It was 2022, and NC State sophomores and friends Emmy Weiland and Amelia Zahn were frustrated. They frequently needed new dresses for sorority events, but like many college students, they were both on a budget and couldn’t afford to buy a new outfit for every occasion.
Looking around for ideas, they noticed many of their peers using social media to rent out personal clothing as a way of making money on the side. Inspired, the friends tried various online-only clothing rental companies, but the results were frequently disappointing, leaving them with dresses that looked great online but didn’t fit right in person.
Then an idea struck: in-person clothing rental. With the ability to try on clothes, rent, and then return, their wardrobe problems could be solved. The friends decided to test the concept and asked: What if we rented out our own clothes this way?
And so TrenLend was born.
Emmy Weiland, left, and Amelia Zahn founded TrenLend while in college at NC State.
The business started off small, at first relying entirely on Instagram for marketing and the personal closets of Emmy and Amelia, along with some of their friends’, for inventory.
It wasn’t long before Emmy and Amelia found that their initial hunch about in-person clothing rental had been correct. “What we realized through this experience is that people love to come try (clothing) on before renting,” explains Emmy. Their experiment became so successful, in fact, that despite still being full-time students, they opened a storefront in Cary in August 2023.
The friends both graduated in 2024 with degrees in business administration and immediately turned the TrenLend venture into their full-time jobs. One year after opening the Cary store, they opened a second physical location in the North Hills Innovation District. This storefront is part of Makers Alley, home to micro-retail spaces for artisans and other hyper-local shops.
“The store looks like a traditional retail store, but (customers) can come in, try everything on, and just rent it instead of purchasing,” says Emmy. “So it really keeps the unique concept of the affordability, sustainability, and accessibility aspects of the clothing rental industry, and adds in that insurance of making sure that it fits for the customer.”
Offerings focus on women’s designer clothing for special occasions, particularly formal dresses (including bridal), sets, and tops. They also carry maxi, midi, and mini dresses appropriate for vacations. Currently their most popular brands include AMUR, Acler, ELLIATT, De Loreta, and Significant Other.
In addition to ensuring a good fit for clothing and occasion alike, in-person shopping enables Emmy and Amelia to build relationships with their customers, something that was, and still is, crucial to their success as the founders of the Triangle’s only brick-and-mortar clothing rental business. To them, it is these relationships — and the milestones customers are often shopping for — that ultimately make all the time, energy, and work worthwhile.
“Weddings, formals, graduations, and other big events are moments people remember forever. What you wear plays a big role in how confident you feel walking in,” says Amelia. “We love being able to give someone the chance to feel beautiful and put together without spending hundreds of dollars on something they may only wear once. Seeing someone come in unsure and leave excited about their outfit is one of the best parts of what we do.”
For TrenLend, building these relationships starts as soon as a customer walks through the door.
Walk-in customers are welcome with no appointment required. A TrenLend sales associate will greet them and, if this is their first visit, walk them through the TrenLend experience from beginning to end. Customers can try on as many styles and outfits as needed to ensure the right fit. Once the customer has selected an item, they can rent it that day or reserve the piece up to 120 days in advance.
As the business continues to grow in popularity, Amelia and Emmy are focused on ensuring that the TrenLend customer experience remains “top notch,” as well as increasing online sales.
trenlend.com
@trenlend
