I’ll double my £4k outlay on a D&G swimsuit I wore to NTAs – Dan Hatfield

This year, I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the National Television Awards as a guest of ITV show This Morning. It was my first time attending. 

Shortly after the rush of excitement came the inevitable panic: ‘what on earth was I going to wear?’ amid the glamourous TV stars I’d be rubbing shoulders with.

My trusty tuxedo has been with me for over two decades of formal events but it’s practically a family heirloom now – it’s not a Modern Treasure, that’s for sure.

I also have a decent selection of suits at home too, but nothing felt special enough to celebrate this momentous occasion.

Designer pay-off: Dan in his £4,000 suit and the NTAs – but ultimately, it’s a rental investment

So, I needed to go on a sartorial quest to unearth my ultimate red-carpet outfit. 

Hours of trawling my go-to high street stores nothing was quite cutting the mustard, so I decided to take a wander through the men’s department of Harrods.

I was halted in my tracks by the pure beauty of an outfit by Dolce & Gabbana covered in top to bottom with glistening sequins.

As I fell further in love with it, I glanced at the price tag and was floored. Just shy of £4,000.

I love designer clobber but usually only justify the expense on accessories like belts and shoes, which I pair with high street outfits.

I couldn’t even begin to make my brain (or bank balance) start to engage with the notion of paying so much money for an outfit but that’s when it hit me: I shouldn’t think of this as a money-draining purchase, I needed to flip the switch and make it a money-making investment.

After all, in my book, Money Maker, I dedicate an entire chapter to renting out your items to make a profit – so this outfit could pay for itself and start to earn me additional income.

I quickly worked out the rental value of the suit to understand how many times I would need to rent it before covering my initial outlay and gleefully walked up to the counter to make my investment which would also double as a fabulous outfit for the NTAs.

I expect to easily double my money within 12 months through renting it out.

The clothes rental industry has exploded in recent years and is expected to be worth £2.3billion by 2029.

This is a result of the societal shift in how we live – as the cost of living continues to put pressure on our purse strings but our desire to live life and enjoy the moments we can, rental fashion has quickly become the budget-friendly go-to resource.

It also has a greater impact as we all strive towards a more sustainable way of living, enabling us to re-use, repurpose and recycle.

It’s such an accessible market for us to engage with as we all have clothes. Whether formal wear or casual, generally there is a market to rent your good quality clothes.

It’s estimated there is £30billion of unwanted clothing in Britain, equating to £500 worth per household.

It’s believed 350,000 tonnes of the stuff makes its way to landfill each year, worth a staggering £12billion, so how can you turn your glad rags to riches?

This Morning: Dan attending the NTAs as a guest of ITV and This is Morning, pictured here with hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard

Wedding dresses and designer clothes rent well

First up, we need to look at what you could rent. Delve deep into your wardrobe and remind yourself of everything you own that could be desirable to others – remember it isn’t just formalwear, most items that you’d wear to an event (birthday, date night, job interview) will have a rental value.

If you’re fortunate enough to have designer items, these hold a huge rental value because so few can justify the expense to buy but will happily rent them for an occasion.

Wedding dresses are a particular untapped market – many brides keep their wedding dress but only 7 per cent rent them out, so there’s a huge group of people missing out on a market that charges anything from £50 to £200 a day.

Be conscious of the seasons too as obviously a ski jacket is unlikely to do well in August but will be a cash cow in January.

Next you want to set your rental price, but you’ll need to do your research to decide this.

Look at your competitors on rental sites to see what they are charging for similar items. The material, style and brand of your items will all have an impact on pricing, but a general rule of thumb is that you should rent your clothes for 10-20 per cent of its original retail price.

This means after five to ten rentals of one item, you should have earned back your original outlay and be comfortably on the profit train.

Hurr Collective and By Rotation top places to start

Next up is finding the perfect rental platform. Hirestreet and Cocoon Club are good, but I’ve summarised the two I like the best:

Hurr Collective is one of the most recognised and reputable platforms on the market. They also have a pop-up boutique in Selfridges.

The criteria to use them is simple; your clothes must be under two years of age and have a RRP of £120 and over. In return, they estimate what you will earn you initial outlay within four to five rentals.

They offer insurance which covers any minor damage up to £50 and any major damage will result in the renter paying you the full RRP.

You can also charge the renter a cleaning fee on top of the rental price. Return postage is paid by the renter; there is a £25 a day late rental fee but be aware, if the item doesn’t fit the renter, they don’t have to pay.

Hurr take a 12 per cent commission on your charges.

By Rotation is another great option. It launched in 2019 and its aim is to make fashion circular and accessible. They have 60,000 items available to rent.

I love the way you can navigate around their site and choose categories ranging from ski wear, dresses, wedding dresses and black tie.

This site encourages renters and lenders to resolve disputes regarding loss, theft or damage directly.

But, if the item isn’t returned or is damaged beyond repair, the renter can be charged the market value for the item.

Rental periods can be anything from one day upwards, and return postage is paid by the renter with late fees set by the lender. However, if the item doesn’t fit, the renter still pays the relevant fees.

By Rotation take a 15 per cent commission on your charges.

You’ll see from those rental platform overviews that there are other factors you need to consider and do your due diligence on.

Every platform is a business and will need to charge a commission for facilitating your transaction, but these vary depending on how much of the work you want them to do.

For example, My Wardrobe HQ manages the whole process from start (photography) to end (return clothes) but they take 40 per cent.

This may sound like a lot but if you are time poor then 60 per cent of the rental revenue for doing nothing is not bad. If you’re prepared to do a bit of the work, the average commission sits at around 15 per cent.

Whatever platform you choose make sure you have suitable protection in place. 

You need to ensure that you are covered for all eventualities – loss, damage etc. Most reputable sites have comprehensive cover, but each differ so always check the terms and conditions.

Whichever platform you choose to rent your items though always check; size and market performance of the business, customer satisfaction rating, what cover is offered for loss & damage and who covers the cleaning of the item(s).

There are a couple more considerations when renting your clothes. You’ll need to market them right so pictures and the written description can do all the heavy lifting for you. 

Taking great pictures in good lighting will help sell the dream and make potential customers more inclined to rent from you.

Within the description, you should add as much detail as possible to avoid any unwanted back and forth with questions and queries. 

Give all the details; type of fabric, colour(s), size, key measurements, feel to the touch, number of pockets and zips, formal or everyday wear.

If you do end up with questions, try to be responsive and reply as quickly as possible. In such a competitive and growing marketplace, people will soon move on to another supplier if you don’t engage with them quickly.

With the NTAs over, I’m off to upload pictures of me in the D&G suit onto a rental platform so it can start earning back my original outlay.

Send in your Modern Treasures

Dan Hatfield: Our columnist is ready to value your Modern Treasure

Dan Hatfield is This Morning’s money-making expert and resident pawnbroker. He is an international specialist in antiques, jewellery, diamonds and collectibles. 

Dan’s first non-fiction book, Money Maker: Unlock Your Money Making Potential (£16.99, published by Hodder Catalyst) is available now.

This is Money’s Modern Treasures column is after your items and collections for valuations. 

Please send in as much information as possible, including photographs, to: [email protected] with the email subject line: Modern Treasures

We’re after post-War items only please and we may contact you for further information.

Dan will do his best to reply to your message in his bi-weekly column, but he won’t be able to answer everyone or correspond privately with readers. 

Nothing in his replies constitutes regulated financial advice. Published questions are sometimes edited for brevity or other reasons.

As with anything, if you are looking to sell items and collections, it is wise to get a second and third opinion – not just rely on Dan’s suggestions.