HCMCITY— Many women in HCM City preparing for weddings or parties are renting their clothes for short periods offered by online shops.   

"Fashion changes every season. I want my appearance to be new when I go out for dinner and coffee. To save time and money, renting is the answer," said Nguyễn Ngọc Trâm, 32, a marketing manager for a foreign company in HCM City.  

Trâm spends about 30 minutes looking for items on DreamDress.vn, a store offering clothing and rental accessories.

The shop delivers and takes back the items, which cost VNĐ100,000 (US$4.5) to VNĐ1.5 million ($67) each, depending on brandname and quality, for a four-day rental.  

Nguyễn Hạ Đoan, owner of DreamDress.vn, said that many women and men preferred renting clothes because they could spare no expense.

"My shop offers more than 1,000 items of clothing from different domestic and foreign brandnames to meet the demand of customers,” she said.

Trần Thị Trang Anh, a student at the University of Law living in Thủ Đức District, said she and her friend had suffered from sticker shock after shopping downtown.

"An imported dress cost from VNĐ2 million ($90) to VNĐ5million ($220) while a Vietnamese design is at least VNĐ800,000 ($35),” Anh said. “An áo dài (traditional dress) made from imported fabrics is around VNĐ1.5 million ($67).”   

"I’m just a student," she said. "The prices make my head spin."

Anh rented a dress for only VNĐ200,000 ($9) for three days, including laundry services, at shopchothue.com, for her needs instead of buying one.  

She also rents accessories in styles from Hong Kong and Korea at VNĐ20,000 (nearly $1) for each dress.  

"It’s great," she smiles. "I can save my money while wearing beautiful clothes while feeling confident talking to people who are wealthier than me." 

“I discovered that many women don’t want to spend a lot for a dress that they just wear one time. It’s too luxurious and wasteful,” said Kiều Dung, owner of shopchothue.com.    

“My business is based on sharing or renting clothing,” she added.

The 38-year-old woman has decided to open a website where you can buy brand-name goods at a discount and sell them back when you want to refresh your look.

Dung’s shop offers nearly 2,000 items of clothing and 200 accessories. Her home delivery fee is VNĐ15,000 ($0.7).

“I have more than 50 regular customers. They each rent about four pieces of clothing a month,” Dung said.   — VNS