test whether Nuuly could curb my anxiety around keeping up with trends, looking my best, and at least attempting to be sustainable in my clothing consumption. Here’s what I found.
In this article: Maeve Colette Cropped Pants, Maeve Avery Wide-Leg Trouser Pants and Farm Rio Evening Wear
Nuuly is a clothing subscription service that allows you to rent six items per month. Nuuly, which is owned by URBN, the same company that owns Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People, boasts a closet full of exclusive brands and unique styles to choose from.
Nuuly costs $98 per month. You are billed the day you sign up and your subscription will renew on the same day every month. You can cancel or pause Nuuly at any time. If you cancel while you have a shipment out, you must return the shipment for your cancellation to take effect.
In order to test Nuuly, I reached out to its team to see if I could evaluate the subscription service. They provided me with a code that would allow me to test the service for three months. I still had to enter my credit card information in case I wanted to purchase any styles or extend the subscription. I extended my subscription for one month at a personal cost of $98.
I tested Nuuly over the holiday season and into the New Year. In addition to shopping for cozy winter outfits, I also needed to shop for a holiday party, a below-freezing weekend trip, and a February wedding in Naples, Florida. This packed schedule meant I had the opportunity to shop across Nuuly’s offerings for winter, resort and evening attire. To round out my testing experience, I also spoke to Nuuly users — past and present — about their experiences with the subscription service.
Once you’ve signed up for Nuuly, you can access your account in the mobile app or on the website. When signing in on the app or website, you’ll be asked for your phone number. You will then be sent a text with a code to confirm your account. The app and the website share the same branding and function in nearly identical ways. Using one or the other is just a matter of preference.
The three main components of Nuuly’s digital experience are browsing the inventory, managing your closet of favorites, and selecting the items for your shipment. I found that Nuuly does a great job of curating its inventory by season, events and trends, but you can also search by category, fit and brand. When I joined Nuuly they were featuring seasonal edits, including ski and snowboarding attire. When you join Nuuly, I recommend spending some time browsing the inventory in order to add styles to your closet. I also suggest reading through the reviews on styles you like. As with most clothing retailers, you’ll see descriptive details about the reviewer — size ordered and the reviewer's height, weight, age and bra size and body type — along with the review and photos, if included in the review. I found the review section to be a huge resource when selecting styles and picking sizes.
Once you amass a decent amount of favorite items in your closet, you can add items to your shipment. When you add six styles to your shipment you are ready to request your shipment. Shipping and returns are free for Nuuly subscribers.
Nuuly claims that its shipments take up to two business days to process and up to three business days to deliver. I found this claim to be accurate. On average, I received my shipments in two business days. You can track your Nuuly delivery by going to My Nuuly on the app or website or by using the tracking number in your confirmation email.
Nuuly uses UPS to ship. All shipments, except oversized items, are transported in recycled, reusable Nuuly bags. Right now, Nuuly does not ship outside of the U.S. or to P.O. boxes or APO/FPO addresses.
You can keep your Nuuly rentals for one month or until your next billing date. I set up Nuuly so that it alerted me via text when it was time to ship my Nuuly shipment back, but you can also keep track on the My Nuuly portion of your app or account page. If you return your shipment before your billing date, that’s totally fine. You'll just have to wait until your next billing date to unlock your next shipment. If you’re under a time crunch and can’t wait for your billing date, Nuuly offers an Unlock Early option that allows you to pay your $98 subscription fee early to move up your billing date and unlock your next shipment.
Nuuly does not charge a late fee for returning items after your billing date, however you can’t access your next shipment until you return your current items.
Nuuly sources items from more than 150 brands, ranging in price point and quality. Over the three months that I tested Nuuly, I found the quality of the clothing I received was good to new. On a few occasions, clothes came with the tags still on. I received one shirt that I would consider very worn, as it was pilled and slightly scratchy from multiple wears and washes. When talking to another BestReviews editor who has used Nuuly, she reported that she occasionally received items that were obviously pre-worn.
At the end of the day, Nuuly is a clothing subscription service that rents clothes out to multiple users. If you’re worried about receiving an item with more than minor wear and tear, I recommend diligently reading reviews before selecting an item. Users will often flag if an item arrived damaged or stained.
Yes. Nuuly gives you the option to purchase any of your items at a markdown. Sometimes these markdowns are pretty substantial. The highest I saw was 50% off. To make purchasing items a little more enticing, Nuuly will often offer additional discounts on purchases.
Access to the Thrift Shop is a subscription perk that allows Nuuly users to buy final sale styles. Purchases from the Thrift Shop arrive with your next Nuuly subscription shipment so you don’t have to pay for additional shipping. Everything in the Thrift Shop is final sale and comes in as-is condition. Discounts are often steep.
You don’t have to worry about washing or dry cleaning your items before you return them — Nuuly takes care of that. Nuuly also does not charge damage fees. Simply put your items in your Nuuly bag and you’re good to good.
Your Nuuly shipment will arrive in a reusable Nuuly bag and there should be a return label inside the bag. When it’s time to return your shipment, you can replace the label on the front of the bag and take the bag to UPS. There is no additional cost for returns. Once you drop off your bag at UPS, you can track your return status by navigating to Check My Return in the My Nuuly section of your app or user account.
Nuuly offers users the option to pause or cancel their subscriptions. Canceling your membership can be done easily in the app. Just make sure you return your items before the end of your billing cycle. If you cancel your subscription, you lose your profile, including the items in your closet and any rewards you have amassed.
If you know you want to return to Nuuly in the future, Nuuly recommends that you pause your subscription. This allows you to keep your profile and information for when you return. Nuuly offers a one-, two- or three-month pause and an option to extend the pause on a month-to-month basis. Many users I spoke to took advantage of the pause option, particularly if they only used Nuuly for a particular season or period of time.
It depends. Based on my experience and the experiences of the users I spoke to, there are three types of shoppers who benefit the most from Nuuly. I call them the Trend Seeker, the Style Explorer and the Event Shopper.
For the Trend Seeker, Nuuly provides an opportunity to stay up-to-date on new trends without breaking the bank or giving into fast fashion. The users who I spoke to who identify as Trend Seekers say that they love Nuuly because it allows them to inject a constant stream of fun and cool items into their existing wardrobe for only $98 per month.
The Style Explorer is someone who wants to play around with their style in the comfort of their own home. For Style Explorers, Nuuly can be a low-pressure, and relatively inexpensive, way to test out new styles and see what works for them. I can see those who have recently experienced a big change in their life, be it going hybrid at work, managing weight loss or gain, or entering motherhood, getting a lot of use out of Nuuly. For this user, the purchase option and The Thrift Shop can be a huge added bonus to a Nuuly subscription.
The Event Shopper is looking for an affordable way to style themselves for an upcoming event, be it a wedding, bachelorette party, vacation, work event, or even an entire season. As someone who’s been to my fair share of weddings and bachelorette parties, I know firsthand how expensive and mentally taxing it can be to shop for something you’ll wear one or two times tops. For this type of user, Nuuly’s enormous inventory of name-brand clothes is a huge benefit.
While some of the Nuuly users I spoke with felt that they fit neatly into one of these categories, many acknowledged that they can be a combination of these types, depending on their shopping needs at the moment.
From a user experience standpoint, Nuuly is a joy. I found shopping and making returns to be completely painless. I also loved that you can easily access My Nuuly History. There were a number of times I referenced the sizes I wore in previously rented items when selecting my next batch of items.
I’ve been searching for new pants, so my favorite items from Nuuly include a number of pants, jeans and trousers, but I also loved items I rented from brands including Alex Mill, RIXO and Lioness.
Everyone I spoke to before joining Nuuly raved about these pants. The phrase "universally flattering" was thrown around a lot. I heard so many good things that I knew I had to try them. Before adding them to my shipment, I discovered that one of the big draws of these pants is that they come in a variety of colors and fabrics, including corduroy, faux leather, canvas and denim.
While they were unfortunately not flattering on my frame, I can attest to how great they look on friends who have straight, athletic and petite frames, respectively.
Maeve Avery Wide-Leg Trouser Pants
I fell in love with these trouser pants. I have searched high and low for an everyday trouser I could dress up for work and down on the weekends. Oh man, this trouser is everything I’ve been looking for — a flattering, pleated pair of pants with an oversized fit. Yes, please!
I rented a few Farm Rio dresses for a winter wedding in Naples, Florida and they were perfect for the occasion and venue. The bright colors and floral patterns won me over, as did the many A-line silhouettes. Though I didn’t try these, other evening wear brands worth checking out on Nuuly include Hutch, BHLDN, ML Monique Lhuillier and ASTR The Label.
I was surprised to learn that Nuuly offers an impressive selection of jeans from top brands including AGOLDE, Frame and RE/DONE. I decided to test a couple pairs of jeans from a new-to-me brand, Just Black Denim, and had a great experience. I even decided to purchase the Just Black Denim High-Rise Bootcut Jeans and the Just Black Denim High-Rise Scissor-Cut Flare Jeans.
Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.
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