I rented a two-week M&S wardrobe for £49 – here’s what I really thought & whether it’s worth the cash
I AM a huge fan of renting clothes – and a regular shopper at Marks & Spencer.
Could the two things maybe go hand-in-hand? Well, that was my brief — to hire one of the new capsule collections from the high street chain, now available at hirestreetuk.com.
Marks & Sparks launched its first rental collaboration with the website in April, offering 40 womenswear pieces from its in-house brands Autograph, Per Una and M&S Collection.
Now there are six ranges on offer, from summer to winter and in between.
M&S has found that one in three of its customers are looking to change the way they shop, due to climate change. And since it teamed up with Hirestreet, one in 20 consumers have used the rental service.
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Since the launch, M&S has collated pieces to make life and styling a little easier, so you can rent capsules such as Monochrome Moments and Cosy Knits.
Prices start at £49 for 14 days, or £59 for 30 days. Sounds seamless, right? Well, here lies the first problem.
Customers are having to wait until 2023 to get their hands on most of the capsules. However, if you move quickly, a couple do have slots you can book in mid-December.
To skirt around the issue, for Fabulous the clothes were made available for me to road-test by the brand representatives at M&S.
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I was provided with Bold Moves, consisting of black wide-leg jeans, a khaki shacket, wide-leg trousers, a zebra dress, collared cardigan and snake-print shirt.
Together they looked like an extremely versatile wardrobe, but on reflection I wasn’t so convinced. I had six items of clothing with a retail price of £273.50 but rented for just £49.
Priceless. Or is it?
In a bid to discover if it was worth bagging a bargain capsule, I mixed and matched the items over a working week.
Not only did I give it a run for its money as my week involved a lot of Tube travel, walking the dog and racing from meetings to interviews, but I also had to see if it hit the mark with a spark.
In other words, did it tick the box when it comes to fashion? Here’s how I got on.
MONDAY
AS part of my job I interview celebrities, and today’s chat was with Australian personal trainer Kayla Itsines. It was a Zoom interview, so I wasn’t really bothered about what I wore on my lower body.
But I needed to look presentable, especially when interviewing one of the world’s most famous PTs, so I opted for the zebra V-neck dress.
It was versatile enough to wear on the school run too and see me through an afternoon of appointments with colleagues.
Although the monochrome colourway is quite dull, the vibrant print kept the outfit interesting, but it perhaps could have benefited from some extra jewellery to add some bling.
TUESDAY
MY husband is a huge fan of shackets — he has three in his wardrobe — but I don’t normally wear one. But that is the beauty of this service.
You get a chance to wear things you may not usually opt for and this outfit was my favourite of the week.
I loved the olive colour and although the sleeves were slightly too long for me, it felt cosy to wear for this time of year. Today was spent interviewing radio legend Andy Goldstein from talkSPORT so I felt the casual and cool look worked perfectly.
Plus, the jacket was warm enough to see me through the day without the need for a coat. I wore it with the black “luxury” high-waisted jeans. I wouldn’t describe them as luxurious at all because they were like any other pair of black jeans.
Nevertheless they fitted well, felt nice on and doubled up as evening wear, when I swapped my boots for some M&S black heels I own for a night out with friends.
WEDNESDAY
I HAD the day off work and spent it in the black jeans and black cable-knit cardigan, walking the dog, lunching with friends and batch-cooking for the kids.
I loved the cardigan. Again, not something I’d normally buy, as it is a bit plain, but I found it practical and warm, and even though my dog put her muddy paws on it, a quick wipe down and it was good to go.
I am a big fan of M&S knitwear. My wardrobe is full of various jumpers and cardigans that I have worn for years.
I ended up buying this cardigan off the store’s website too, as I knew it would become a staple number, perfect to chuck over dresses. At £32.50 I thought it was great value for money, even though that was pretty close to the price of the whole rented capsule wardrobe.
THURSDAY
AN exciting day ahead, getting to interview Capital DJ Roman Kemp. When I dress nicely I feel more confident, but there was something about the pink snake-print shirt that shouted No.
If I’m honest, I hated everything about it. I’m not a fan of the colour, I don’t think my skin suits it and it looked a bit garish paired with the black trousers.
However, in the name of work I wore it, and I did get several compliments from colleagues who said it was nice to see me in a colour instead of black, which I tend to opt for.
I was sure it was because I stuck out like a sore thumb, when most people were dressed in jeans and jumpers. Then again, I certainly brightened up the room — for the right or wrong reasons, I’m not so sure.
FRIDAY
IT WAS a close friend’s 50th birthday lunch so I opted for the pink trousers and black cardigan.
All I can say is thank goodness we spent most of the time sitting down, because my fashion sense was completely wrong.
The trousers alone were fine — perhaps for a summer work event or party — but the harsh black of the cardigan did nothing for me. I was convinced to try the pink shirt instead in the name of fun, plus I had a dinner date with my husband that night.
He commented that I looked good enough to eat — result — followed by a reference to a marshmallow.
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And that pretty much summed up that outfit — too fluffy and tasteless, and I’d definitley bitten off more than I could chew.
In fact, by this point the M&S capsule had certainly lost its spark for me. I really did not feel pretty in pink.