As disposable fashion piles up in landfill, dress rental services are a welcome trend: wear a luxury gown for one night, then send it back for the next woman.
Here, we track the travels of a designer dress for hire – and the women who’ve worn it…
SARAH, 32, STYLIST AND FOUNDER OF @THEBEARCUBCLUB
“My motto is ‘Better to be overdressed than underdressed’ – and that’s what I was when I wore this dress to a St Kilda Mums charity cocktail party in Melbourne. I had a stranger tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘I’m not a creep, but I just love your dress. Where’s it from?’ It was a little embarrassing, but in a good way. The best part of the day was the photo booth, and, of course, the espresso martinis.”
BOUSHRA, 30, TEACHER
“I wore this dress to a close friend’s wedding in August. It was held at Metropolis [Events] in Melbourne, so I wanted to wear a standout piece. Because I wear a headscarf, it can be hard to find dresses that are modest and stylish, so I loved the long sleeves and full length of this dress. I had a lot of compliments that I looked beautiful and that the dress was stunning. My husband also loved it. We’ve been married for two years now and he’s not a big dancer, but he tapped me on the shoulder at the wedding and asked me to dance. It was nice to have him make that move.”
OLIVIA, 32, GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND CO-FOUNDER OF ALL THE DRESSES
“When I was invited to a lunch with a ‘Bohemian Luxe’ dress code, I immediately thought of this dress. I’d been eyeing it off on my rental [directory] website All The Dresses. I turned up at the restaurant in Fremantle, Perth, and everyone swooned. With renting, you get the joy and excitement of wearing a designer piece, without the waste – or price tag.”
MERI, 29, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
“I became obsessed with this dress last year when Elle Macpherson wore it to an event at Bondi Icebergs [Sydney]. I finally got the opportunity to wear it when I was invited to the Young Professionals in Racing Spring Launch Party in September. It was held at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney and I felt like I was in a photo shoot all day – every time the wind blew, the dress billowed beautifully. My boyfriend and I took the nicest photo together at the end of the day when everyone else had left. The sun was setting and we had that pretty twilight lighting. It got a lot of likes on Instagram.”
NATASHA, 38, BRIDAL DESIGNER
“For my birthday I went to The Boathouse Hotel at Patonga [New South Wales] with a group of girlfriends. We hired a minibus to take us and when it arrived, the driver couldn’t open the door. We had to get in via the boot! Two at a time, we jumped on the wheelchair access lift, which was painfully slow. We got out the same way, so I certainly made a grand entrance in my goddess gown, which I’d rented from Ekoluv. We worked up a thirst getting in and out of the bus, so we started with a round of cocktails topped with Persian fairy floss. It turned into a dream day.”
This article originally appeared in the December issue of marie claire. In the magazine edition of this story, we incorrectly printed Boushra’s age. We sincerely apologise for the mistake.
