7 Rules for Borrowing Your Friends’ Clothes

Borrowing from your friend’s or roommate’s closet is just one of the perks of keeping stylish company. But as you likely know all too well, lending your favorite pieces (and yes, it will always be your favorite pieces she wants to borrow) often comes with less-than-lovely consequences. Accordingly, we set some ground rules for all involved parties.

Scroll down to check them out, and feel free to share with your friends who could use a few pointers in the art of borrowing clothes—they’ll get the hint!

Repeat after us: I will not take without asking. Even if she would never notice, care, or has taken things without permission from you, it’s polite to always request to wear anything from her closet. Also, make sure to ask in a manner that makes her comfortable saying no. Absolutely no pressure tactics or aggressive behavior!

In the complicated and yet very necessary world of clothing exchange, a girl has to have some boundaries. For instance, you might borrow and lend out all clothing that is machine-washable, but not silks, fragile textiles, or dry clean-only pieces. You should also probably never lend out family heirlooms or items with a lot of sentimental value.

If you’re the one borrowing, think twice about if you really need to wear any items prone to disaster, such as suede, silk, bright whites, delicate jewelry, or anything of significant value.

The Golden Rule goes beyond kindergarten class. You should handle a friend’s clothing like you would handle the most coveted items in your closet.

Machine-wash what you can, and take anything else to the dry cleaners. Give the item back neatly folded in a timely manner. And yes, you foot the tab. Even if you only wore it once for 45 minutes.

You wake up the day after your birthday celebration and, to your horror, find smudges of cake icing on your friend’s favorite dress you borrowed. What now? Do not just tuck the dress underneath your bed and hope she forgets about it. Try some at-home stain removal hacks, or better yet, take it to a dry cleaner to see if all hope is indeed lost. In the event that you really ruined the item, see if you can replace the exact article. If not, Venmo the cost of the item or ask how you can repay her (she might be sipping on some free cocktails for a while).

If you can hardly spare a bobby pin to your homegirl, don’t expect her to be enthused when you ask to borrow her “good-luck heels” for your blind date this weekend. Borrowing is a two-way street; if you want to rent out some goods, you better be willing to lend out on occasion as well.

Related: The Official Dos and Don'ts of Washing Your Clothes

Even though your friend said you can borrow from her closet “anytime,” don’t paw through her wardrobe on a regular basis. You know your relationship best, but we feel asking more than twice a month is pushing it.

Do you lend your clothes to your friends or roommates? Let us know in the comments below!