Welcome to Receipt Reality, where real women get real about their shopping habits, and reveal the financial impact of life before and after RTR Unlimited. We asked Rent the Runway members to share how they spent their money on clothing and clothing-related services (goodbye, dry cleaning!) before subscribing to fashion.

Before Samantha joined Rent the Runway, she was living in Washington, D.C. and working as a Capitol Hill staffer, where sophisticated office wear was a daily requirement. Department stores like Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s were her go-to shops for shift dresses and loafers but, as an exercise fiend, her favorite thing to splurge on was always the latest athleisure line, whether that meant pieces from Tory Sport’s debut collection or the latest workout drop from Zara. Regularly refreshing her work and gym gear resulted in spending $1,392 over the span of just three months, leaving Samantha looking for ways to save. 

Having used RTR Unlimited on and off since 2015, she signed up for membership again and saved tons of money on her office outfits in the process. Choosing from trendy workwear items by brands like Diane von Furstenberg and Elizabeth and James, Samantha freed up her shopping budget to focus solely on replenishing the sports bras and leggings she loved from the Gap and Alo Yoga. 

Over the following three months, she spent $442 less than during the pre-RTR period, for a total of $950. Despite moving to Philadelphia last year and working in a more casual office, Samantha continues to benefit from renting her clothes.

“I’m pretty addicted to Rent the Runway,” she says. “I love that it’s significantly lowered the price barrier to access a huge variety of beautiful high-end clothes for work. Instead of buying two nice dresses per year, I have access to three to four every month and am saving money for other items!”