If you know anything about Ibiza, you’ll know that fashion is a huge part of the experience. All you have to do is search ‘O Beach’ on Instagram and you’ll see a plethora of glam girls whose outfits are a far cry from the £1 Primark flip-flops and 10yr old, greying beach cover-up that you rock on any other chilled poolside holiday.
Whilst I didn’t want to be clad in just a micro mini and diamante nipple covers, or a cut out dress that had more holes in it than it had material, I did want to turn heads (for reasons that didn’t include indecent exposure). So, after scouring the web for outfits that were serving the perfect mix of ‘Vegas showgirl’ and ‘just stepped off my million-pound yacht,’ I gave up once it seemed that all my go-to, mid-priced brands just weren’t hitting the mark. As per usual, all the clothes I was falling in love with were extortionately priced. However, this is when I came up with the perfect compromise – clothing rental. And By Rotation was my go-to place for it.
Scrolling through the By Rotation app knowing that any of these designer clothes could be mine for the week is an experience I can only describe as my idea of heaven. There are endless items to choose from and the categories such as ‘festival’ and ‘holiday’ made it so easy to find what I was looking for, even when I wasn’t sure what exactly that was. The hardest bit was cutting down my wish list at the end and deciding what I could actually afford.
Naively, I wasn’t quite prepared for how expensive renting would be. I thought it would be the perfect answer to looking like a wealthy, spending-winters-in-Val-Thorens-and-summers-in-St.-Barths type who doesn’t bat an eyelid at Ibiza’s extortionate £20 vodka lemonade’s, all whilst on a budget. This was sadly not the reality.
Although renting was definitely the perfect way to ensure I felt chic (whilst not paying £1000s), and is far more sustainable than fast fashion, there were also downsides, namely the cost. Whilst it allows you to explore a whole new side of the fashion which would otherwise be inaccessible, it’s still a much more expensive option than buying new clothes on the high street. The higher end items such as Chanel and Gucci were also still out of my budget even when renting, meaning I had to stick to the less luxury designers. So, if you’re on a budget, renting may be a more sensible option for a day event rather than for a week’s worth of outfits.
Saying that, I have never felt more in love with my holiday wardrobe than I did on this trip. Each rented item elevated my outfits so much more than a regular Zara dress or PLT top would be able to. I felt excited every time I put on a new outfit and it made it far less likely that I’d have an awkward matching outfit moment with any other girls. So, here’s what I wore, and how much it cost to rent:
Night one: Elrow at Amnesia
For the first night, I started incredibly strong with the most show-stopping bright green, feather adorned Leslie Amon mini dress which was giving the Grinch’s sexy, extroverted second cousin at a festival vibes. Due to flight delays I didn’t arrive at my hotel till 1am but had already bought tickets for an event, so I spent the next hour getting ready (half asleep), wanting nothing more than to get into bed.
However, as soon as I put this dress on, I couldn’t wait to go out and shake my little tail feathers – which I somehow did till the ungodly hour of 6am (who am I?!). I styled this dress with some chunky H&M flip flops, a JW Pei shoulder bag and some funky pink Elton John-esque sunglasses to be worn at night, inside, in a dark room – because why not?
Rented Item: Leslie Amon Laurie Mini Dress
RRP: £340
Rental cost for 7 days: £112.53
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Day two: Lounging by the pool
After night one’s antics, all I had the energy for the next day was topping up my tan and lazing around the pool channelling my inner Elle Woods in her Harvard application video.
Knowing my face was probably giving away the fact that I felt on the brink of death, I decided to try to distract with a cute little poolside outfit consisting of a NAK-D bikini, tortoiseshell sunglasses, and my gorgeous, rented Rat and Boa cover-up. Although I did love this skirt, if you decide to rent holiday outfits, I wouldn’t recommend renting poolside items as the only airtime it got was during the walk to and from my sun lounger – heart-breaking, I know.
Rented Item: Rat & Boa Sorella Skirt
RRP: £85
Rental cost for 7 days: £18.15
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Night two: Glitterbox at Hi Ibiza
Before I went to Glitterbox, I trawled through the tagged location images looking at other girls’ outfits, so I knew I needed a whole lot of colour and a whole lot of glitter (shock). I decided to pair my blue sequin Mango mini skirt with the most beautiful rented For Love & Lemons corset, another pair of pink sunglasses from PLT, a shoulder bag and platform sandals.
So far I’d hit the nail on the head with all my rentals and their sizing and this corset was no exception – it fit like a dream.
Rented Item: For Love & Lemons Mallory Top
RRP: £155
Rental cost for 7 days: £50.82
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Day three: O Beach
I’ve wanted a Staud bag for the longest time, so when I saw this blue, zebra print, beaded beauty was available to rent on By Rotation I knew I had to get my hands on it. The bag was the absolute perfect match to my ASOS blue mesh dress I’d bought for O Beach, which I wore over a multi-coloured bikini from PLT.
If you’re considering making a big purchase I’d see if you can rent the item out beforehand, as getting to take the bag for a test drive made me realise just how much I wanted it all for myself, so as soon as I got home, I added it straight to my basket (oops).
Rented Item: Staud Tommy Beaded Zebra Shoulder Bag
RRP: £220
Rental cost for 7 days: £39.93
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Night three: Café Mambo
By night three, I was well and truly on my last legs. The only thing keeping me going was knowing I still had two more fabulous outfits which I needed to take for a spin.
For Café Mambo, I opted for a stunning rented House of CB dress, along with some black flatform sandals and a black shoulder bag. The fit of the dress was incredible and if I could I’d wear it for every life event from my birthday party to putting the bins out I would.
Rented Item: House of CB Baby Chocolate Mini Dress
RRP: £149
Rental cost for 7 days: £61.71
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Day four: Exploring Ibiza Old Town
On the final day, I went for a wholesome stroll around Ibiza’s Old Town and, of course, I had the perfect outfit for it. Dressed in my rented, noughties-inspired, Miaou thermal print top, paired with Zara jersey shorts, platform sandals and my trusty JW Pei shoulder bag I felt like Ibiza’s most stylish tourist and nobody could tell me any different.
Rented Item: Miaou Tati Top
RRP: £215
Rental cost for 7 days: £56.87
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Costs for the whole trip:
Total Rental Cost: £340.01
Total RRP: £1164
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