Renting the runway

出租设计师服装

Julie Fisk had a 25-year career as a radio host when she lost her job in 2014 and decided to relaunch herself as a full-time film critic. The new role required her to appear on two TV stations, as well as make public appearances in her hometown of Dallas, Texas. That included attending events where she’d have to interview famous actors and directors.

茱莉•菲斯克(Julie Fisk)当了25年的电台主播，她2014年辞职，决定转型全职电影评论家。这份新的职业需要参加两家电视台的节目，还要在她的家乡德克萨斯达拉斯公开亮相，其中包括在活动中采访一些著名演员和导演。

Faced with the prospect of more time in the spotlight and a need for “statement clothes” she turned to Rent The Runway, a service that allows people to borrow — for a fee — designer dresses at a fraction of the cost of buying them.

由于要在聚光灯下增加曝光率，而且需要一些“体面的衣服”，所以她找到了Rent The Runway。这家公司专门出租设计师服装，租金远低于售价。

“Never would I be able to just go out and buy a Carolina Herrera dress for a one-off situation, but I could rent one,” Fisk explained. Then she rented another dress for a different event, and, meanwhile, her new career blossomed and the number of public appearances she booked increased.

“我不可能为了一次活动而购买一件卡洛琳娜•海莱娜(Carolina Herrera)设计的衣服，但我可以租一件。”菲斯克解释道。后来，她为另一次活动又租了一件衣服。而与此同时，她的事业也是蒸蒸日上，邀请她出席的活动比以前更多了。

Eventually she went out on her own and inked partnership deals with local businesses in the Dallas area that would loan out clothing and accessories in return for promotion, including plugs on her blog Julie Says So.

最后，她专门跟达拉斯当地的企业签订了合作协议：只要通过自己的博客“茱莉这么说”(Julie Says So)进行推广，便可从那里租借各种服装首饰。

If you feel strong and magnetic and feel like you look like a million bucks, then that’s going to translate.

如果你感觉自己有权有势、魅力十足，而且觉得自己满面春风，这种情绪就会传递出来。

“Even if an employer or the person who’s attention you’re trying to get doesn’t recognise that you’re wearing a designer dress or fantastic suit, how you feel inside of it definitely makes an impact,” Fisk said. “If you feel strong and magnetic and feel like you look like a million bucks, then that’s going to translate.”

“如果你为了吸引某个雇主或某个人的关注而穿着一套设计师服装或者做工优良的套装，那么即使对方没有注意到，这套行头还是会对你的内在感受产生影响。”菲斯克说，“如果你感觉自己有权有势、魅力十足，而且觉得自己满面春风，这种情绪就会传递出来。”

Studies show that how we dress for an occasion does indeed affect the way we feel about ourselves. That, in turn, influences how others may perceive us. Researchers at Northwestern University, near Chicago, Illinois, call it “enclothed cognition,” noting in a 2012 study that dressing for the part helps us to mentally prepare for the task at hand.

研究显示，我们在某个场合的穿着的确会影响自己的内在感受。这反过来便会影响其他人对我们的印象。美国西北大学的研究人员称之为“穿衣认知”(enclothed cognition)，他们在2012年的一项研究中指出，从这种意义上讲，服装可以帮助我们为手头的任务做好心理准备。

Ownership is so last year

所有权已经过时

Ron Conway, a prominent Silicon Valley “super angel” investor, proclaimed at a recent Goldman Sachs conference that there had been a “seismic shift in the American Dream”. People, he said, now prize access over ownership.

硅谷著名“超级天使”投资人罗恩•康韦(Ron Conway)最近在高盛主办的一次会议上称，“美国梦已经发生了巨大变化”。他认为，人们现在更看重使用权，而非所有权。

Rent the Runway is but one example of the many ways this burgeoning trend has crept into the professional arena. Comparable services like Girl Meets Dress and Yeechoo are available in the UK and Hong Kong respectively, while others like Eleven James (available in the US, with plans to go global) focus on delivering luxury watch rentals under an annual membership model. Some services, like LeTote or Gwynnie Bee, send an entire wardrobe for use and return, on a monthly subscription model.

Rent the Runway只是这股在专业领域涌现的新趋势的一个缩影。类似的服务还有英国的Girl Meets Dress和香港的Yeechoo。Eleven James(目前在美国推出了服务，还计划进军国际市场)则通过年费模式提供奢侈手表出租服务。LeTote或Gwynnie Bee等服务则会通过包月模式向用户出租整套服装。

There are similar services where one can rent designer suits, jewellery or bags. And if leasing a luxe sports car isn’t flashy enough, you can join a private jet membership club like JumpJet or NetJets for steep discounts on chartered flights. Or use a service like Victor, which offers “empty leg” flights (the return portion of a booked one-way trip) at up to 75% off the cost of a conventional charter.

还有一些类似的服务可以出租设计师套装、珠宝或手包。如果你认为租豪车还不够拉风，甚至可以加入JumpJet或NetJets这样的私人飞机俱乐部，价格远低于包机。或者也可以使用Victor这种提供“空驶航班”的服务(别人预订了单程飞机后，你可以付费使用返程部分)，最多比传统的包机价格低75%。

How much is too much?

如何把握尺度？

Of course, leasing a lifestyle can turn from a wise investment to an unhealthy ego trip pretty quickly. Being honest with yourself about overextending your budget without tangible professional results is key to avoiding that trap, said Rothschild.

当然，通过租用东西来改变生活方式原本可能是一笔明智的投资，但却有可能很快变成爱慕虚荣的攀比行为。罗斯柴尔德表示，在花钱租用一些对自己的职业没有影响的东西时，要对自己诚实一些，这是避免掉入这种陷阱的关键。

Are you spending rent money on renting clothes, for instance? Maybe you’ve gone too far.

例如，你是否用借来的钱租衣服？如果是的话，你可能有些过分了。

Rothschild believes if you want to be seen as “responsible, reliable, worldly, and competent,” then it’s important to strike the appropriate balance between being genuine while ensuring that “every element of your personal brand stays in alignment with how you wish to be known.”

罗斯柴尔德认为，如果你想看起来“可靠、可信、世故、能干”，那就必须要达成适当的平衡，一方面要保持真实的自我，另一方面也要确保“个人品牌的每个元素都要与你希望打造的形象相符”。