You can get 85% off designer dresses at Toronto’s newest clothing rental shop

Occasion dressing is a one-way street to breaking the bank, especially when youโ€™re in that era of your life when all your friends are getting married. But there’s a new dress rental shop in Toronto that will make evening wear pretty affordable, ultra-sustainable โ€” and plenty of fun.ย 

Toronto has a limited but growing dress rental scene, previously only occupied by Fitzroy Rentals on Sterling Road andย Rent the Couture on Carlton Street โ€” but now there’s a new addition, Leslieville’sย Rentesthetic.ย ย 

The dress rental boutique run by Iryna Bon and Anastasia Chystokoliana offers an affordable line of occasion dresses and doubles as a photography studio, so you can get professional shots of you in your special dress. Thatโ€™s because Chystokoliana is a professional photographer by trade, operating a full-time wedding photography business on the side, and Bon is a fashion stylist, and the owner of a modeling agency based in Ukraine. Together they offer mini photo sessions wherein Bon styles the clients using the Rentesthetic collection, and Chystokoliana photographs them.ย 

Theyโ€™ve also begun hosting community networking events for women that work in fashion or a related industry, or are simply passionate about fashion. The first one was held on April 6 in the Rentesthetic space, where at least 40 women came out, and the Reshesthetic girls were so pleased by the success that they intend to host similar events at least once a month.

โ€œWomen are invited to come and network, meet each other, and hopefully make some friends,โ€ explains Chystokoliana.ย 

The women have been working and living in Toronto for just under 10 years, having freelanced in their industries until they met in 2018. Bon actually came to Chystokoliana as a client for a photo shoot, and they immediately hit it off.

โ€œWe clicked really well, so we went for coffee and started talking about our work,โ€ says Chystokolian. They decided to combine their services to offer styled photo sessions.ย 

When the pandemic hit, they were forced to rethink their business practice.

โ€œWe realized how wasteful and unsustainable it was to purchase a significant amount of clothing for each shoot, which then cluttered our closets,โ€ Chystokolian says. But when the events industry started picking up again, there was a boom in demand for their services, and they noticed that more and more women were seeking occasion wear. Clients were asking them where they could find designer dresses for parties and events.

โ€œA lot of women couldnโ€™t figure out what to wear or where to find clothes, and they didnโ€™t want to buy a dress they would only wear once,โ€ says Bon. โ€œThe business allowed us to address this problem while remaining in the fashion industry in a way that we felt good about.โ€ย 

They began operating their dress rental business on social media, but always intended to open a physical space in Toronto so that clients could come in for fittings. โ€œThere’s a big need for that because with women having so many body types; it’s really hard to find a dress online that will actually perfectly fit,โ€ย Chystokolian says.ย 

Finally the time came to open the physical space, and the Rentesthetic boutique officially opened in the summer of 2023.ย 

โ€œOur first client was an incredible moment for us,โ€ย Chystokolian says. โ€œShe found us on social media, and she was looking for a dress for a party โ€” a very plain dress, nothing crazy. But when she came in here she saw our collection of dresses and she started trying them on. She tried on a very bright, yellow dress with pink feathers and she was obsessed โ€” she put it on and she started shining.โ€ย 

โ€œShe fell in love, she rented it, and we were just so excited to let her explore, play and see herself in a dress that she wouldn’t have tried before,โ€ adds Bon.ย 

The dresses are available for four day and eight day rentals, with the average prices being $100 and $120 respectively. โ€œWe wanted to make sure it’s an affordable alternative to buying, because a lot of people tend to go for fast fashion options because it’s cheaper,โ€ says Chystokolian. โ€œWe hope to educate people on how they can spend the same amount of money but on a quality piece that they wouldn’t have to own. They can just wear it, return it and then wear something different for another event.โ€ย 

โ€œA lot of our clients come to the boutique and are surprised that such a service exists,โ€ Bon says. โ€œWeโ€™re very excited to see more and more women embrace the concept of renting instead of buying.โ€ย 

Rentesthetic is openย 260 Carlaw Ave. every day of the week from 9 a.m.-7 p.m., or book a fitting by appointment.

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