Jen Kirsch, Author at StyleDemocracy

Looking back on the past couple of years, I can’t help but notice the impact that The Fitzroy Dress Rentals has had on the scene. A look into the hashtag #FitzroyFoxes shows women across Toronto wearing designer dresses (for all shapes and sizes) to the most noteworthy events.

I sat down with Angela Pastor, co-owner of The Fitzroy, for a Q & A to see how the studio became what it was, and why her company’s name is on the lips of little ladies across the city:

1. You originally started as an online and pop-up store. When did you decide to make the switch to renting dresses and accessories?

We launched the pop-up back in 2011 and the online store followed in 2012. Initially, the pop-up was just to test the market, try out different neighbourhoods and get to know our “girl,” what she wanted and didn’t want while we searched for the right location to put down roots. What ended up happening was that we saw a change over the years, particularly due to Instagram and social media, where women didn’t want to repeat an “event” outfit.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdvYhvuhbFH/?taken-by=studiofitzroy

We heard customers in the store complaining about having to buy yet another dress, they saw it as an expensive and stressful hassle rather than a fun, feel-good experience. Because they knew that ultimately once that event was over, they weren’t going to wear that dress again, and they’d be stuck with it in their closet full of ghosts of parties past.

We didn’t know of any other dress rental place offering our style of trendy, boho-glam rental dresses so we decided to test it at our longer pop-up throughout the summer of 2016. We started with one rack, then added a second, then a third, and so on as we saw that demand and enthusiasm was way more then we expected.

“People are downsizing their wardrobes, simplifying their lives, and no one needs a closet full of gowns or a dress they wore to a wedding 2 years ago. We have too much clutter in our lives already.”
– Angela Pastor

2. When did you decide to get rid of your pop-up and move to a location to solely provide dress rentals?

By the end of the summer, we had six rental racks and found it was what most people were coming to us for. Women LOVED the fact that they could use the dresses and have that experience of looking and feeling amazing without having to commit to buying it. We’ve become very non-committal as a culture of late and that’s ok, we just decided to switch our business model to reflect that. It simply made more sense. Think about Uber, Netflix, Airbnb; the sharing economy. Experience over ownership. It saves you money and is more environmentally sustainable as well. It’s a win-win.

Once we saw it was working for us and how fast word was spreading we decided to end the retail side of our business and focus entirely on rentals. We wanted to stay in the neighbourhood where people knew us already, and we opened our rental studio at Dundas and Ossington in October 2016. As demand grew, we later moved to a larger studio space, where we currently reside, on Sterling Road.

3. How do you think that renting is shapeshifting the market?

As I said before, we strongly believe rentals are the future. People are downsizing their wardrobes, simplifying their lives, and no one needs a closet full of gowns or a dress they wore to a wedding two years ago. We have too much clutter in our lives already. men have been renting suits and tuxes for years, so I’m not sure why it’s taken so long for women to notice that party dresses are one-time-use items. Renting has become a huge global trend over the past five years or so, I think we’re just now starting to catch up here in Canada but more and more people are coming to us every day saying how much they love the concept, and telling us they’re never buying another dress again, so it’s an exciting time to be in the rental game for sure.

“We all get bored so quickly these days as we’ve been so trained to covet what’s new, what’s next. Renting allows you to do that without feeling guilty about it.”

4. Do you think people will be renting their wardrobes in the future? What do you see coming from this?

We definitely see rentals expanding and being much more commonplace in the future, including wardrobe swapping and sharing. It just makes more sense than buying, with dresses in particular. Some things you still want to invest in, like a leather jacket that you’ll wear every day for years until it becomes a part of you. But a dress? Wear it once then throw it back into the ring and pick another one! You want to feel excited when you pull out a dress for an event, not “Meh, I’ve worn this one before.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdC9T4Yhobx/?taken-by=studiofitzroy

5. Anything else you want to add about the future of rentals and how/why people flock to you and why you’re finding it such a success would be great.

I think we’re finding it a success because women are loving our selection and the styling service we provide. You walk into a dream closet, have your pick of the dresses, and have a personal stylist to help you choose the perfect one for your event! Our goal is to take the stress out of the whole “I need a dress” situation and to make it as easy as possible for you. You can see all of our dresses online and reserve them there, or just come in at any time (which we encourage) and try them all on so you have lots of options for all your future events. And because we don’t take appointments, just drop-ins, you can come grab a dress whenever is convenient for you.

Often plans change, weather changes, your body changes and what you thought you were going to wear doesn’t work anymore. Or maybe you got a last min invite but don’t have the right piece in your closet. And who wants to go walk the mall yet again? It can be really overwhelming, stressful and expensive. Come see us instead, even if your event is starting in an hour we got you!! We’ll hook you up and send you out the door feeling confident and fantastic. That’s why we love what we do.

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If you live in Toronto, chances are you’ve heard of (and maybe have already paid a visit to) Studio Fitzroy Dress Rentals. The playful studio (behind golden gates!) on Dundas Street West houses a seemingly endless supply of must-have dresses in various styles and sizes (from XS to size 16). But this isn’t your everyday dress shop. It’s a rental shop where gaggles of girls known as #FitzroyFoxes flock to grab a gown or some garb to wear to their next event, from weddings and parties to date nights and the like. And though the fox den they’ve created has become a standard in Toronto for stylish girls alike, there are other rental companies such as Rent frock Repeat — and on a larger scale Rent the Runway — that work with the same goal in mind.

The concept of dress rental companies like Studio Fitzroy is simple: in a social media driven day in age, no one wants to wear the same outfit more than once. You rent a designer dress, wear it to your occasion, and return it. The fee includes dry cleaning service, as well as the help of the staff who act as personal stylists to help you find a frock perfect for your body, with the simple goal of making you feel beautiful.

Inside Studio Fitzroy

I reached out to Canada’s leading trend forecaster Carly Stojsic to see if rentals are the way of the future. “Brands and retailers have to be as agile as possible to keep up with the ever-changing consumer. Consumers are seeking simplicity and to de-stress and detach from complicated (shopping) experiences and interactions,” says Stojsic, continuing, “While I think companies like Rent The Runway provide a great service and solution to ‘frock fatigue,’ their target is niche and we won’t see renting wardrobes as the golden standard for our stylistic future (on a mass scale). But we will definitely see uptake of renting luxury goods as rental-retailers step up their game!”

Debra Goldblatt-Sadowski, President and Founder of Rock-It Promotion, puts on some of the city’s most notable events — and often rents dresses from Rent frock Repeat — agrees with Stojsic. “I don’t think we’ll only be renting our clothes, but I do think it’s a great option that doesn’t have a stigma attached to it anymore.” She also thinks it gives brands an opportunity to reach even larger audiences and build further brand recognition. “I’ve rented dresses that cost a couple thousand dollars, and I may not have made that investment to purchase that particular dress, but was very happy to rent it for a quarter of the full price,” says Goldblatt-Sadowski.

The ability to make that happiness available played a big part in why Angela Pastor and her partner Julie Buczkowski, owners of Studio Fitzroy, decided to change their entire business model. What started as a pop-up shop with a few rental racks turned into a full-time home, exclusive to rentals. ““By the end of [last] summer we had six rental racks and found it was what most people were coming to us for. Women loved the fact that they could use the dresses and have that experience of looking and feeling amazing without having to commit to buying it. We’ve become very non-committal as a culture of late and that’s okay. We just decided to switch our business model to reflect that. It simply made more sense,” says Pastor.

Angela Pastor and Julie Buczkowski

She says this is similar to the larger trend of the sharing economy, mirroring companies like Uber, Netflix, and Airbnb that promote an experience over ownership. “It saves you money and is more environmentally sustainable as well. It’s a win-win. Once we saw it was working for us and how fast word was spreading, we decided to end the retail side of our business and focus entirely on rentals. We wanted to stay in the neighbourhood where people knew us already, and we opened our rental studio just west of Dundas and Ossington a year ago, October 2016,” says Pastor.

So while businesses like Pastor’s are thriving and changing how we approach fashion, Stojic says rentals – though convenient – won’t replace shopping in the future. “We’re still very much attached to our things, and closet curation is becoming an art form to some. While the value proposition has changed with fast fashion and high rotation of styles in play, entire groups of people aren’t willing to be part of this shared-economy. There are also brands that are trying to design and create collections to offer solutions such as quality, exclusivity and provenance to their items in order to stave off ‘disposability’ and create investment pieces we live in and love for life.”

Do you think renting clothing is the way of the future? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

All images provided by Studio Fitzroy

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The Real Housewives of Toronto’s Ann Kaplan is best known for her eclectic and enviable style. Not one for buying a gown and wearing it as is, she layers pieces, mix and matches with dresses on top of pants, throwing a big belt over the whole look, wearing in-season newly sourced heels, and has even added on materials she sources on her own to designer pieces.

In a new series for StyleDemocracy, we take you into the closet of the multi-hyphenate (Finance CEO, wife, mother to 8, TV personality, style icon) lady whose lust-worthy clothes and pieces all tell a tale about her relationships, her travels and the inner workings of her always-active mind.

I was greeted by Ann at her breathtaking home in the Bridal Path area, a couple doors down from where Drake is building his new home. She just moved in last month. After we have salad out in her garden and catch up, I ask her to lead me to her closet. “Which one?” she asked, and I laughed, because her humour is one of my favourite things about her. Sharp. Witty. Sarcastic. But she wasn’t kidding.

Ann’s breathtaking Bridal Path home (Image: Kayla Rocca)

We started off down in the basement where she has a closet specifically for costumes. According to Ann, “Any occasion that there’s a theme for,” is her favourite ‘event’ to get dressed up for. She told me that her and her girlfriends often get together for themed nights at their homes, including a once-a-year tradition where they get dressed up to watch and sing along to Mamma Mia! This costume closet was filled with bags, each with various (and impressive) costumes that she and her kids have worn, and some which they haven’t yet.

Then we headed to her main hallway closet, filled with jaw-dropping jackets, furs and the like for the colder seasons. “This piece I bought after a particular argument with my husband,” she laughs as she pulls out a luxurious Russian Sable coat by RinDi.