Do you go to events where you need a formal dress, and you would rather avoid having to buy one? Particularly during those seasons where you might need to go to multiple events, and you want to have a different dress at each?
Here is a post inspired by my wife and a wedding we went to recently, about the non-profit Pass Down the Gown. pdtg is basically a “dress library” or free dress rental service in the Twin Cities (though it operates nationally). They have a catalog of donated dresses which you can browse online, and if you find one you like you can put a deposit on it for 25% of the retail value and pick it up in St Paul next door to the old Lake Monster Brewing at I-94 and Vandalia/Cretin Ave or have it shipped to you if you are outside the Twin Cities. You can order a few, try them on, wear one to the event, and then return it back to pdtg and get your full deposit back. A completely free dress rental.
pdtg was started by a St. Paul high school student 8 years ago and setup with a few friends initially. Now, it works with 35+ high school volunteers and manages a few hundred dresses, and sends them to 25 states according to their latest annual report.
Anyway, just like the Minnesota Toy Library, Minnesota Tool Library, and regular book libraries it’s worth checking out to save yourself some cash and storage space.