Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Pickle
For a few years, I’ve heard whispers about Pickle, a peer-to-peer clothing-rental app that every influencer in New York seems to use. Launched by Julia O’Mara and Brian McMahon, the app started as a social polling app to allow users to crowdsource opinions. When users naturally started offering advice on what to buy, what to avoid, and what to borrow, O’Mara and McMahon got the idea for Pickle as it is now, and two years later, they say one in every four women in Manhattan between the ages of 18 and 35 are using it. That number seems too good to be true.
Rent the Runway and Nuuly, two of the more popular corporate rental services, both carry a subscription component that often make them long-term commitments. Instead, Pickle aims to be the Airbnb or Uber of clothing rentals: Anyone can list their clothes, purses, shoes, or accessories to rent out for days, weeks, or even months, and you can plan far in advance or schedule a rental as soon as two hours ahead of time.
Like any peer-to-peer system, you can only work with what’s in the market, and since the app relies on renters and loaners in all aspects, the first step to grow the app was to get people to upload clothes to rent. Who better to ask than influencers? At first, O’Mara was DM-ing local New York micro-influencers to convince them to join, offering them the chance to have the Pickle team set up their closets for them. Once influencer Audrey Trullinger joined the app and shared it with her friends, things exploded; soon, the app was flooded with dresses from brands like Rat & Boa, Cult Gaia, Retrofete, PatBo, Realisation Par, Meshki, and WeWoreWhat.
But if you’re not an influencer, managing a Pickle storefront is no small feat. Loaning out your clothes means you’re in charge of cleaning in between uses and negotiating every deal every single step of the way. Once you list an item, you can see who wants to rent it, for how much, and for how long. You can then accept, decline, or message back, asking them what they’re wearing it for or to warn them that a zipper is loose. There are no checks and balances, except for reviews you can leave and customer support. “The app just relies on you being a really good person,” explains Tyler, a 26-year-old who started listing her clothing in February.
“There is this responsibility that comes with this peer-to-peer model where you’re like, ‘I’m borrowing someone else’s item, I am going to treat it really well,’ which can feel different than if you’re borrowing something from a larger corporation or brand,” says O’Mara.
In August of last year, 25-year-old Raquel caved and decided to browse the app for a summer wedding she had coming up. There was a $500 dress she had her eye on, and she found a girl in Boston who had the exact dress in her size. After securing the rental, she quickly followed up and realized she needed it a day earlier than originally planned, messaging the loaner and making sure it was going to be okay. The loaner assured her, and all was set. The day before the wedding, the dress arrived. “The dress smells like shit, it’s dirty, and I’m like, Am I in the wrong? Is this just how it works? You receive a dirty piece of clothing?” says Raquel. After a confrontation with the renter and despite customer support siding with her, Raquel only received a $15 refund after spending $25 on dry-cleaning the dress. While she was impressed with the customer support, the stress was not worth it, and she hasn’t used the app since.
As Tyler said, there are heavy expectations on the users of the app when it comes to the experience. There are several rules and protections set out from the beginning: If something is stolen, Pickle will either replace the item or compensate you for its worth; if something is damaged, it’s up to the renter and loaner to figure out how to fix it, with customer support there to aid, just like in Raquel’s instance. Most things will get fixed and no money will be lost, but it can take a lot of work. And the review system means it’s hard to rent out items if you’re getting a ton of horrible reviews.
But crowdsourcing leads to other issues, like a lack of size diversity. Piper, a 24-year-old, turned to the app when she had to look for a gown for various events. At the time, the app was working with Remi Bader. “She was the only one above a size 12 that they were showcasing. I liked her style, and it seemed to be my only option,” says Piper. Since then, she has not been able to find a single item to fit her size 16 body. Even after attending some community events with the brand and messaging it to collaborate, she has not heard back. When asked about this, Pickle affirms that this is something it’s actively working on, but that since it can’t control the marketplace, it’s a more organic focus.
As for influencers, they’re making ample amounts of money. Micro-influencer Klea shared that she’s been on the app for over two years; she’s made around $16,000 in the past 12 months. While she was running it on her own when she first joined, she has since moved her clothing to the Pickle store. “They manage my whole closet for me,” she says. “It’s definitely a big perk.” Instead of the usual 20 percent fee, Pickle takes 30 percent from clothes in the store to handle cleaning. But the peace of mind that comes with having someone handle the shipping, couriers, and returns and avoiding giving out your address is a whole different experience from someone who would organically open the app and rent out their clothes themselves.
The question remains this: How much can an average person with an average closet really make? In the two months Tyler has been on the app, her closet has made $600. “You can tell what the girls like and what they’re willing to spend. A lot of people just want vintage designers,” says Tyler. “People gravitate towards my closet because it’s not the typical brands you’re seeing on the app.” She also notes that her prices are pretty low and that she has a range of clothing in sizes small through large, allowing more and more people to access her closet.
Still, the app seems to favor the influencers who have ample clothing that they received for free or on discount. While the founders continue to boast that the growth of the app has been organic from the influencers using it, that may be what keeps Pickle from growing beyond its current circle of clientele.
