Rosa Fayad (left), 32, and her sister Anna Sharifai, 39, (right) earn $12,000 a month renting designer dresses.
Two moms have revealed how they turned leasing their old clothes into a business, bringing in more than $12,000 a month.
Sisters Anna Sharifai, 39, and Rosa Fayad, 32, from Sydney’s Hills district, first listed some of their old designer outfits on dress rental site The Volte in 2017.
Within three months, the sisters were sending their favorite dresses to parties every weekend, and sometimes renting them midweek as well.
“We only had a handful of designer dresses of our own, but they were very popular,” Rosa told FEMAIL.
She was on maternity leave when she started lending her clothes and realized that at $200 rent she might not need to go back to her full-time job in real estate.
“Six months later, we decided to buy more dresses for the business, things we might not wear but we knew our customers would love,” she said.
‘We also add designer bags. Many women would rent dresses and ask if we had accessories to match.
The sisters started out with a handful of their own designer dresses, but were so successful renting them out that they now own more than 1,500 designer pieces, including handbags.
The Zimmerman Prima dress has earned the sisters over $10,000 despite being on the cheaper end of rentals at $160 per event, paired here with a $2,200 YSL bag (pictured left) This Blue dress was made specifically for Anna, but was later added to the collection where it cost $290 each to hire. This dress and bag combo would retail for $4600, but the sisters rent it for $415 (pictured right)
“But before that, I had never had a designer bag, but we focused on buying for our customers and not for ourselves,” she said.
Both have added more of their own dresses to the list since then, including beautiful custom dresses worth over $3000.
Rosa never worked again as the fashion hustle, which they called The Designer Hire Spot, became their full-time job.
“Some of the Zimmerman dresses that we’ve had from the beginning are still being rented today,” she said.
“The Zimmerman Prima has made us over $10,000 in five years,” he said.
The dress cost them $1,100 retail, but they lend it out for $160 a night.
“It works for everyone, because these girls can wear the dresses of their choice at a quarter of the price or less,” she said.
“One woman has come back for the same dress a dozen times, they don’t sell it anymore, but she loves it, so she buys it for every event.”
The sisters pictured here with their mother, husbands and children say they were relieved not to have to go back to their day jobs when clothing rentals took off.
Rosa said her heart sank when she saw this wine stain on a new $2,200 Balenciaga bag she had rented for the first time, but added that the client was happy to pay for the cleaning.
Other cheaper dresses are just as popular.
“Selena’s dress cost us $500, but we’ve rented it over 100 times for $130,” she said.
“We got the original four years ago, but now we have it in all sizes and colors because it comes out every weekend.”
The sisters have transformed one of their garages into a showroom where they store designer items and have more than 1,500 items worth more than $120,000.
They are open by appointment, but do most of their business online and on Instagram.
The Selena, a $500 dress, has been rented more than 100 times; now the sisters have it in ‘all sizes’ because it is in high demand.
Rosa said that, for the most part, people “take good care” of their designer pieces.
“We had a Balenciaga bag that came back with what looked like white wine spilled all over it,” he said.
“My heart sank because it was brand new, it was my first time out and it was a $2,200 bag,” he said.
“But the girl was very happy to cover the cost of the cleaning, which ended up being $165, and it came out perfect.”
Moms say that even though they hardly have any events worth dressing up for, they are pleased to see their dresses being worn.
The sisters are known for their wide range of bags, including Valentino, Chanel, YSL, Louis Vuitton, and Dior, among others.
“We don’t have super formal dresses, so sometimes the girls who go to those events just come to us for a bag to finish the look,” she said.
Moms say that even though they hardly have any events worth dressing up for, they are pleased to see their dresses being worn.
