Angela Pike from Lucida Boutique Dress Hire chats about the prevalence of "wear once culture" and the transformative role of rental in fashion. She shares her sustainability strategies, from utilising eco-friendly packaging to eliminating plastic, and discusses how she curates trendsetting pieces with sustainability in mind. Through heartfelt anecdotes, Angela reveals the transformative power of conscious consumerism, shedding light on how Lucida Boutique is reshaping the future of fashion, one rented dress at a time.

Guest bio:

Hi, I’m Ange, creator and owner of lucida boutique - a dress hire boutique is Ballarat Victoria. In 2019 I created a beautiful and inviting space where women can browse through an extensive and ever-changing range of designer dresses. Women hire the dress they choose, wear it to their special event and then return to the boutique. The process is personalised, stress-free, affordable and environmentally conscious.

Connect with Angela:

Angela's Website

@lucidaboutique_dresshire on Instagram

Angela's Facebook page

About the show:

This is Reloved Radio: Sustainable Fashion Stories, the fortnightly show that brings you inspiring stories from guests who are making a positive impact in the sustainable fashion space.

Want to know the BEST places to shop secondhand online in Australia? Download this EPIC list for free!

Join the Reloved conversation on Instagram.

Credits:

Music: 'Old Leather Sneakers' by PineAppleMusic

Everyone's got a story of a dress that they've bought and they've only

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worn once, and now it's stuck hanging

in their cupboard, like everyone's

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done that at some stage in their life.

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That's why the rental industry is

fantastic, because this one garment

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is getting worn up to 30 times.

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Chryssius: Hey, Relovers.

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Welcome back to another

episode of Reloved Radio.

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Today I have the pleasure of chatting

with a trailblazer in the world of

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sustainable fashion and entrepreneurship.

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Please join me in welcoming Angela

Pike, the creative force and owner of

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Lucida Boutique Dress Hire, a conscious

fashion space that blends high-end style

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with a commitment to sustainability.

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Ange, welcome to Reloved Radio!

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Ange: Thank you so much.

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What an intro.

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That was so nice.

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I'm so happy to be here.

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Chryssius: Your journey is a little bit

different to the ones that I have shared

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lately, coming at sustainable fashion

from a completely different angle.

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Do you reckon you could just tell us

the story behind how Lucida Boutique

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came to be and also how its values

align with sustainable fashion?

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Ange: I started Lucida Dress Hire

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I started as I thought the concept as

a business was such a great idea and

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something unique that has only just

started to emerge, you know, over the

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last decade and thought this is such a

great business idea to get started with.

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And I'd never owned a business

before this and I thought this

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was a perfect way to get my foot

in the door as a business owner.

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And initially it was just that,

it was just a business idea.

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And one, you know, in, I love

retail, I love working with, um,

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customers in store, face-to-face.

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That's always been a

passion of mine as well.

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So I thought it'd be a perfect

place for me to start off with.

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And it wasn't really until I got in

the research phase of the business and

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really started to get things going that,

I realised actually the impact that

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a rental business, especially rental

business for clothing, that it is making

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such a great impact on the environment.

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I had no idea how awful fast fashion was

and the effects it was actually having

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on our environment with the amount

of textile waste - I didn't know

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textile waste was a thing, like when

you talk about recycling, you always

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just immediately picture, you know, oh,

I've got my yellow bin, so, you know, I

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recycle all my bottles and things at home.

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Not once have I ever thought about the

fabric waste in landfill until I started

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this business and it just made me go,

well, even more big of a tick with

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this business is look what it can do.

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If it's only helping a little bit.

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At least it's helping.

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Chryssius: Do you talk to your

customers about the impact of fast

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fashion on the environment and

why renting is a better option?

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Like, does that ever

come up in conversation?

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Ange: Yeah, naturally,

obviously a lot easier with some

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customers compared to others.

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I do try and talk about it a lot

through social media, but the

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conversations I have with customers

in store as well, I think initially

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when they're coming through the door,

you know, majority of them aren't

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really thinking about that side of it.

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However, once they're in here and seeing

how great the process is and we start

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talking about, and everyone's got a story

of a dress that they've bought and they've

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only worn once, and now it's stuck hanging

in their cupboard, like everyone's done

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that at some stage in their life and

they don't realise that it's, everyone

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is doing that and that's why it's so bad.

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So they love the idea of

being able to rent a dress.

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A, because it's convenient and affordable,

but it's just having that extra feel

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good moment for them going, "Well, I'm

actually helping the environment as well."

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Chryssius: For sure.

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Are there any sort of memorable moments

or memorable things that your customers

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have said about that part of the business?

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Ange: I think it's more their reaction

to hearing the good side of it when

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it comes to sustainability, like I

said, it's more I am educating people.

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They don't necessarily like

95% of them wouldn't consider

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the sustainability side of it.

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So I think the fact that them listening

and actually taking on board that

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this is something good, we are sort of

eliminating fast fashion by renting a

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piece instead of buying something new.

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I can tell they've got that feel

good in them when I tell them that.

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So I think, well, I've just

educated them on that like that.

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And that makes me feel good.

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'cause I think I'm spreading this

even further like it was with me.

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I did, I had no idea.

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So I've learned, now I'm passing it

on to everyone that comes in as well.

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So it's more about that

education side of it.

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I think that has the impact on me

knowing, well, hopefully I have now

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turned a corner in that person's

path when it comes to their choices,

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when it comes to purchasing garments.

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Not just dresses, but

everything in their wardrobe.

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So yeah, I love that side of it, being

able to educate people around that.

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Chryssius: Are you renting just dresses?

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Ange: I started with just dresses.

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Yes.

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And that is majority of my

business, but being Ballarat

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based, we get very cold winters.

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So I have introduced faux

fur coats for wintertime.

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So it completes the outfit.

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I haven't really branched

out in any other ways.

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It's mainly for special occasions.

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So these faux fur coats

obviously compliment the dresses.

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I haven't really thought about stepping

outside of that realm just yet.

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I think the designer wear for special

occasions is the main focus at the moment.

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Chryssius: And being in Ballarat

myself, I can totally vouch

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for the need for a nice coat.

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There's nothing worse than when you have

a beautiful dress on and then you're going

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to go put your puffer over the top of it.

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Ange: Exactly.

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Yes.

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That's the last thing you want to

do, but you want to be warm as well.

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So

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having the faux fur coats is perfect.

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Yeah.

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Chryssius: How has your business

made a difference in the local

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community when it comes to being more

sustainable and as we were saying,

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cutting down on the fashion waste?

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Ange: This is tricky as, I guess like

I'm still a small boutique, so I don't

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feel like I'm making a huge impact.

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I think coming back to that education side

of it, that might be having more of an

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impact rather than anything physically.

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However, in saying that every dress that

I do rent to someone, I have potentially

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saved one other dress going into landfill.

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So if someone's not renting, they're

potentially just buying a one-off

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dress that they're 95% chance they're

not going to wear again, 'cause

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that's usually what's happening.

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And it ends up in there.

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It might be a very long process,

but that dress is going to end

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up in their wardrobe not worn.

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And it's then either going to get thrown

away at some point or at some stage in its

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life, it's going to end up in landfill.

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So the one dress that I've now

rented out, I've rented that out

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instead of it going to landfill.

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And that same dress that I've

rented is going out multiple times.

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Instead of ending up in landfill.

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So someone coming in to rent a dress,

that one particular dress might also

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get rented 15 to 20 other times as well.

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So that dress is getting its full wear out

of that fabric rather than just the one.

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Chryssius: Absolutely.

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Can you share some of the things that

you do to be more eco-friendly and reduce

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your environmental footprint, that

aren't necessarily just the dresses?

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Ange: Of course.

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So for me, there's a couple of things

that I do that I'm really conscious of

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because as I get dresses delivered to me,

I see the amount of plastic that they come

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from, from all of the , manufacturers.

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It's so much plastic.

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It's made me very conscious of the

amount of plastic I use in my business.

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So the first thing I did, was

when I would get all my dresses

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returned from the dry cleaners.

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They'd all be individually

bagged in these plastic bags.

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You know the big plastic bags

you get from the dry cleaners?

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So the first thing I said was,

stop putting them in the bags.

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They're just going straight from

the dry cleaners to my car to the

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shop, so they don't need the plastic.

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Just give them to me on the hangers.

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So we've eliminated all of that plastic

for them to be, and it's just one off.

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I did ask them and

said, do you reuse this?

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And they said, you can bring 'em back in.

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But uh, to be honest, I think

they would just throw it out.

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So I've eliminated all of the

plastic from the dry cleaners.

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I give them back all of their

coat hangers, all of the clips,

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everything that they use.

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I rotate them back to the dry

cleaners to then reuse again.

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On another side of it, with the postal

orders that I do, I don't use any

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plastic when it comes to that as well.

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I use compostable mailers.

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And with those mailers, they

usually have a double tab.

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So that one mailer gets used twice.

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So because my dresses need to be returned,

I'll pop them in this one satchel.

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I will use it once, the customers will

cut along the dotted line, they put

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the dress back into that same satchel

to then send it back to me again.

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So we're eliminating one whole plastic

bag with the return, just by using

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this particular branded satchel.

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And they're compostable

so they break down.

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So they're, yeah, they're a fantastic

business and I think they're

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doing really good things as well.

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Chryssius: Can you just put

those in your home compost?

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Ange: You can, you've got to cut off the

shipping label, or if you use like the

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express post sticker, so any stickers

have to be cut off, but yeah, I just

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put them straight into my green bin.

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After I've taken all the plastic,

like all the paper stickers and stuff

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off, I pop them just straight in the

green bin so they can do that as well.

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You don't even have to

compost them as such.

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They can go in your green bin at

home, but if you did want to compost

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them, you just cut them into strips

and then you put them in the compost.

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It's so easy.

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Chryssius: The world of fashion is

just ever-changing, it's so fast.

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How do you manage to offer items that

are on-trend, while also staying true

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to that commitment to sustainability?

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Like what are your, unspoken rules around

the dresses that you source for your shop?

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Ange: This is tricky because this is

a learning curve for me too, and a

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lot of my choices are quite limited

or left for those bigger brands to

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decide on what their sustainability

practices are going to be.

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I'm only exposed to a certain amount

of dresses being in the production line

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like, I'm not making the dresses myself,

I'm wholesaling them from other labels.

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So for me, I'm putting a lot of trust in

those labels, doing the right thing on

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their end for their sustainable practices.

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For then, to me make a decision

on a particular dress that

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it is right for everybody.

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I think when I choose the range that I

do have, I want the most that I can get

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for that one particular dress that I can.

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So it comes down for me choosing

the quality of the fabrics, which

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naturally, with the level that the

ones I stock, naturally, the quality's

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going to be there regardless.

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I'm choosing something that I

know is going to wear really well

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and for a long period of time.

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It's really hard 'cause some people

do want to stick with the trends and

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what's trending at the moment, but

for me it's trying to find a balance

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of both, something that's on trend

but will also wear for a long time.

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And I think the great thing about my

particular audience here in Ballarat,

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I think, there's always someone at

their stage in life that they're

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happy to wear a dress, even if it was

trending 12 months ago, they would

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still like to wear it 12 months later

they want to, they've, they've seen

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it in that path for that 12 months.

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And then it comes for a chance for that

particular customer to have a go and

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they think, no, I still want to wear this

even if it hasn't been worn for a long

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time, I actually want to be part of that

journey and I'm now going to wear it too.

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So I think even when things are trending

initially at the start, they are trending

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for just that little, little period.

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But I still get the trickle effect.

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I don't just get rid of the dresses

after, you know, three months just

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'cause they're not trending anymore.

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There is someone out there all

the time that still wants to

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wear that dress, which is great.

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It does make it hard because you do want

to pick things that everyone wants, but

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you've still got to be conscious about

like a, from a business per perspective,

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is this going to make me money?

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But also is this dress going to be worn

for a long period of time and still

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align with our sustainable practices?

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Chryssius: That's the thing as well,

like you want it to have a longer

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lifespan than just one fashion season.

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Ange: Yeah.

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It's just trying to find that

balance, I guess, which is tricky

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'cause you do want to keep up with

the trends, but you also want, you

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want the longevity there as well.

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So yeah, that is, that is tricky.

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But it's always going

to be there, I think.

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Chryssius: Yeah.

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How many, or what percentage would

you say lean more towards classic

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pieces and then what percentage

is more into the trendier pieces?

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Ange: I would say it would, it would

be 50/50 because there are a lot of

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people that come in hoping to get

something that's on trend 'cause they've

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seen it on social media or Instagram

and, and they desperately want to

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wear that particular style or dress.

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However, out of that 50% that come in

for those on-trend pieces, majority of

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those do end up leaving with something

completely different altogether.

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So I think their expectation is that

they want to get something on trend

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'cause that's all they've seen.

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However, when they actually try these

pieces on and then realise, well that

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was right for that particular person,

but that's not right for my body shape.

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And I actually, I don't feel good in this.

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I actually want to wear something

that I do feel good in and end

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up wearing something that they've

then dressed for their body shape,

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which I've helped them with rather

than something that's on trend.

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So they've left with a completely

different mindset about how they

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choose dresses now because their

eyes have been opened up to a whole

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new range of all these other items.

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And they could be timeless pieces because

that's what's better for their body

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and we're dressing them as their body

and what looks beautiful on them as

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a person rather than what's trending.

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Chryssius: I can vouch for that because

I distinctly remember when I got a

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dress from you and I had picked out

a bunch of different options from

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your website, and you know, these are

dresses that I thought Oh, definitely.

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And the dress that I ended up wearing

for that particular event was a

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dress that I would never in a million

years have thought that that was

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something that I would go with, or

something that I would even wear.

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You know, I had in my head, oh, I

want to wear this kind of dress.

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But when I tried them on, they looked

terrible on me, and that's nothing

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against the dresses, it's just they

weren't right for my body type.

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So yeah, I went with a

completely different dress.

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Ange: Yes, it's really hard 'cause the

stigma is this is what looks good on

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Instagram, so that should look good on me.

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But people get caught up in that and

forget that I should be dressing for

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my body shape and what looks good for

me, not necessarily what's on trend.

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So just breaking down those barriers of

people's thoughts on what they should

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be doing and what's better for them.

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Chryssius: That's a topic that's also come

up a few times in previous interviews.

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We get so caught up in the outfit not

looking good on us, and then we blame

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it on us when at the end of the day,

they're not made for every body type.

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Ange: People feel like they have to

change their body or lose a bit of

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weight or do whatever they need to

to fit into that particular dress in

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instead of there is a dress or there is

a style out there for every body shape.

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We just have to find it

for you as an individual.

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You don't have to change who you are.

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Like that's the last thing

anyone should be doing.

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So.

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Chryssius: Exactly.

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Just out of curiosity, how many dresses

do you have on hand at any given time?

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Ange: I actually don't know.

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My husband asked me this question not long

ago and I said, actually, I don't know.

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When I first started, I was so excited.

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I had just over a hundred, I was between

a hundred and 150 dresses, and I was so

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pumped 'cause I thought that was so many.

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And I would look at it

now and I think, oh...

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I'd just be guessing, but I'd be up

around 450, close to 500 dresses.

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But that's because I stock, like

that's not one particular style.

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So I would, in one style, I will

stock at least three different

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sizes in that particular style.

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So that's where the numbers

add up, because I have

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multiples in just one style.

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Chryssius: That makes sense.

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Are there certain features in your,

in the designs that you choose to make

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sure that they're versatile and durable?

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I know that you mentioned that at

the price point that you're buying

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these or getting these dresses in,

like quality is there, but is there

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anything else that you are looking at?

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Ange: The fabric is the main thing,

so I have to go to Melbourne, so I

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have to travel to do my buying trips.

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I don't always get there, and I

sometimes have to do them just online

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through lookbooks and things, which

every time I do it that way, I always

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end up choosing something that,

yeah, isn't quite right because I

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need to get a feel for each fabric.

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It's the fabric and the detailing in each

dress that makes a big difference for

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the longevity of that particular garment.

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So I am always on the lookout

for quality fabric, is it lined?

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Does it have good zips?

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What are the details like?

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Some, some designers like to have at

least one item in their collection that's

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really out there, or really delicate or

whatever it might be, which is great for

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a one-time wear, but you know, as soon

as we start dry cleaning these dresses

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multiple times, those things break down.

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And then the the look of that

dress has changed just purely

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because we've washed that dress.

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So, and I've done that just by learning

from my mistakes as to what I should pick.

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And, and while I do get things

repaired, there are certain fabrics

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that don't necessarily last, the

distance compared to some other ones.

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So I do have to look out for what's

going to be better for the long

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run rather than having to pick

something that is just going to be

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able to only be worn once or twice.

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And that is something that , those

designers should be considering

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when they're designing these

dresses in the first place.

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Can this dress be worn more than

once and cleaned more than once?

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And if it can't, then they shouldn't

be even producing that item.

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Chryssius: Mm-Hmm.

328

That is such a good point.

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Ange: But that's every, that's every

label and that's even, you know, you

330

look even higher up with the even more

higher end labels, and it happens all

331

the time with like Gucci, and they

might make this gorgeous skirt, but it's

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got this detail of the Gucci part on

the top that's like a brass buckle or

333

something, and it's stitched into the

fabric, and that makes it impossible to

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clean because that then runs or catches

on the fabric and then it ruins it.

335

So you can't even, some

designers don't even consider

336

one wash, let alone multiple.

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Which is awful.

338

Chryssius: They're literally

designing it as a one wear type item.

339

Ange: Yeah.

340

Chryssius: How long would you

say then would be the average

341

lifespan for your pieces?

342

Ange: Uh, some last longer than others,

and that's sort of in more ways than one.

343

So if I sort of give an example of a

really popular item, so one particular

344

dress that might I like, I've got

quite a few in here that I've had

345

for two years, maybe three that are

still popular, still renting out.

346

And they're still coming back great.

347

So they're still getting washed.

348

Obviously they're not like new condition.

349

They have been worn, but they're

still great quality where they

350

still can be worn and it still looks

like a beautiful designer dress.

351

These types of dresses are usually

those classic and timeless pieces.

352

Yeah, like I said, two to three

years potentially for one item.

353

So that could be rented 30 plus

times and washed 30 plus times.

354

You think if you were to buy a dress

or any garment for that reason,

355

are you going to wear it 30 times?

356

That's why the rental industry is

fantastic, because this one garment is

357

getting worn up to 30 times, which would

not happen if that one consumer isn't

358

going to potentially wear it 30 times.

359

Chryssius: Mm-Hmm.

360

Then when they come to the end

of their lifecycle with you,

361

what happens to them then?

362

Ange: So I always have a sales section

on my website, and I also do two in-store

363

sales per year, where, I choose a

select range of dresses that are at

364

the end of their lifecycle, where I

think they're just not at that quality.

365

They've just been worn way too many times.

366

It's time to move these on.

367

Or I've made a bad decision in one

of those and it's just not renting

368

well, I then sell those items to

consumers, and usually those particular

369

people that are buying those items,

they've had their eye on it for a

370

while and they've always wanted it,

but could never buy it at full price.

371

Whereas now they're getting it as a

secondhand piece at a much cheaper price,

372

and they're just as happy because they

then, it's going off to a new home.

373

It's getting worn by new people.

374

Rather than sitting here on the

floor, not doing anything or

375

sitting here out in storage.

376

So it's nice for me to be able to move

those items on to a new home to get

377

loved by someone else all over again.

378

Chryssius: I think that's fantastic.

379

With more and more people, showing

an interest in things like purchasing

380

secondhand and upcycling, do you

ever include any secondhand or

381

upcycled fashion in your collections?

382

Ange: I don't, at this stage, I don't

really have the capacity of my floor

383

space here in the boutique that I have.

384

It is only a small space, so I don't

have a huge amount of space to play with,

385

with experimenting and things like that.

386

I think potentially something for

me down the track is to have dresses

387

on consignment so I could have other

people's dresses that they own in

388

here on the floor to be rented so I'm

sort of renting it on their behalf.

389

That is a potential option for me in

the future, which I've thought about.

390

When it comes to formal dresses,

everyone's still got dresses in their

391

cupboard that they're either willing to

sell or something needs to happen with it.

392

Whether that's make a bit of

money off it by renting it.

393

Chryssius: That's a really clever

way of doing it actually, because

394

you're solving a problem for somebody

else who has this item hanging in

395

their wardrobe, potentially not

being worn after being worn once.

396

And it's something else that

you can offer your customers.

397

Ange: Yes.

398

Just more of a range.

399

Yeah, and 'cause I only stock a

certain size range, so I will have

400

people come in outside of that

size range and I can't help them.

401

So that would then help a wider

audience in terms of sizing as well.

402

Chryssius: Have you had any

real horror stories around a

403

piece that you've rented out?

404

Ange: There's a lot of trust in these

people that rent these dresses, but I

405

don't really have any horror stories.

406

Because people treat these

dresses with a lot of respect.

407

When they're renting it, they treat it

like it's their own, which is fantastic.

408

So, to be honest, the worst thing

that's happened is a cigarette burn

409

in the fabric of one of the dresses.

410

And we both, we were both freaking out.

411

The customers freaking out.

412

I was freaking out.

413

It was sort of my first

like, damaged item.

414

And, and they were freaking out

'cause then they were worried they

415

were going to have to pay for this

dress and, I thought, oh, like

416

I'll just take it to my seamstress.

417

You just never know.

418

Let me just, let's just do this

and we'll, we'll, we'll worry about

419

it when she says it's no good.

420

So I actually took it to my seamstress

and she solved the problem, the what,

421

where it was and how the fabric sat.

422

She was managed to put a seam in

it, and you could not even tell.

423

So, to be honest, if that's, that's

not even really that much of a

424

horror story because we were able

to solve the problem and I actually

425

still have that dress on the rack.

426

It's still renting out.

427

So that was right at the start

of the business for me, and

428

Yeah, I'm still renting it out.

429

So that's not even really that much.

430

That's kind of like a horror story as

well as a good story in there because we

431

were able to, we were both worried, but

we were able to solve it and it was fine.

432

But really, the worst part of the

rental side of it is, putting

433

all my trust in Australia Post.

434

So I post dresses out all the time,

all over Australia and Australia Post

435

is probably like our biggest worry

usually about getting a dress on time.

436

I have lost a dress in within

Australia Post system at some

437

stage, which has never come back.

438

So there's those kind of little things,

but they're out of your control and

439

that's just all part of the process, so...

440

Chryssius: That's amazing that you

are renting dresses Australia wide.

441

I didn't realise.

442

Ange: Yes.

443

Which is crazy to think that when

I get a website order I think this

444

person hasn't even tried it on.

445

They're putting all this trust knowing

this dress is going to fit and they see

446

it on the website and they put the booking

through the website and we send it off.

447

So yeah.

448

It's great.

449

I send, send them off every week,

which is exciting 'cause I think, I

450

don't know who this customer is and

it's sort of a feel good thing knowing

451

that they've taken a part in this

small Ballarat business and putting

452

trust in it for their special events.

453

It's fun.

454

It's another nice aspect of the business.

455

Chryssius: I'd love to know

what your favourite part of

456

your dress hire business is.

457

Ange: There's so many good parts.

458

My favourite part is the customers.

459

When someone walks through the

door every day, that excites me.

460

I love hearing people's stories.

461

I love being able to help

them solve a problem for them.

462

They're coming in, needing a

garment for a special event and

463

majority of the time, they're either

nervous or not sure what they want.

464

So I'm able to help that

and I love that part of it.

465

And the best bit is they walk

out feeling so confident and so

466

excited to wear one of my dresses

that just makes me feel so good.

467

And then when they return, I get all

this amazing feedback from customers,

468

special little notes in their

returns, like it just lights me up.

469

I love it.

470

I love being able to help people

and make them feel really good when

471

they're wearing one of my dresses.

472

That's the best part for sure.

473

Chryssius: I know we touched on

earlier that the whole aspect of

474

sustainability when it comes to fashion

didn't really come to your attention

475

until you started this business.

476

Has that inspired you in any way

to, for your own personal shopping,

477

consider purchasing secondhand?

478

Ange: Yes, absolutely.

479

Personally for me, in terms of

just clothing, every day wear, I,

480

I feel like I've always been pretty

savvy with that side of it anyway.

481

To be honest, I thought that was

more of me being money-conscious.

482

But I think now since running the

dress hire business and being more

483

aware of fast fashion, it's just

cemented even more in my mind.

484

Whether it be for money reasons, I'm

being more sustainable in that sense.

485

It's not just about the money.

486

I'm, helping reduce the environment

with this fabric waste in landfill.

487

Personally I'm glad that I don't just go

out and buy one off pieces all the time.

488

I've never really been like that anyway,

in my mind I thought it was because it was

489

for money, but now I think it's, you know,

100% for helping to reduce that footprint.

490

And I've always loved going into op-shops,

especially for, I've got three young kids.

491

I love going in there and

buying secondhand toys for

492

them or clothing for them.

493

Like you always find such wonderful

things in secondhand stores.

494

So that's always been a part of my

life anyway, but I've certainly

495

far more conscious of it now.

496

And if I do buy a new piece of

clothing, that question is always there.

497

Am I going to wear this and am I going to

wear it long term rather than just once?

498

If it's a winter item in

Ballarat, you've certainly got

499

your chance to wear it 30 times!

500

Chryssius: Yeah.

501

Ange: And I think when I'm, in

the boutique and I'm on my social

502

media accounts and I'm taking

photos of myself or whatever,

503

you know, people are seeing me.

504

I like that they will see me

in an item more than once.

505

Like, just say, I am

wearing a statement piece.

506

And I know that I've put that up on

my socials and that people would've

507

seen me in that statement piece.

508

I don't care that if that next week

I'm wearing that statement piece

509

again, like I want them to see that

I'm wearing clothes more than once.

510

So I'm conscious of that too, knowing

that we've got to break down those

511

walls of, yes, people have seen me

in that particular top, but I want

512

them to see me in that top again,

because I want them to know that that's

513

what you do when you buy a piece.

514

You wear it multiple times.

515

Chryssius: There's this whole

culture around, "I've worn it once,

516

I can't possibly wear it again

because what will people think?"

517

Ange: It's awful.

518

It's such a, I know.

519

I wish we could break that down,

but in saying that, my rental

520

business benefits from that.

521

When it comes to dresses as such,

and that's such a common thing

522

for people only to wear once, for

me as a business, it helps me.

523

People are going to rent more if

they do only want to wear it once.

524

So that's a really tricky

position for me to be in.

525

While it's good for them to only want to

wear something once, that means they're

526

going to come back and rent more often.

527

Which is great for me as a business,

but I do wish we could cut that

528

stigma somewhere along the line

because it's an awful mindset to be in

529

thinking, I can only wear this once.

530

Chryssius: Yeah, that's right.

531

And I mean, at least when they're

coming to you, they're doing

532

it in a more sustainable way.

533

Ange: Yeah.

534

Chryssius: Do your kids like

to go to the op-shop with you?

535

Ange: Oh yeah.

536

They love it.

537

They think it's fantastic.

538

Yeah.

539

They expect we're going to get

something every time we go, of course.

540

They're like, "I want

this" and "I want that."

541

And yeah, they think it's great.

542

And we pass that down

the line with them too.

543

So when we go back home or whether it's

the day before we go to do something like

544

that, I like, we are cleaning up our toys.

545

Okay, you need to make a pile of toys

that you want to keep, a pile that you

546

want to donate, and then obviously a pile

of broken ones that can't be replaced.

547

But you know, there's always in

that, there's always a pile for

548

them to donate to someone else

that can, that can use these toys.

549

So I try and include them

in that process as well.

550

Chryssius: Yeah, that's great.

551

Is op-shopping something that

you did when you were younger?

552

Like were you brought up

hitting the op-shops with your

553

family or anything like that?

554

Ange: I think so, we grew

up in a small country town.

555

It was certainly part of

our lifestyle at some stage.

556

But I had, I grew up with four

other sisters and we naturally

557

shared clothes all the time.

558

As soon as our eldest was out of hers,

it was all about the hand me down.

559

So that was a massive

part of our upbringing.

560

And to be honest, we still do it.

561

We're all similar age.

562

We all have young kids.

563

We all pass our clothes and

everything around to each other.

564

And that's not just the kids stuff.

565

Like if my sister has a wardrobe

clean out, she'll send the bag over

566

to me and I'll go through it and

I'll take out what I want before

567

we pass it on to the next sister.

568

So that's always been part of

our upbringing as well anyway.

569

And I think, like I said it was more

of a budget conscious reason as to

570

why Mum did that, but that's, why

we did it back then to save money.

571

Whereas now you realise the

more beneficial part of that is,

572

that, well, that's actually worth

saving the environment as well.

573

Chryssius: Can you please tell

us about your best bargain brag?

574

So that is something that you have

found secondhand, whether it be from

575

a, secondhand market or an op-shop.

576

Something that is either your

favourite, the craziest, the most

577

out there, or just the best find.

578

Of course, I love this.

579

I think everyone's got

a good story about this.

580

When I was on one of my buying trips

in Melbourne, I had a bit of time and

581

I was just window shopping, while I

was waiting for my next appointment.

582

And I came across this, shop and it

was on like a main street as well with

583

all these other high-end businesses.

584

And it wasn't an op-shop as such,

'cause they didn't take donations, but

585

everything in that store was vintage,

it was secondhand, it was upcycled.

586

I was in heaven.

587

It was so, it was the most

amazing place I've ever found.

588

And I bought a few things, but

this one particular item that stuck

589

out to me was this long sleeve

velvet body suit, black body suit.

590

It's gorgeous.

591

And I just fell in love

with it straight away.

592

And I thought, it's velvet like

that's, it's just such a classic piece.

593

I was so excited to see it was my size.

594

And everything else in this

store was fantastic as well.

595

But this one particular

piece is it's become my fa.

596

I wear it all the time when

I'm in the boutique as well.

597

It's my favourite piece and I love

wearing it because I know that I've

598

saved that ending up in landfill

somewhere 'cause someone was sick of it.

599

Whereas I now get to love it all

over again and multiple times.

600

If you would like to see

Ange's black velvet bodysuit...

601

Sounds terrible when you say it

like that, "black velvet bodysuit".

602

It looks awesome, I must say.

603

I love it.

604

Yeah...

605

Yeah, so jump onto the Reloved

Radio Instagram highlights

606

to have a look at that.

607

Um, yeah, I didn't mean it

for it to come out like that.

608

No, it's just when you said it back I

was like, oh, sounds very interesting.

609

Oh, well, it might make

people go on and have a look.

610

Can you tell everyone where people can

find you on social media and how they

611

can go about hiring a dress from you?

612

Of course I am on Instagram

under Lucida Dress Hire Ballarat.

613

I have my physical store here in

Ballarat, which is on Armstrong

614

Street South, I have open hours.

615

You don't need to make appointments.

616

You can come in at any stage,

but I also have the website.

617

If you are from out of town, I

can post dresses to you wherever

618

you live in Australia as well.

619

Excellent.

620

Thank you so much, Ange, it

has been so fun having you on.

621

Yes, I know.

622

It's been fantastic.

623

Thank you for having me.

624

I really appreciate it.

625

Thank you so much.