Goldies Designer Dress Hire

Lookout Newcastle, there’s a Dress Hire business in Wickham here to keep your fashion game strong; meet Goldies Designer Dress Hire.

Brought to you by Newcastle born and bred, Taya Calder-Mason, the concept for Goldie’s was born on the evening of New Year’s Eve 2019; what a way to bring in the new year!

“I’ve been hiring dresses myself for over two years and was just sick of them arriving and not fitting or looking bad. When I wanted a place where I could go and try them on beforehand, and not have to travel to Sydney for it, I realised Newcastle had a massive gap in the market.

“I was getting ready for a NYE party and just started thinking about the idea. I’m a pretty all-or-nothing person so on the way to the party I bought the domain and email. I woke up on NYD thinking, alright, let’s give this a shot,” Taya said.

And give it a shot she did. The early months of 2020 were spent nutting out the business plan, from growing the collection and chatting to her girlfriends about what they wanted out of a dress hiring business.

“I just started messaging my girlfriends on a weekly basis all sorts of questions of what they would want from this kind of service. The real resounding consensus was that having a space to try on the dresses would be a huge hit.”

Launching the first week of March in the original Goldie’s space in an apartment building on Scott St, Goldie’s was popular right off the ranks before our good old friend COVID hit a week later and the future of the business was up in the air.

“It was a weird time. I had done no publicity and it was purely word of mouth. My first, and only week I had eight people hire dresses. Then everything just shut down and everyone went into hibernation. 

“The best part was that COVID meant a lot of people had sales and it really made me to take a step back but still work on building the collection. I used the time to do a lot of online shopping and shooting the dresses.”

So, how does the Goldie’s experience actually work?

Step 1: Browse the Goldie’s collection online via the website, Instagram, or Facebook.

Step 2: Screenshot your favs.

Step 3: Email or dm Goldie’s Dress Hire your screenshots and request a time to book in for a try on.

Step 4: Head in-store, try on your picks and hire your favourite!

Step 5: Return your piece to the Goldie’s dropbox after your event.

“When you get here, all the dresses you like will be hanging up ready to try on. It can be a little overwhelming looking at all these dresses when you first walk in. So, I always say, start with your top three and see how you go.

“Come in, try them on, book a dress which you’ll have for four days. Most people will pick it up on a Friday and drop it back in the Dropbox at the back of the building by Monday and we take care of all the dry cleaning; it’s nice and easy.”

The Goldie’s range is constantly growing and is currently sitting at just under 200 dresses ranging from sizes 6-16. From your extravagant ball gowns to casual spring lunch dresses to everything in between; you’ll find a winner at Goldie’s Designer Dress Hire.

“Some notable brands that we have on the racks include Zimmerman, Talulah, Thurley, Manning Cartel, Alexander Wang, Sheike, Camilla and Marc, Shona Joy, Bec and Bridge, and Trelise Cooper.”

Got a designer dress sitting in your wardrobe collecting dust? Goldie’s also has its very own ‘rent your dress’ section that allows shoppers to add your dress to the Goldie’s collection and get commission each time it’s hired! For more info on this, click here.

Got an upcoming event? Find some dresses online, grab some close girlfriends and book in your try-on appointment at Goldie’s Designer Dress Hire.