Two years ago, Ole Miss student Clara Agnes didn’t think that sharing dresses out of the Tri Delta sorority house could become a business. Today, her idea has become a success and has spread to 70 college campuses, including USC.
This is Curtsy.
“Curtsy is an app on campus where you can rent dresses and other clothing from girls,” Caroline Howard, third-year public relations student and campus team member said. "You just create an account through you student email and then that allows you to see all the girls clothing on campus.”
Curtsy allows girls here at USC to see clothes available to rent specifically from girls who go to USC.
“A lot of times, if I were to go on the app and find someone, a lot of people who post things are in my apartment," Howard said. "So I could look at a dress, I can be like, ‘oh sweet, they just live downstairs, like let me try that on’… It's so easy, the convenience of it is so ridiculous.”
While the app originally started out renting dresses to other girls on campus, the app has now expanded with their selection of clothing girls across campus can rent.
“It’s expanded to tops, bottoms, we just did a huge costume promotion. So, for Halloween, if you didn’t want to spend $60 on a costume, you could rent one for like $10,” Natalie Zatezalo, third-year marketing student and campus team member said.
Curtsy at USC is close to 1,700 users, according to Howard. Part of the reason the app is gaining popularity was due to how much it offers and the convenience it provides for users.
“You can literally rent an outfit for something the day of," Zatezalo said. "That’s where Curtsy comes in handy because it’s so easy and so quick, you don’t have to wait on shipping."
Curtsy user and ambassador Brenna Gardner, a third-year hospitality student spreads the word about the app's services on social media, in addition to coordinating its outreach to the community.
“We [Curtsy] are having this philanthropy showdown; they're giving away $500 away to one sorority and all the money goes towards their philanthropy," Gardner said. "I know my sorority is going crazy over it. We're trying so hard to win, and it’s actually a big deal. It's cool that they are giving back to the girls who like rent things from them."
As of publication of this article, Delta Delta Delta was in the lead of the showdown. Their philanthropy efforts go to St. Jude with 846 points.
Some of the goals of Curtsy are to rent clothes on campus, but also make a large campus feel smaller with the help of fashion.