Tired of tucking tags into your new party dress so you can return it after you wear it to a big event? You’re in luck—two local innovators have solved that problem for you. And it’s completely legal.
Introducing Rohvi, a technology platform that allows subscribers to buy full-price items at local boutiques, wear them and return them within three months and receive 30 percent of the original price in store credit.
Three local boutiques—Duo, Verdigris and Honey Ryder Boutique—currently offer the service to subscribers for *$40 during the six-month pilot program, in which you can make up to three returns at each location.
“I see this as a high-tech way to bring the benefits of the online economy to local boutiques,” says co-founder Sara Whiffen, noting the rise of Internet businesses such as ModCloth, which allows customers to try out their clothes before deciding whether to keep them.
She says she was also inspired by The Tiny Closet movement, started by fashionista Natalie Live, who pledged to build outfits for all seasons without buying anything new, and using the clothes already present in her wardrobe.
Whiffen also hopes to find a way to ward off the environmental destruction caused by “fast fashion,” or clothiers making cheap clothing items that can only be worn a few times before they’re tossed.
Rohvi’s return policy is “no questions asked,” says Greer Johnson, a co-founder of the new company and owner of Duo. So even if a product has stains or visible wear, they’ll still take it back and issue store credit. Returned items are then recycled, resold to another clothier in a different town or donated to Dress For Success, an international nonprofit that provides women with professional attire.
On an unseasonably warm day, Johnson sits at a patio table outside of her shop, wearing a sweater she says is perfect for fall, but a tad too light for winter. She says she’ll likely return it when the seasons change and pick out something heavier.
“It feels weird to clip the tag and use it and know you intend to bring it back,” she says, laughing. Though the platform’s soft launch was a month ago, the business partners say they already have about 40 subscribers in town.
Emily Lesmes, a fourth-year student at UVA, is one of them. She says she hasn’t made her first purchase yet since subscribing a few weeks ago, but she thanks Rohvi for introducing her to Honey Ryder, a boutique she hadn’t been to yet.
Calling it “guilt-free shopping” because she’ll get a return on her investment and she knows some clothes are donated to a good cause, Lesmes says she first wants to get rid of old sweaters and jackets that are no longer in style and use Rohvi to shop for new ones.
Would she recommend Rohvi to her friends? She laughs and says, “Oh, I already have,” and adds that she would like to see it expanded to the D.C. area, where she’s from.
Whiffen says she hopes to expand the business in the future, but says for now they’re collecting customer feedback through their website, rohvi.com. “We really want to make sure we get it right before moving,” she says.
*Corrected November 30 at 12:00pm to show that Rohvi’s six-month pilot program costs $40 total for subscribers, not $40 per month.