A dress comes along that
captures women’s imaginations so completely that you begin to see it
everywhere. The Vampire’s Wife’s dress is one such creation. Svelte of body,
fluted of sleeve and in myriad prints, fabrics and hues, the only off-putting
thing about it is the lofty price tag. A cotton iteration starts at £750,
rising to £2,250 for a midi-length version in metallic silk lamé.
Happily, for the
budget-conscious, these prices are no longer prohibitive. For a more modest sum,
fans can still wear the dress, albeit for only a weekend. For if 1967 was
the Summer of Love, 2022 is the Summer of Dress Rental. A variety of sites have
sprung up to offer affordable lending services to the increasing numbers of
women looking for a sustainable answer to the perennial question of ‘what to
wear’ to the events in their diaries.
The must-rent of the season? A
Vampire’s Wife dress. Rental site By Rotation reports that its size six green
lamé version alone has been rented more than 25 times this summer, with strong
demand for all 217 designs across the site. The popularity of the dress can
partly be explained by its celebrity fans, who include Sienna Miller, Salma
Hayek, Natalie Portman, Thandiwe Newton, Chloë Grace Moretz, Maggie
Gyllenhaal, Holly Willoughby, Kylie Minogue, Alexa Chung and
Florences Pugh and Welch.
The Duchess of Cambridge also
chose the brand’s Falconetti design for her and Prince William’s first official
joint portrait. It’s incredibly flattering on most body shapes. Last
summer, Carrie Johnson rented the satin floral dress from My Wardrobe HQ for
the G7 dinner at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
This summer, lots more women
have chosen it for special occasions of their own. Did they bump into ten other
women wearing it? Did they love it enough to make it their own? Let’s find
out I’ve always adored The Vampire’s Wife dresses ‒ there’s something so special about
the cut, the detailing and the delicate material.
They feel feminine and
mystical. Coincidentally, founder Susie Cave recently moved to the medieval town
where I live in Sussex, and created a scented candle inspired by the area’s
history. This engaged me more.
