Rental Fashion for Travel with TRVL Porter
We recently teamed up with our friends at TRVL Porter to bring you a 20-page guide that highlights 4 summer destinations in the U.S. and what to wear while exploring them. From Healdsburg, California to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, this guide combines Wild Bum Guide Architect’s foodie, adventure, and lodging favorites with Trvl Porter’s fashion expertise and packing tips for each destination. If you haven’t yet, you can sign up for the free guide here.
Behind every company is a person—or multiple people—with passion, an idea, and the determination to take these two things and turn it into something people either want or people want to partake in. One aspect we at Wild Bum love about collaborating with companies in travel is that we get to personally hear these stories, and learn more about the people behind them. Yes, TRVL Porter is so cool (and don’t worry, we’ll tell you more about it shortly), and, as you can imagine, so is the woman behind it.
A little about TRVL Porter:
TRVL Porter is a fashion start-up that offers its clients a customized, stress-free styling experience. Similar to other clothing rental services, TRVL Porter rents apparel from local or national brands for two weeks to its customers at $65 USD each garment and ships them to any hotel within the United States. But, what makes the experience incredibly easy and relaxing is that it helps its clients to narrow its styling choices by having them provide information about the destination, including the type of travel, and a preference test to curate and personalize the search as much as possible — a personal stylist just a click away. The website builds personal look books and keeps track of the client’s preferences because, after all, what’s fashion without a customized style? Clients can now enjoy their trips from beginning to end, without worrying about packing, lost items and, of course, excess luggage. The ultimate stress-free experience that promises its clients stylish and fabulous memories that can go directly to Instagram.
Wild Bum community, meet Stefanie!
Q: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
A: Utah was where I grew up and my upbringing included some extreme outdoor adventures– white water rafting, snowboarding, four-wheeling and wakeboarding to name a few. I’m addicted to adventure and have learned how to embrace the unknown. Over the past decade as an entrepreneur, I’ve realized that my sense of fearlessness comes from my childhood.
I came to Los Angeles in 2007, attended FIDM and was a fashion designer for several years before deciding to be a personal stylist. That journey led me to co-founding my first fashion tech start-up, custom clothing for women using a body scanner. When that company didn’t get the funding needed to move forward, I went back to styling.
Q: What sparked the idea for Trvl Porter?
A: The idea for the brand came from my own experience, which also happens to be a common pain point many travelers face… lost luggage! I thought, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if I didn’t have to spend so much time packing, hassling with my luggage, let alone being stressed about losing it. When I arrive at my destination, my wardrobe could be styled and waiting for me at the hotel.” I knew I was on to something!
At the time…2016 to be exact, rental was becoming the future of fashion. I knew that if I was going to dive into this idea I had to figure out a way to use the existing fashion out there in the world and connect travelers to it. Providing an easy experience where they could wear what they needed for their trip and then send it back when their trip was over. We’re a similar service to Rent the Runway, but more personalized for travel.
Q: What does reducing your fashion footprint look like?
A: The fashion industry produces more harmful carbon emissions than the aviation and shipping industries combined. It’s important to learn and understand how we as consumers can make a difference with our dollars.
During quarantine, I made a vow to myself… if I was going to consume fashion, it was either going to be through clothing rental or buying quality items from brands that dedicate their mission to ethical and sustainable practices. I have also committed to buying less and making what I own last longer. When I dispose of my old clothes responsibly by selling on Poshmark, donating to local charities and using thredUP to help recycle old textiles.
Q: What are the benefits of rental fashion (economically, environmentally, etc.)?
A: The appeal of rental is access over ownership. Renting clothes gives you more opportunities to be creative and incorporate new items into your style without the need to buy more stuff. Specifically for travel I love that wherever you go, you’ll probably always need something that you don’t own but don’t want to have to invest to own the item because you won’t need it forever. The perfect example is living in LA but going to NYC in the winter and not having appropriate attire.
The benefit is wearing what you need, then returning it to be recycled to another wearer. This has a more positive impact on the environment than the alternative. Which includes purchasing an item, wearing it only a few times, letting it collect dust in your closet and then throwing it out to let it sit in a landfill. The clothing that ends up in landfills can sit there for 200-plus years, and as it decomposes, it emits methane—a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon. Yikes!
Q: What is your favorite brand available for rent?
A: My absolute favorite brand that I’m addicted to renting is Derek Lam 10 Crosby for his modern, yet sensible take on sophistication. This is a brand I love but wouldn’t usually wear if it wasn’t for rental because of its steep price point.
Q: Is there anything in the works for TRVL Porter in the coming months that you’re particularly excited about?
A: Absolutely! We’ve realized that since travel is changing, we also need to pivot. In the works in a new website + service. We are working on adding more sustainable clothing and accessories brands that have a positive impact on the environment. We’ll be talking a lot more about sustainability in fashion and travel moving forward.
Q: What city (or combination of cities) reflects your personal style best?
A: This is one of my favorite questions I’ve ever been asked! When I lived as a fashion designer in Los Angeles, my style was much more sophisticated and edgy. I moved to a coastal city about 6 years ago and my style is much more boho casual. My go to outfit is a midi skirt, cropped tee, hat, and tree skippers slip on sneakers. You could say that my style is a combination of LA–for the sophisticated/edgy side of my style and Bali–my favorite island, which has such a cool boho vibe from the influence of so many Australian coastal brands.
Q: What has been your favorite destination to dress for/curate around?
A: Tokyo, Japan! Everyone has a very particular personal style from lolita to visual kei on the streets of Tokyo. Their sense of expression through fashion really opened my eyes and inspired me. At the time, I had just graduated from college and was still very much in the discovery mode of my personal style. The outfits I packed were so boring, so I went shopping at Shibuya 109 and got some really funky outfits to wear! After I got back to the US, I realized that the looks weren’t so much my style. However, I really fit it and had fun wearing the outfits while I was visiting. If only there had been a rental service like Trvl Porter at the time! I would’ve been able to experiment more with fashion and discover local designers.
Q: What’s one item (clothing or otherwise) you won’t leave home without?
A: Stylish walking shoes! I used to bring so many unrealistic heels, boots and sandals and they took up so much space. Once I discovered how important it was to roam a city in comfortable shoes, I invested in some comfortable, yet stylish sneakers. My favorite and highly recommended are Allbirds White Tree Skippers. Not only are they cute and comfy with daytime outfits, but they’re also eco-friendly. Their shoes are carbon neutral thanks to sustainable practices, like using natural materials and buying offsets.
Get started with TRVL Porter here!
We recently teamed up with our friends at TRVL Porter to bring you a 20-page guide that highlights 4 summer destinations in the U.S. and what to wear while exploring them. From Healdsburg, California to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, this guide combines Wild Bum Guide Architect’s foodie, adventure, and lodging favorites with Trvl Porter’s fashion expertise…