By Cates Lyman

If you are a college student, you have probably faced the issue of spending tons of money for outfits you only wear once. I know I have. With so many gamedays, formals, and more, its “the norm” to want a new outfit every time.

Within recent years, rental subscription services have boomed in popularity, especially amongst college students. You have probably heard of Rent the Runway, Nuuly, Fashion Pass, etc. These businesses have been popping up left and right. The concept is to pay a certain amount of money each month for a few items, wear them, and return them at the end of the month.

This concept really caught the eye of college girls. Over the summer, I had noticed at my local UPS store just how many girls were returning their rental subscriptions. However, these businesses aren’t seamless. There have been many complaints about the lack of variety in clothing, limited availability, and sizing issues.

Sophomore Carter Mundy had used Nuuly for a few months: “I felt like everything from Nuuly was relatively affordable brands like Free People or ASTR The Label. For how much I was paying for my subscription, I would’ve rather been able to have access to higher end brands.”

So now, in recent months, a new rental service has gained popularity.

The app is called Pickle. Think similar to Poshmark or Depop, but instead of selling your clothing, you’re renting it. I got to chat with the co-founder, Julia O’Mara.

Where did the concept of Pickle come from?

I’d have an event coming up — a wedding, a dinner, a party — and I’d be texting my group chats, “Do I buy this dress or that one?” There wasn’t really an easy way to crowdsource opinions from people whose style I trusted. So we built the first version of Pickle — a social polling app — to help people make those shopping decisions.

Fast forward, we started noticing a lot of comments like, “Wait, I have that dress! You can just borrow mine,” or “You should buy this top because it looks amazing on everyone.” That’s when the lightbulb went off. Instead of everyone buying the same things, what if we built a way for people to share what they already own. That’s what Pickle is today: a peer-to-peer fashion rental app — like Airbnb, but for closets. You can rent amazing pieces from other people near you (or across the country) — or list your own to earn extra cash.

How does Pickle differ from other rental platforms (Rent the Runway, Nuuly)

There’s no subscription or commitment. You just rent what you want, when you need it — and if you’re local, you can even get something delivered to your door in as little as an hour. Pickle is also all about community. You’re renting directly from other people, not from a company that owns all the clothes. Because it’s person-to-person, what’s available is always changing. The pieces on Pickle are truly a real-time reflection of what’s trending right now.

What also makes Pickle unique is that it’s not just about renting — it’s about earning. A lot of our users are turning their closets into mini businesses. I’ve seen girls make $100 or $200 in a weekend, and some are even covering their rent just by lending out pieces they already own.

How do you plan to expand Pickle further?

Right now, our focus is on growing what makes Pickle special — building strong local communities all around the country where people can rent from each other quickly and easily. Pickle is available nationwide, but we’re seeing especially fast growth in cities like New York, LA, Miami, Dallas, and Austin.

The goal is for Pickle to feel like a true extension of your closet — where you can open the app, find what you need, and have it at your door in an hour or two. We want it to feel as easy and natural as renting an outfit from a friend.

What’s been really amazing is how our users are driving that growth. Because you can ship items anywhere in the U.S., new markets often spring up organically — someone in Dallas rents from a New York closet, and soon after, that Dallas renter starts lending their own pieces. That kind of word-of-mouth expansion has been one of the most exciting parts of building Pickle.

We’ve also launched a new ambassador program to help accelerate that. Many of our most passionate users — especially on college campuses — have become community leaders, helping grow Pickle in their cities by bringing friends on board, hosting pop-ups, and showing how easy it is to rent and lend. For those interested, you can apply here!

Longer term, our goal is to make Pickle the place where people discover and access what’s trending — not just in fashion, but eventually in other categories too. The bigger vision is to make ownership more intentional and access more flexible. Whether it’s a dress for a formal, a camera for a trip, or luggage for the weekend, you’ll be able to get what you need, when you need it, without having to own it.

How are SMU students using Pickle? What are you seeing?

College is honestly one of the best places for Pickle — and SMU is one of the campuses where we’re seeing it take off the fastest, both on the renter and lender side.

Students are renting for everything — formals, tailgates, date parties, rush events, weekend trips, themed parties. You can find something a couple hours before an event for a fraction of the original price, schedule a courier to drop it off, or grab it nearby — whatever’s easiest. Or have that incredible piece that the Pheloung twins, Halley Kate, or your other favorite creator just wore delivered straight to you.

At the same time, a lot of students are turning their closets into passive income. You can upload an item in about 30 seconds, get a suggested price, and list it — then the renter either schedules a courier to pick it up or, if they’re not local, you just use a pre-paid shipping label and drop it off. The key when building our app was making sure all of this felt effortless — not another thing on your to-do list.

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As rental culture continues to grow on college campuses, Pickle is emerging as a practical alternative to traditional subscription models. Its person-to-person system, flexible rental structure and emphasis on local communities give students access to a wider range of pieces without long-term commitment or high monthly fees. With SMU students already using the platform for everything from formals to themed events — and many turning their own closets into small income streams — Pickle is positioning itself as a notable player in the next wave of fashion rental apps. For students looking for convenience, affordability and trend-driven options, it’s a platform worth watching.

So, the next time you are in a “pickle” to find something to wear, just browse the app.