How Janet Mandell Turned Her Closet Into Huge Business

Summary

Podcast Summary: "How Janet Mandell Turned Her Closet Into Huge Business"

Podcast: Bill and Giuliana: The Podcast
Episode: How Janet Mandell Turned Her Closet Into Huge Business
Host: Giuliana Rancic (Bill is absent this episode)
Guest: Janet Mandell
Date: July 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the inspiring entrepreneurial journey of Janet Mandell, renowned celebrity stylist and founder of a high-end fashion rental business that’s revolutionized luxury fashion access. Giuliana Rancic interviews Janet about how she turned her personal designer closet into a nationwide, multi-city business for both celebrities and everyday people. The conversation covers Janet’s unique business model, the importance of sustainability in fashion, the evolution of her company, memorable celebrity stories, and hard-won lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Janet Mandell’s Unique Business Model (00:07–05:52)

• Revolutionizing Luxury Rentals: Janet created an upscale alternative to platforms like Rent the Runway, allowing clients to reserve (not just "rent") luxury items—gowns, suits, accessories—for a fraction of purchase price.
  • “People can come in and actually kind of lease a dress from you, right?” – Giuliana Rancic (01:07)
• Inclusivity: The service isn’t only for celebrities—anyone can reserve designer looks for special occasions.
  • “The service is not just for celebrities...it is available to everybody.” – Janet Mandell (02:43)
• End-to-End Styling: Clients receive head-to-toe styling; showrooms offer dresses, suits, jewelry, shoes, and bags, with stylists on-hand.
  • “We want to take the pain away from sourcing...We want to facilitate the ease of not having to go to multiple locations to finish your look.” – Janet Mandell (05:29)

2. Origins & Growth (06:11–15:54)

• Startup Story: Business launched in 2018 in Chicago, started with Janet’s own collection and rapidly grew.
• Sourcing Inventory: Janet prioritizes sustainability, purchasing primarily from resellers and collectors, including vintage items for their unique quality.
  • “Most of my inventory is bought from resellers because I believe in recreating the outfit...You know, sometimes I bought retail, very, very rare.” – Janet Mandell (06:56)
• Scaling Locations: After Chicago, expansion into Los Angeles happened spontaneously thanks to a celebrity stylist client; New York followed in 2022, but the market was tougher to crack.
  • “New York is a beast to do business...We were struggling. It was hard to get people through the door because nobody really knew who we were or even what we did.” – Janet Mandell (13:44)
• Celebrity Visibility: Word-of-mouth and celebrity stylists created momentum, especially after landing high-profile clients and a standout moment at NY Fashion Week.

3. Inside the Janet Mandell Experience (17:32–23:01)

• Booking Process: Clients book appointments online, answering several style-fit questions; staff pre-selects options for efficient styling.
  • “We get your size, we ask where you’re going, what body parts you love, what body parts you don’t love, what kind of cut you’re looking for.” – Janet Mandell (17:47)
• Pricing: Rentals typically range from $200 to $3,000 depending on rarity and exclusivity, with a standard seven-day rental period.
  • “A dress can cost probably starting at $200, but it can go all the way up to $3,000 if it’s a vintage piece that’s very rare.” – Janet Mandell (20:18)
• Expert Tailoring: In-house tailors offer full customization and repairs, ensuring high standards despite the risk of garment damages.
  • “We have tailors that can tailor the dress according to your body...We have experts, tailors, that do things temporarily.” – Janet Mandell (22:10)

4. Sourcing Rare Pieces & Inventory Management (24:24–27:39)

• Building Relationships: Janet works with significant collectors and resellers, often negotiating bulk deals to access unique vintage pieces.
  • “I have relationships with these collectors...I’ll go to them, I’ll be like, here’s $300,000 in cash, and these are the things I want.” – Janet Mandell (25:09)
• Delegation: Janet outsources the search to other experts, creating an efficient sourcing model.
  • “I make other people do my job. And then I come in and say, this is what I want.” – Janet Mandell (26:45)

5. Celebrity Stories & Cultural Footprint (27:40–30:47)

• Celebrity Clients: Early adoption by Kardashians, influencers, and musicians; frequent dressing of Giuliana Rancic herself; high-profile events (red carpets, performances, stage shows).
  • “We dressed Anne Hathaway many times for her press tour...We did Selena Gomez for one of her live performances, I think, on the Grammys.” – Janet Mandell (29:21, 29:31)
• Emphasis on Partnership: Collaborating with stylists and celebrities is “a collaborative team effort” – more about delighted clients than star power.
  • “To me, that’s more important than just saying, ‘Oh, well, I dressed Giuliana Rancic.’” – Janet Mandell (30:45)

6. The Future: Tech Integration & Expansion (31:00–33:46)

• Pivot to Technology: Janet’s company is building an API ("Distributor API") for revenue-sharing partnerships with other retailers, and a custom POS (Point of Sale) system to potentially power fashion rentals for other companies.
  • “Think of it as like Airbnb of high-end clothing rentals...I’m providing basically the inventory. And I’m managing my inventory.” – Janet Mandell (32:33)
  • “We want to be the Shopify of rentals...We can actually license our POS system to Rent the Runway or any other reseller or rental company.” – Janet Mandell (33:11)
• Planned Exit: The goal is a potential business exit (sale) in five to seven years.

7. Entrepreneurship Lessons (34:31–36:29)

• Top Advice for Women Entrepreneurs:
  1. Follow Your Gut: Trust your instincts and creative vision.
     • “Go with your gut. Because a lot of people...don’t listen to themselves.” – Janet Mandell (34:48)
  2. Don’t Be Afraid of Risks: Others may pursue the same idea if you don’t move.
     • “If you are afraid to take risks, you’re never going to get anywhere.” – Janet Mandell (35:15)
  3. External Funding is Wise: Seek investor capital rather than risking personal savings.
     • “Don’t use your own money. Raise money from family and friends to start. Find investors.” – Janet Mandell (35:36)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Vision:
  “I had this vision of curating a closet where others can rent from me. Because my friends would come...and would be like, ‘I’m going to an event. Can I borrow fur? Can I borrow a purse?’...the idea clicked in my head.” – Janet Mandell (02:37)

• On Fashion’s Allure vs. Reality:
  “Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, you’re in the fashion industry. Must be amazing. It looks so pretty.’...as you learn the business, it’s difficult, because we are in a marketplace that is not competitive. We’re introducing this into the fashion world.” – Janet Mandell (15:54)

• On Caring for Rarities:
  “A dress can be repaired at no cost, you know, to the client, obviously…We have repaired dresses that have been literally vintage dresses that have been…ran me—no, it wasn’t you.” – Janet Mandell (22:36, referencing a client rolling through Cabo sand in a borrowed dress)

• On Business Partnerships (and Relationships!):
  “So your ex‑husband is your boyfriend?” – Giuliana Rancic (09:49)
  “Yes. It does work…People think we’re crazy, but I don’t care what people think.” – Janet Mandell (09:50–09:56)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• Introduction & Business Model: 00:07–05:52
• Startup Story, Sourcing, and Growth: 06:11–15:54
• The Showroom Experience & Pricing: 17:32–23:01
• Sourcing Methods and Inventory Management: 24:24–27:39
• Celebrity Moments: 27:40–30:47
• Tech Pivot & Future Plans: 31:00–33:46
• Entrepreneurship Advice: 34:31–36:29

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Tone & Style

The episode is candid, witty, and lively—a blend of business insight and girlfriend-style conversation. Both Giuliana and Janet maintain a tone that is frank, encouraging, and empowering, especially for female listeners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

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Summary by iHeartPodcasts | Bill and Giuliana: The Podcast

Transcript

[Janet Mandel]

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.

[Juliana Rancic]

Welcome to Bill and Juliana the podcast. Hey guys, welcome to the podcast. So Bill's out of town, and when Bill's out of town, I get to take over and then I get to take over the topics. And so of course I'm going to do a topic that Bill and I don't touch on enough because Bill's always here, and that's fashion. So today we have a podcast episode devoted to fashion. And sitting with me is one of my favorite women in the fashion industry. Her name is Janet Mandel. She's like the not so secret weapon in Hollywood right now, because you were a secret weapon before and now it's not so secret because what she does is incredible. So not only has she styled some of the biggest stars in the world for the biggest shows in the world, but she, she created this business model that is really revolutionary when it comes to fashion in the industry. And there was really unlike anything like it before. So let me introduce Janet and then we're gonna get into it. Janet, so good to see you.

[Janet Mandel]

Nice to see you. And thanks for having me, of course.

[Juliana Rancic]

So in a nutshell, tell everyone about your business model. Because the way I describe it to people, because I've loved this business of yours and I have worn your clothes for several years now on the big red carpets. You've styled me for so many of the biggest show in the world. And honestly, I have made a lot of best dress lists because of you working in Hollywood and being on the red carpet at the big shows like the Oscars, the Grammys. And I mean, you've dressed me for like everything. And your model though is very different than unlike anything else because what Janet did was like, you guys, you know, a lot of people are familiar with Rent the Runway and you did like the luxury, very high end version of luxury rentals. Right. So people, instead of having to buy a Valentino dress, which is very unattainable for most people, 99.9% of the population, even me doing red carpet for 20 years, I never bought any dresses. I don't have those dresses. I borrowed them. And so you have allowed everyone to be able to borrow a dress. Right. So Instead of paying 5,000, $10,000 for a look, people can come in and actually kind of lease a dress from you, right?

[Janet Mandel]

Yeah, they can reserve. Yeah, we like to call it reserve. Lease. You know, rent is such a generic word, but people understand what that means.

[Juliana Rancic]

Exactly.

[Janet Mandel]

I think Janet Mandel was founded by my ex husband, Husband, partner, whatever. He Is.

[Juliana Rancic]

We'll get into that.

[Janet Mandel]

Yeah, we'll get into that later. But yes, it was founded by us. He was my investor and I had Rob, Rob Mandel. And I had this vision of curating a closet where others can rent from me. Because my friends would come and would be like, I'm going to an event. Can I borrow fur? Can I borrow a purse that I did have? You know, I curated a pretty sick collection for me, which was my size. Right. So, you know, people would visit and they'll be like, oh my God, your closet's insane. And it just, the idea clicked in my head. Just lounging around the couch with Rob and we're like, what are we going to do for the rest of our lives? Because we can't just, you know, live off of our savings account for the rest of our lives. We have to do something. Our kids are getting older. So the idea came about just literally laying on the couch thinking about what do I want to pursue as a career? Because I didn't see myself working again. And when I approached him about this idea, he loved it. He was like, done. What I think most people don't realize is that the service is not just for celebrities. And I think that's where the disconnect is. It is available to everybody. Right. And the reason that we curate one of a kind piece is like, you know, you're going to wear it once and you're never going to wear it again. Right, Right. So like we are fixated on looking good, especially, you know, for you on red carpet or, you know, I just dressed a ton of people going to Taylor Swift's wedding.

[Juliana Rancic]

Excuse me.

[Janet Mandel]

Special moments like this is where clients come in and want to look good, but at the same time they're completely fixated on, I don't know what to wear, I have no clue. I don't know fashion. Can you help us?

[Juliana Rancic]

Right, so not only are you providing an incredible, very high end designer look that they don't have to spend thousands of dollars on or can't spend thousands of dollars on, and they just are going to we time and they literally like pay a fee and then they bring it back after like five days or something. Right.

[Janet Mandel]

It's a seven day rental.

[Juliana Rancic]

Seven day rental. Okay. So not only are you providing that, but you're styling them as well. Like you have amazing stylists who work in your showrooms and put the pieces together. And it's not only just the dress. You guys like, they have everything there. They have gorgeous tailored suits, they have cocktail dresses. Ball gowns. They have, like, I've worn your dresses to weddings. I wore your dresses. The Boys and Girls Club event in Chicago recently. And then you have, like, beautiful designer handbags. That's another thing. Handbags are so expensive. And let's say you're going to a wedding and you just want to have, like, a spectacular Chanel bag or something that's, like, not in your budget, but you can lease it or borrow it from you. And then you have gorgeous footwear as well. And jewelry.

[Janet Mandel]

Correct. We have everything from head to toe. What's really important is most people, if they come to us, we want to take the pain away from sourcing. Okay. I found a dress at Janet Mandel, but I don't have the shoes, I don't have the jewelry, I don't have the bag, and I don't have a coat. We want to facilitate the ease of not having to go to multiple locations to finish your look.

[Juliana Rancic]

So smart.

[Janet Mandel]

Right?

[Juliana Rancic]

So you're not only basically paying for the price of the to borrow this dress, but you're also really wrapped in. There is the styling fee as well. Which stylists are very expensive. Okay, so that is amazing. That was so smart. And she does this with luxury items. When did you start the business?

[Janet Mandel]

We started in 2018 in Chicago. That was basically the first opening. We opened in six months. Mind you, I have spent millions of dollars in six months curating clothes. Like, the credit cards would be paid, and then it would be charged, and they would be paid and would be charged. And Rob would, like, he couldn't wrap his head around. He's like, did you. Do you have a budget? Did you start an Excel? I'm like, no, sick. What do you mean? I don't know. I just spent and spent and spent.

[Juliana Rancic]

Because you're buying all this stuff. And that's the thing is now you're in a business where, like, someone has to buy Tom Ford gowns and the Gucci gowns and the Valentinos. So you're buying this stuff, and it was expensive, and you're buying vintage stuff. So where were you sourcing it from? And where do you source these gowns from? And dresses.

[Janet Mandel]

First source came out of my closet, and then I started sourcing online. Obviously, there's a lot of resale platforms online. And I have to be very honest. I. I believe in sustainability, so most of my inventory is bought from resellers because I believe in, you know, recreating the outfit or the dress over and over again. You know, sometimes I bought retail very, very Rare, Especially like I would buy shoes if it was retail. Right. But like high end clothing. The reason that we. Another reason that I bought retail is because I feel like some of the vintage things that are made in the 90s and 2000 are made impeccably.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

It's not like that anymore. And I read a huge article now recently about how even these big brands do produce their production offshore. It's not really all made in Paris or in Europe. So it's a cynical of a lot of things right now in retail that is having issues with production and sustainability and price and which outlet to sell to. Know. Obviously, everybody knows what's going on in retail. Where we fit in is we are really providing a solution for these women that don't know where to go. They want to wear vintage, but vintage dresses, for example, by Cavalli's. 20, $25,000.

[Juliana Rancic]

Wow.

[Janet Mandel]

Right? So, like, I know there are celebrities that do buy them. Okay. I know Kardashians do, and I'm sure there's so many others.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

But we're fixing a need for others that really can afford $20,000 dress that they only want to wear one time. Right. So we charge them 10% of that and they're happy to have that access because it's wearing. They wear it once and then they're done. They want to let go of it.

[Juliana Rancic]

Exactly.

[Janet Mandel]

So it's also sustainable.

[Juliana Rancic]

So you started this business in 2018 with Rob, who is your technically ex, but, like, you guys kind of got back together.

[Janet Mandel]

You are back together. You know, like, you know, life.

[Juliana Rancic]

By the way, that is a whole episode two of this podcast. But we have to touch on it. Yeah. So you were with Rob. So Janet has kids with. Well, you're married to Rob for a long time.

[Janet Mandel]

Yeah, we were married for eight, like, 16 years when we got divorced. You know, I always say, like, did I divorce him because I was going through menopause?

[Juliana Rancic]

Who knows?

[Janet Mandel]

I don't know. I mean, I'd rather blame that than myself, to be honest.

[Juliana Rancic]

Okay. Although it could have been.

[Janet Mandel]

It could have been.

[Juliana Rancic]

Because that is.

[Janet Mandel]

Yeah, it is. It is a thing. But then, you know, after like six months, we're like, what are we doing? You're living here. We live together. Like, maybe we should just try to be boyfriend and girlfriend. So that is kind of what we are now, boyfriend and girlfriend.

[Juliana Rancic]

So your ex husband is your boyfriend?

[Janet Mandel]

Yes. It does work.

[Juliana Rancic]

I'm obsessed.

[Janet Mandel]

Yeah. People think we're crazy, but, you know,

[Juliana Rancic]

I don't think they do.

[Janet Mandel]

I don't care what people think.

[Juliana Rancic]

I don't think they do think you're crazy.

[Janet Mandel]

No, people think we're nuts. When I tell people, they're like, what?

[Juliana Rancic]

I think it's a very foreign concept to people. They don't hear this kind of thing every day. But I have to tell you, as knowing you and, like, you're a huge name in Chicago, and you guys are well known, I. I've never heard anyone say that. It's crazy. I think people think it's, like, actually kind of great because you were married, and what happened was when you guys got divorced, you were still living together. Right. As a family unit. But you were. And you weren't just separate. I mean, you got divorced. You.

[Janet Mandel]

Technically, yeah, we got divorced.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah. And then the idea that you guys like you, we're like, what are we doing? And started dating again. And we, like, we all know that in Chicago. And I think that's so cute. Like, I think it's great. That's very. It's works.

[Janet Mandel]

It works for us.

[Juliana Rancic]

And better than the alternative, that you guys are, like, fighting and not getting along.

[Janet Mandel]

But you know what the most important thing is? We have so many attachments. We have our kids, we have our families that love each other, and we love them, but also, we have the business. Right. So for us, it just made it more natural and fluid to go back. And it's almost like starting that relationship over again with no strings attached.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

You know, and that makes us feel like we can be more of a couple in the relationship and also in the business. We understand each other. And again, I'm not saying this is for everybody, but it works for us,

[Juliana Rancic]

it works for you, and that's what matters.

[Janet Mandel]

Yeah. And we are happy.

[Juliana Rancic]

So you started in 2018. You start. You open in Chicago.

[Janet Mandel]

Chicago.

[Juliana Rancic]

You have a beautiful showroom in Chicago.

[Janet Mandel]

Correct.

[Juliana Rancic]

And then where do you feel like it took off? Like, where people started to see what you were doing and understand what you were doing?

[Janet Mandel]

I would say we were approached by a celebrity stylist in la, and, you know, we just started our Instagram account, and she was. She reached out to us out of nowhere, and she was like, oh, my God, I'm dressing Gigi D. Hadid for Halloween, and I'm looking for this specific peacoat by Balenciaga. I've called Balenciaga in Europe, and they cannot send it to me unless I'm physically there with my credit card. And obviously, I'm not there. But I'm just wondering if you guys have this pea coat and we need it in a size zero. And I'm like, is this the peacoat that you're talking about? And she's like, yes, this is what I need.

[Juliana Rancic]

No way.

[Janet Mandel]

And so she was so happy because it was just kind of like out of the blue that she asked us this.

[Juliana Rancic]

Did you go out and find it or you had it?

[Janet Mandel]

No, you had it.

[Juliana Rancic]

Get out.

[Janet Mandel]

It was meant to be.

[Juliana Rancic]

That's insane.

[Janet Mandel]

That's insane. And so that's how LA started, because she's like, you need to open LA again. Celebrity stylists was not a part of our customer segment. When we built the model, we weren't thinking about celebrity stylists, actually. I didn't even know they existed, to be honest. So that's how Los Angeles opened, and then it just took off. Because once, you know, one celebrity stylist, everybody knows where you're going, as you know. Right. So that's how Los Angeles started, and it took off. Chicago, Los Angeles took off pretty quickly, I would say. My biggest risk that I took was New York, which opened in 2022. You know, I'm thinking, like, oh, my God, LA and Chicago did so well. We got our foot wet and feet wet and we took off. New York was hard. New York is a beast to do business. It took us probably about a year and a half, two years to really get the word of mouth and people to know who we are. Thank God we are in a great location. But first year, we were struggling. Like, it was hard to get people through the door because nobody really knew who we were or even what we did. And I think the message that we were trying to, you know, announce to people, it got really misconstrued because most of our Instagram feed was you, right? And beautiful dresses and most celebrities. So they assumed, oh, they just work with celebrities. They don't work with just normal people like us. That was, I think, the mistake that we made when we started the Instagram account. A lot of it was like, Runway photos and celebrities and just beautiful people. And that's. That's not the norm in the U.S. yeah. You know, we have to educate others that are reaching to, you know, to know what Janet Mandel is and what we do. It's. It's. It's better message. We have to be better with the message. But New York's doing great now. That's great. I think without New York, we wouldn't have opened a lot of doors that we have now, to be honest, it opened a ton of doors for us as a company because you guys even

[Juliana Rancic]

were at Fashion Week.

[Janet Mandel]

Yes, we had a huge show in Fashion Week. A vintage Runway show in Fashion Week. It was. It took us. It was a battle. It took us four months, nonstop. It was just hard. It was hard. A lot of money, but again, it was worth it. We loved it. Had a lot of great social media numbers, and, you know, revenue was increased by that month. But I'm always trying to pivot and scale, as you know, we're both in business. And what you do is amazing. You've got, like, five brands underneath your brand. I don't even know how you do that, because I would. I would be like, I can't do this anymore and give up. But, you know.

[Juliana Rancic]

You would? Yes, I would.

[Janet Mandel]

I think. I think it's important to, like, wake up every day and not struggle on the problems, but just focus on, like, what are you bringing to the table? What are you. What are you servicing to the world? Especially women. Right?

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

That makes me want to keep doing what I do, even though business is tough, as you know. You know, there's Nothing is great, and everybody's like, oh, you're in the fashion industry. Must be amazing. It looks so pretty. Yeah, it sounds pretty because we have pretty clothes. But as you learn the business, it's difficult because we are in a marketplace that is not competitive. We're introducing this into the fashion world.

[Juliana Rancic]

No, you're right. And the fashion industry is a tough nut to crack because it's constantly changing, constantly evolving. You think you know what the customer wants one minute, and then she just shocks you and wants something totally different the next minute. So I do think that it's. I can see how it's, like, a huge hustle. And you're right. People look at it, they think it's so glamorous. They're like, oh, my God, look at Janet. Like, look at these showrooms. That's basically an extension of your closet. Like, you have your. You can, you know, you have your pick of any of these dresses, but at the end of the day, it's still a business and it needs a lot of tending to. So here you are. You have these three huge showrooms. You're online as well, right? So people can get online. So how does it work? Like, let's say I have a charity event coming up or. No, actually, this is something recent. I had my niece's wedding in Italy, and I wanted. It was going to be this fabulous wedding in Ravello in the Amalfi coast. And so I went to Janet's to find A dress. So let's say someone is going to a beautiful wedding and they want a gorgeous look. They don't want to spend $5,000 or even $3,000 or $2,000. So how does it work?

[Janet Mandel]

So when a client books an appointment, she's booking because she needs to use our service. Right. Or she's maybe inquisitive. She wants to learn about the service.

[Juliana Rancic]

Okay.

[Janet Mandel]

But most clients come in because they

[Juliana Rancic]

have somewhere to go, and they call, they go online, they email us, they

[Janet Mandel]

go online, they book the appointment. And when you book the appointment, there's about seven questions. We get your size, we ask where you're going, what body parts you love, what body parts you don't love, what kind of cut you're looking for. If you're looking for a dress, we ask questions because we want to be prepared when the client walks in so that she's not overwhelmed with us searching for the looks or the dress that she's looking for.

[Juliana Rancic]

We do our own. You're efficient. And is she going to a website or your Instagram?

[Janet Mandel]

They go to the website.

[Juliana Rancic]

Okay, what is the website?

[Janet Mandel]

Just, so janetmandel.com and it's J, A,

[Juliana Rancic]

N, E, T, M A, N, D,

[Janet Mandel]

E, L, L, L. Okay. But you could book your appointment online as well, or the. You know, or Instagram.

[Juliana Rancic]

So they come in, you have everything ready for them, and then you guys start to walk around and look at things, or you already have dresses pulled for them.

[Janet Mandel]

So we have all the dresses and the shoes pulled because. Accessories. I want them to experience the accessories because we call it the vault room, where we have jewelry and bags and handbags and clutches and everything. It's kind of like a little surprise to them because they don't really know that we have that. So we pull the shoes and the dresses. Once she has interest in something she likes, then I. Then we take her to the vault room, which where we finish, basically, the rental service with her. We accessorize the earrings and the bag, and that's easy once she knows the dress and the shoes. Right. Because sometimes the shoes can be complicated if you style the shoes before the accessories. Right. So they can decide which they would want.

[Juliana Rancic]

What's really cool is, obviously, you can go in and just get a dress or just get shoes. But what's nice is when you really think about putting a look together for an event, it's not just the price of the dress. Right. Because shoes alone, Designer shoes, are $1,000 jewelry. You know, I've said that. I'm like oh, I'm just gonna go out and, like, grab some hoops. It's like those hoops are, like, $200. I mean, it all starts to add up.

[Janet Mandel]

It does.

[Juliana Rancic]

And so. And of course, don't even get me started on a clutch. So if you are going for this, like, beautiful designer look, it is incredible the cost savings that you get by just borrowing the look or reserving the look, as you say. So, okay, so she comes in, and then you go through it and then tell me, like, for a dress, okay, it's a seven day rental.

[Janet Mandel]

It's a seven day rental.

[Juliana Rancic]

What's like, the price range of what a dress would cost?

[Janet Mandel]

So a dress can cost probably starting at 200, but it can go all the way up to 3,000 if it's a vintage piece. That's very rare.

[Juliana Rancic]

Okay.

[Janet Mandel]

We have a lot of things that are rare. Right. Because designers don't. It's not like Zara, where things go out of stock and they could replenish within a week. Most of these designers have capsule collections every season, and they do not reproduce after that's gone. So let's say Gucci is making 100 pieces of this jacket that's very in for that season. Right. If you want to find that after it's sold and the season's over, you have to go into the resale market.

[Juliana Rancic]

Right.

[Janet Mandel]

Because it's not available.

[Juliana Rancic]

That's right.

[Janet Mandel]

So that's why it's so rare, because archival collection doesn't repeat itself within the brands. It's. It's one and done.

[Juliana Rancic]

You're right. And I have to tell you, I have a vintage Versace dress that I was fortunate enough to get my hands on. And I've, like, so much pride in it. It hangs in my closet.

[Janet Mandel]

You look at it every day.

[Juliana Rancic]

I never wear it. I look at it every day. But it's, like, gorgeous. From the early 2000s. It's, like, so rare. And I've thought about it. I'm like, gosh, Janet would love this dress for her.

[Janet Mandel]

Of course I would.

[Juliana Rancic]

But I'll never part ways with it. It's, you know, very unique. And. But, like, I think about it and I think, like, I actually thought about it. I'm like, Janet, I'm sure, would love this, like, for some of her clients. But then I thought, but the beating on this, like, I could never part ways with it. And I can't lend it to anyone

[Janet Mandel]

because it might get ruined.

[Juliana Rancic]

It could get ruined. So you have to think about that too. Like, when Janet says $3,000 for a vintage rare dress. It's like. Yeah. Because it's, like, risky. You got to kind of pat in, like, you know that you might have to. Well, obviously dry cleaning. But even, like, you might have to fix something. It's like, it is not. It's not easy to hand one of those dresses over.

[Janet Mandel]

No. And, you know, people ask me this all the time. How do you upkeep the dresses? Because it gets worn. Doesn't it get damaged? Yes, it does. And you know why we're able to make it sustainable is because we have expert tailors. So one thing that people don't know about our business model is we have tailors that can tailor the dress according to your body.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

We can hem and make it shorter. We can make it tighter. We can do things because we have experts, tailors that do things temporarily. So that's why we're able to replace the beads, replace the zipper, stitch the holes, all of those things. I always say a dress can be repaired at no cost, you know, to the client, obviously. Right, right. We. We take care of it.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

Only because when you have a beaded dress, I don't care if it's worn by. If it's made by Chanel, it's made by MacDougall, it doesn't matter. It can be repaired. We have repaired dresses that have been literally vintage dresses that have been. I think she rolled through Cabo sand. Yeah. I don't even know what she did, but it came back completely destroyed. Like, literally ran me. No, it wasn't you.

[Juliana Rancic]

I'm dead.

[Janet Mandel]

I would tell you if it was

[Juliana Rancic]

you, because I love Cabo and I've been in the sand in some of your dresses.

[Janet Mandel]

But, like, I think she rolled in it. I don't know what she did, but she came in and it was like, here, I'm so sorry. And we're like, oh, my God, this dress is destroyed.

[Juliana Rancic]

Sand all over it.

[Janet Mandel]

There was sand all over it.

[Juliana Rancic]

Can you say who it is or no?

[Janet Mandel]

I don't even know. Okay.

[Juliana Rancic]

Some celebrity.

[Janet Mandel]

No, it's somebody from Chicago. I was so mad.

[Juliana Rancic]

I was so gonna get the name of the celebrity.

[Janet Mandel]

Yeah. I was so mad. Okay, that, you know, whatever. That was, like, years and years, but

[Juliana Rancic]

you had to fix it. I get it. Tell me this. Where are you getting these dresses? Like, tell me, like, for instance, are you getting emails of people offering dresses? Are you going to Tom Ford's showroom?

[Janet Mandel]

Like, where are you going to get dresses?

[Juliana Rancic]

No.

[Janet Mandel]

So what I do is I have relationship with these collectors. Collectors yes, they are. They're like, they. They resale. They're resellers, like on first dibs and ebay. And, you know, all of you know, there's like so many of them. So I built relationships with them when I started buying vintage. Yeah, buy vintage from them is kind of think of it as like, they're offering me sort of the wholesale price. They're making money, but they're offering me sort of a major discounted price. Because what I do is I'll go to them, I'll be like, here's $300,000 in cash, and these are the things I want. Can you. I'm like a negotiator.

[Juliana Rancic]

Wait, so you're. It's not buy item. It's like you give them your budget and then give them a budget stuff for you.

[Janet Mandel]

Yes, because they are, like priced 18, $15,000.

[Juliana Rancic]

Smart.

[Janet Mandel]

Like, if I was going to buy something on eBay for five hundred or thousand dollars, no problem. Right. But if I see 30 dresses at 50, even 10,000, I can't. I'm not buying 30 dresses at 10,000.

[Juliana Rancic]

Right.

[Janet Mandel]

So I will give them this, like, offer. I'm going to wire you $30,000, $300,000, and I want these dresses. Can you. What's the best you can do for all of these dresses? I even flew to Florida and spent. I went. Actually, we went with two, three big luggages. We went to her store, which was kind of in her home, and we're like, here's a hundred thousand dollars. And she was like, pick 100 pieces.

[Juliana Rancic]

What? Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

So we bought. We came back with 100 pieces of archival at $1,000.

[Juliana Rancic]

Wow.

[Janet Mandel]

Yeah. Because I think most of these resellers sit on these items over time, they're holding up cash flow. So for them, they're like, okay, I might lose a little bit, but yes.

[Juliana Rancic]

So you don't have people on your team that are like, going to estate sales looking for stuff or you do that, or is it like you're going more to that woman in Florida? She's the one going to the estate sale. She's the one who has like a team or people all over the country who are finding stuff, sending that to her. She buys it from them, and then she's. You go to her and she sells.

[Janet Mandel]

I make other people do my job.

[Juliana Rancic]

I get it.

[Janet Mandel]

And then I come in and say, this is what I want.

[Juliana Rancic]

No, that makes sense. It's more efficient.

[Janet Mandel]

It's efficient. I mean, don't get me wrong, I have a team that searches the Web, Sure. All day long, and we have spent. I probably spent the most money on the RealReal. Okay. I mean, I was their number one client before I started this business. I would constantly buy stuff from the RealReal because I'm like, oh, my God, they have the most amazing things. And it was so affordable back then. Not anymore, because they caught onto vintage items. But that's really where I started shopping. Resale was the real real. And then I got smart and said, okay, I can't afford to keep buying these $18,000 dresses. How can I take advantage? And that's when I was like, okay, you have the cash. This is how much your budget is for maybe this quarter. Where can you.

[Juliana Rancic]

Amazing.

[Janet Mandel]

Let's go after it.

[Juliana Rancic]

So let me ask you this. So your company takes off, and you start dressing celebrities. What were some of the most memorable moments for you? Like, early on, like, when you, you know, first started seeing your dresses on red carpets? And also just over the years, some of the most memorable moments that you've had with Hollywood celebrities?

[Janet Mandel]

I think the Kardashians, that actually came. That activation and collaboration came pretty quickly. You know, we weren't really, like, fishing for the Kardashians. It just kind of happened with the celebrity stylist. The Kardashians were great. You came right after. And now, like, everybody's like, oh, my God, you're dressing Giuliana Rancic. Where's the dress that she wore? That was Gucci with the rhinestones. I think that was one of the first dresses you wore.

[Juliana Rancic]

That's so sweet.

[Janet Mandel]

And so, like, when I tell people, they're like, oh, this was worn by Julia. So you really made a huge impact on us. That is so sweet. Thank you for your support.

[Juliana Rancic]

I love you.

[Janet Mandel]

Are you kidding? I love you.

[Juliana Rancic]

Thank you for always dressing me so nicely.

[Janet Mandel]

Of course. And then I think just over time, you know, we had supermodels. Rosie Huntington was one of them. She actually came into the showroom. I met her, and she is the nicest person.

[Juliana Rancic]

Oh, I love that.

[Janet Mandel]

And she's so beautiful.

[Juliana Rancic]

I've heard really nice things about her.

[Janet Mandel]

Yes. And she's gorgeous. So, you know, a lot of these women, like, I love Lisa. Lisa Rinna's hilarious.

[Juliana Rancic]

Love it.

[Janet Mandel]

Love her.

[Juliana Rancic]

And you also had, like, you've done, like, a lot of looks, like, on stage at, like, like, Grammys and things like that, Right. Like, a lot of the music shows.

[Janet Mandel]

Yes. A lot of the awards, we've dressed,

[Juliana Rancic]

like, not just red carpet, but they're actual performances.

[Janet Mandel]

You've Done.

[Juliana Rancic]

Which is so cool.

[Janet Mandel]

And recently we just collaborated with Devil Wears Prada.

[Juliana Rancic]

Wow.

[Janet Mandel]

One of our dresses are on the show.

[Juliana Rancic]

That's cool.

[Janet Mandel]

We dressed Anne Hathaway many times for her press tour. So, like, amazing. I think, you know, it's great to have celebrity placement.

[Juliana Rancic]

It's wonderful to, like, Selena Gomez, or am I crazy? Yes.

[Janet Mandel]

We did Selena Gomez for one of her live performances, I think, on the Grammys. Yeah.

[Juliana Rancic]

That's what I mean. Yeah, you've done that.

[Janet Mandel]

I can't even remember because there's so many.

[Juliana Rancic]

There's so many. That's exciting.

[Janet Mandel]

It's fun, right? Those things are great because it basically. It basically proves that these people can trust you if you're dressing celebrities. And I'll tell you, they pay. Not all of them are comped. Right. Some are, some are not. But, you know, at the end of the day, I think our goal is to make it easy for everyone, even if you're a celebrity. Right. Like, we're doing the job for the celebrity stylist. We're making it easier for them. Right. And then in hindsight, they're dressing their clients, which, you know, maybe, you know, Anne Hathaway or whoever it is, it just makes it easier for everybody because it's like a partnership. It's a collaboration. The goal is to make sure that the client, whoever it is, is happy.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

Whether it's a celebrity or somebody that's walking in, it's a collaborative team effort. And to me, that's more important than just saying, oh, well, I dressed Giuliana Rancic. You know, I was the lead stylist. Like, no, it doesn't matter. That's not. That's not who we're talking about.

[Juliana Rancic]

Exactly.

[Janet Mandel]

You know, so.

[Juliana Rancic]

So what does the future hold, Janet? Like, so you have this incredible business. You started it not even 10 years ago. You already have three showrooms in the biggest, some of the biggest cities in the world. What does the future hold for Janet Mendel?

[Janet Mandel]

So we are now activating and pivoting to more of a tech tech company. Right. So we've built. And it's interesting because I never knew that we would be a tech company. So what we've built is a API, it's called Distributor API, where it's a plugin and code where you could work with other retailers and brands. And I. So basically, it's kind of a revenue share platform where you could plug in your API code to, let's say, Saks website. Right. They market your products or their products for rental, and it's a revenue share platform. So Saks would never. They wouldn't have to invest anything. It would be. All the rentals would be operated by Janet Mandel and they're just facilitating.

[Juliana Rancic]

Interesting.

[Janet Mandel]

The promoting the new activation for rentals.

[Juliana Rancic]

Interesting.

[Janet Mandel]

Yeah.

[Juliana Rancic]

Is it almost like. I know this is crazy, but like, like with products like food products or little knickknacks or Walmart does this where. I think Walmart does this. Right. Where like, you know, you'll search something like I'll search like some sort of like a game my son wants. And one of the first things that comes up, whatever I search is like Walmart has it like Walmart Marketplace, but I'm not sure it's really them who has it. Do you know what I'm saying? I think they're just kind of like they're the middleman and it's the middleman. So that's what. So this is obviously a high end version. So it would be like Saks would come up, but then you would be the one. Janet Mandel would be the one who's

[Janet Mandel]

actually operating and facilitating the whole rental. So think of it as like Airbnb of rentals, of, you know, high end clothing rentals. So Airbnb is. So they're the Airbnb. I'm providing basically the inventory.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yes.

[Janet Mandel]

Right. And I'm managing my inventory. Just like anybody that lists their product on Airbnb, they're operating their own homes.

[Juliana Rancic]

Has that already happened? Is Saks doing that?

[Janet Mandel]

Like, are these calling. We haven't really approached Saks. We're going to go smaller.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah, yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

So you'll start.

[Juliana Rancic]

And that's kind of so. But. But you're still gonna have the showrooms and you still are catering to people every day who can still.

[Janet Mandel]

Correct. And then we built our custom POS system which is really catered to currently fashion rentals. So think of it as we want to be the shopify of rentals. So we can actually license our POS system to rent the Runway or any other reseller or rental company that is coming on board. And they are thinking like, oh my God, I don't know how to start my business because I don't have a POS system. Like, where do I go to check out my items?

[Juliana Rancic]

I see. Okay, got it.

[Janet Mandel]

And then we're gonna exit hopefully in five to seven years.

[Juliana Rancic]

Let's go.

[Janet Mandel]

It's so funny. When I first spoke to Bill or I first met him, he came to the showroom on Superior and he was like, I get it. Yeah, you Want to sell to, like, Amazon, don't you? He's so smart. Bill's so smart.

[Juliana Rancic]

He is smart. Before we go, so many women are listening and would love to be inspired to do something, to start a business. Right. And to start a new chapter of their lives in the business arena. What would be your advice? Having been someone who created a company not even 10 years ago, this sort of huge company 10 years ago, what would be your advice to women who are looking to try something new and exciting?

[Janet Mandel]

There's two things. There are actually three things that I learned. One thing, I was a mistake, but I'm learning now. Okay? So when you have a business idea, go with your gut. Because a lot of people, like, sort of, you know, they listen to other people, but they don't listen to themselves.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

You know, they don't go. Go with their gut because they're asking so many other people. You know, sometimes those other people don't know your brain and your creative vision. Right?

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

So go with your gut. Second, do not be afraid to take risks. Because if you are afraid to take risks, you're never going to get anywhere because somebody that's next in line, that has the same vision and idea will go after it.

[Juliana Rancic]

Idea will eventually come out.

[Janet Mandel]

So don't be afraid to take risk, because risk is a reward. If you don't take a risk, how are you supposed to know?

[Juliana Rancic]

Right.

[Janet Mandel]

I always say failure is not something that you should be uncomfortable with. You should want to fail or you should want to learn from your failures. Right? That's. To me, that's number two, because it

[Juliana Rancic]

means at least you tried it.

[Janet Mandel]

Yes.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yeah.

[Janet Mandel]

And then number three, don't use your own money. Raise money from family and friends to start. Find investors. You know, you can go. There's a lot of networks out there that provide angel investments. Right.

[Juliana Rancic]

Okay.

[Janet Mandel]

So really, you know, have a business plan, have a business model, and structure it where you could at least raise something in the beginning, because using your own money is difficult. It is a challenge. You know, you get stressed out about it because you don't know when you're gonna get it back. So, I mean, we just didn't have a choice because I was like, I'm doing this now, and we have six months and let's do it. You know, so that was my mentality. And we don't regret it. It's just, you know, it's hard when you're putting your own money into something that you're not. Sure. Right. So those three things I think is important. But number one. Follow your gut.

[Juliana Rancic]

Follow your gut. If it's a good. If you think it's a great idea, chances are it probably is a great idea. Janet, thank you so much. I love you so much. Will you come back soon?

[Janet Mandel]

Of course. I'm just gonna come back to visit your little Leo.

[Juliana Rancic]

Yes, I know. Leo's dead asleep. He's the best. You're the best, Janet. Thank you so much.

[Janet Mandel]

Thank you. Love you.

[Juliana Rancic]

Thanks, guys, for listening. Bye.

[Janet Mandel]

Bye. Thank you. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.