That's right. You no longer have to settle for cheap knock offs of Vidya Balan's saris for your cousin's wedding. A city service lets you rent the real thing at a fraction of the cost

Unless you're a celebrity or just really loaded, all that delicious designer wear off the ramp isn't affordable for most of the city's mere mortals. And even if you were to splurge on an irresistible garment, wearing it more than a couple of times is a cardinal sin, as sworn fashionistas will tell you. That's exactly the kind of clothing dilemma that Secret Wardrobe hopes to resolve. An initiative by NID (National Institute of Design) graduate Jessica Gupta Nagpal, Secret Wardrobe is a service that lets you rent designer garments at a fraction of the cost, saving you the guilt of forking out a fortune for a special occasion.


Jessica Nagpal, founder of Secret Wardrobe, at her home-office
in Andheri. Pic/ Sayed Sameer Abedi

For Nagpal, the journey from filmmaker (she has been working in the field of non fiction television and filmmaking for eight years) to entrepreneur has been exciting. "I was making a film on India's handloom heritage, and interacted with various designers during the process. I found that there were many women, who would love to wear garments with designer labels, but only a small proportion can afford these on a regular basis," she explains.

Her findings grew into a full-fledged venture that is currently operating out of a tastefully done-up office at her Andheri home, where 65 colourful garments sourced from everyone from Rohit Bal to Masaba Gupta, jostle for space. Nagpal laughs, "No woman likes to repeat an outfit. Secret Wardrobe is a simple solution that allows people to flaunt new looks at each occasion."

That's a moot point, as an experience narrated by her husband Rajat, illustrates. "I wore a kurta to two extended family weddings. When I wore it to the third, I was asked by a cousin if it was the same one. And this was a much-loved garment in great shape!" he exclaims, ruing how the life of even a good garment has now been shortened to just three occasions.

But establishing the utility of a rental service has been easy. "It's a model that has worked successfully around the world, but has not been fully explored in India until now. To explain how sharing garments makes for sustainable living is not easy."

Then there is the matter of hygiene, that Secret wardrobe is careful about. Nagpal says each garment is dry-cleaned and steam ironed at one of the city's best laundry services before it is passed on to the next customer, while jewellery items are cleansed with spirit after each rental.

The response, the duo claim, has been quite encouraging. "We were surprised with people's reactions, especially when we got requests for bridal wear. People have started understanding that renting expensive clothes that you'll probably never wear again makes sense," feels Nagpal.

Log on to www.secretwardrobe.in. Rentals are done through appointment and range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000 (approx). Garments can be rented for two days.