Dec. 12--Rent the Runway, an online service where women can rent designer dresses and accessories for special occasions, has signed a lease to open its first store in Chicago, the company said Thursday.
The 2,940-square-foot shop at 710 N. Wabash Ave., formerly the Sarca women's boutique and Odile children's boutique, will feature a rotating selection of 900 dresses and 500 accessories that can be rented the same day from the store, though if a size is unavailable the company will ship the item to a customer's house. Rentals can be returned to the store.
The shop also will staff stylists who work individually with customers for a $25 appointment fee.
The store is scheduled to open in the spring.
The Gold Coast storefront will be the third free-standing, street-level store for New York-based Rent the Runway. It opened its first in New York in September and the second in Washington, D.C., last month. It also has shops within its office in Soho and inside the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Rent the Runway joins a growing list of online retailers investing in physical locations, including eyewear shop Warby Parker and menswear shop Bonobos.
The company rents designer dresses for four days or eight days. Prices range from $30 to $450 for four-day rentals, depending on the dress. It also rents jewelry, handbags and outerwear.
Adam Secher, of Baum Realty, who represented the landlord in the deal, declined to comment.
aelejalderuiz@tribune.com
