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Renting the runway
出租設計師服裝
Julie Fisk had a 25-year career as a radio host when she lost her job in 2014 and decided to relaunch herself as a full-time film critic. The new role required her to appear on two TV stations, as well as make public appearances in her hometown of Dallas, Texas. That included attending events where she’d have to interview famous actors and directors.
茱莉•菲斯克(Julie Fisk)當了25年的電臺主播，她2014年辭職，決定轉型全職電影評論家。這份新的職業需要參加兩家電視臺的節目，還要在她的家鄉德克薩斯達拉斯公開亮相，其中包括在活動中采訪一些著名演員和導演。
Faced with the prospect of more time in the spotlight and a need for “statement clothes” she turned to Rent The Runway, a service that allows people to borrow — for a fee — designer dresses at a fraction of the cost of buying them.
由于要在聚光燈下增加曝光率，而且需要一些“體面的衣服”，所以她找到了Rent The Runway。這家公司專門出租設計師服裝，租金遠低于售價。
“Never would I be able to just go out and buy a Carolina Herrera dress for a one-off situation, but I could rent one,” Fisk explained. Then she rented another dress for a different event, and, meanwhile, her new career blossomed and the number of public appearances she booked increased.
“我不可能為了一次活動而購買一件卡洛琳娜•海萊娜(Carolina Herrera)設計的衣服，但我可以租一件。”菲斯克解釋道。后來，她為另一次活動又租了一件衣服。而與此同時，她的事業也是蒸蒸日上，邀請她出席的活動比以前更多了。
Eventually she went out on her own and inked partnership deals with local businesses in the Dallas area that would loan out clothing and accessories in return for promotion, including plugs on her blog Julie Says So.
最后，她專門跟達拉斯當地的企業簽訂了合作協議：只要通過自己的博客“茱莉這么說”(Julie Says So)進行推廣，便可從那里租借各種服裝首飾。
If you feel strong and magnetic and feel like you look like a million bucks, then that’s going to translate.
如果你感覺自己有權有勢、魅力十足，而且覺得自己滿面春風，這種情緒就會傳遞出來。
“Even if an employer or the person who’s attention you’re trying to get doesn’t recognise that you’re wearing a designer dress or fantastic suit, how you feel inside of it definitely makes an impact,” Fisk said. “If you feel strong and magnetic and feel like you look like a million bucks, then that’s going to translate.”
“如果你為了吸引某個雇主或某個人的關注而穿著一套設計師服裝或者做工優良的套裝，那么即使對方沒有注意到，這套行頭還是會對你的內在感受產生影響。”菲斯克說，“如果你感覺自己有權有勢、魅力十足，而且覺得自己滿面春風，這種情緒就會傳遞出來。”
Studies show that how we dress for an occasion does indeed affect the way we feel about ourselves. That, in turn, influences how others may perceive us. Researchers at Northwestern University, near Chicago, Illinois, call it “enclothed cognition,” noting in a 2012 study that dressing for the part helps us to mentally prepare for the task at hand.
研究顯示，我們在某個場合的穿著的確會影響自己的內在感受。這反過來便會影響其他人對我們的印象。美國西北大學的研究人員稱之為“穿衣認知”(enclothed cognition)，他們在2012年的一項研究中指出，從這種意義上講，服裝可以幫助我們為手頭的任務做好心理準備。
Ownership is so last year
所有權已經過時
Ron Conway, a prominent Silicon Valley “super angel” investor, proclaimed at a recent Goldman Sachs conference that there had been a “seismic shift in the American Dream”. People, he said, now prize access over ownership.
硅谷著名“超級天使”投資人羅恩•康韋(Ron Conway)最近在高盛主辦的一次會議上稱，“美國夢已經發生了巨大變化”。他認為，人們現在更看重使用權，而非所有權。
Rent the Runway is but one example of the many ways this burgeoning trend has crept into the professional arena. Comparable services like Girl Meets Dress and Yeechoo are available in the UK and Hong Kong respectively, while others like Eleven James (available in the US, with plans to go global) focus on delivering luxury watch rentals under an annual membership model. Some services, like LeTote or Gwynnie Bee, send an entire wardrobe for use and return, on a monthly subscription model.
Rent the Runway只是這股在專業領域涌現的新趨勢的一個縮影。類似的服務還有英國的Girl Meets Dress和香港的Yeechoo。Eleven James(目前在美國推出了服務，還計劃進軍國際市場)則通過年費模式提供奢侈手表出租服務。LeTote或Gwynnie Bee等服務則會通過包月模式向用戶出租整套服裝。
There are similar services where one can rent designer suits, jewellery or bags. And if leasing a luxe sports car isn’t flashy enough, you can join a private jet membership club like JumpJet or NetJets for steep discounts on chartered flights. Or use a service like Victor, which offers “empty leg” flights (the return portion of a booked one-way trip) at up to 75% off the cost of a conventional charter.
還有一些類似的服務可以出租設計師套裝、珠寶或手包。如果你認為租豪車還不夠拉風，甚至可以加入JumpJet或NetJets這樣的私人飛機俱樂部，價格遠低于包機。或者也可以使用Victor這種提供“空駛航班”的服務(別人預訂了單程飛機后，你可以付費使用返程部分)，最多比傳統的包機價格低75%。
How much is too much?
如何把握尺度？
Of course, leasing a lifestyle can turn from a wise investment to an unhealthy ego trip pretty quickly. Being honest with yourself about overextending your budget without tangible professional results is key to avoiding that trap, said Rothschild.
當然，通過租用東西來改變生活方式原本可能是一筆明智的投資，但卻有可能很快變成愛慕虛榮的攀比行為。羅斯柴爾德表示，在花錢租用一些對自己的職業沒有影響的東西時，要對自己誠實一些，這是避免掉入這種陷阱的關鍵。
Are you spending rent money on renting clothes, for instance? Maybe you’ve gone too far.
例如，你是否用借來的錢租衣服？如果是的話，你可能有些過分了。
Rothschild believes if you want to be seen as “responsible, reliable, worldly, and competent,” then it’s important to strike the appropriate balance between being genuine while ensuring that “every element of your personal brand stays in alignment with how you wish to be known.”
羅斯柴爾德認為，如果你想看起來“可靠、可信、世故、能干”，那就必須要達成適當的平衡，一方面要保持真實的自我，另一方面也要確保“個人品牌的每個元素都要與你希望打造的形象相符”。
