Aussies earn big bucks from Barbie dresses

An Aussie mum is making thousands of dollars per month with a clever side hustle that’s booming as the Barbie movie hits cinemas.

If you haven’t seen a little more pink splashed across your social media or newsfeed lately, you might be colourblind. As hype for the Barbie movie, featuring Aussie powerhouse Margot Robbie ramps up, Barbie pink seems to be everywhere.

And while Robbie tours Byron Bay mansions in hopes of splashing her well-earned Barbie dollars, some lesser-known Australian women are finding their own ways to make cash off the fuchsia frenzy.

Thanks to the rise of Barbie-themed birthday celebrations, hens and bachelorette parties, Aussies want to be brightly-clad, just like the doll they used to play with, and hiring an outfit for that one occasion is sometimes the way to go.

Barbie-themed hens parties like Ms Rawlinsons have Aussies on the hunt for pink outfits. Picture: Sophie Rawlinson.

Mum of four, Sophie Rawlinson says she is making thousands of dollars per month renting out Barbie dresses. While it’s a side hustle she’s had since needing a way to afford an expensive dress two years ago, dress hire has stepped up to another level with Barbie themed outfits in demand.

“It was maybe only a month ago that I started to get a heap of people messaging me. And they’re like, ‘oh, do you have anything like pink available? I’m having a Barbie themed bridal shower or a 30th’ or whatever … I recently had someone hire a dress for a Barbie themed baby shower.”

The media professional says she would “easily clear five grand a week in the summertime” with her dress hire side hustle, and is “gearing up for a huge spring and summer with the Barbie trend.”

Sophie Rawlinson says hiring out dresses isn’t for the faint-hearted. Picture: Sophie Rawlinson.

While the rural NSW based woman says it “is a full-time job,” cleaning, ironing, mailing out marketing and mailing out the dresses herself, she does not know what her family would do without her extra income amid the current cost of living crisis.

“I thought about taking a couple months break and then coming back. But … to be honest, even in such a quiet period it’s still getting that extra, at least, a few hundred dollars a week.”

“Thankfully, our lifestyle hasn’t been affected too much,” says the 34-year-old, despite tighter economic conditions around the country, because we’ve got that extra income.”

Brittany Courtney, a 19-year-old university student, is currently putting herself through uni with her dress hire side hustle.

Ms Courtney's Cult Gaia Renata Gown is in high demand after being spotted at Sofia Richie's viral wedding. Picture: Brittany Courtney

While the dental prosthetics student has been hiring out her dresses for quite some time, her range of pink dresses recently began being booked out.

“I’ve always had heaps of pink dresses. My sister who also wears some of my dresses is a massive pink fan … And in the recent Barbie phase, I’ve been seeing people go crazy with pink.”

Co-founder and CEO of dress-sharing platform The Volte, Bernadette Olivier says the site has seen a spike in pink rentals ever since the Barbie movie’s viral behind the scenes snapshots were released.

“We initially see it by the types of dresses that people are buying and listing, as leaders. And so that came quite around the time those behind the scenes footage was released.

“And then the demand for those dresses just slowly increased over the last six months of last year. Then it has gone up another level again, especially with all the red carpet.”

Ms Olivier says having Aussie Margot Robbie play Barbie has made Aussies feel included in the trend. Picture: Supplied.

But Ms Olivier points out that the pink craze might be linked to “dopamine dressing” as well as just the reprise of Barbie fever.

“We’ve had two years of pandemic and then a big, brief respite, and then I think we’re all looking at economic conditions. So if you actually look historically, when things have been difficult in the economy, or just in global affairs, people tend to wear really bright colours.

“So I think there’s probably a link psychologically that things are complicated and we’ve all probably had quite a rough two years but wearing something fun and bright coloured does really kind of make you feel good while you’re wearing it.”

With a swarm of Aussies wanting to dress like the doll they loved, Ms Courtney's range of pink dress rentals are coming in handy. Picture: Brittany Courtney

“That’s been going longer than Barbie, but I think Barbie made it acceptable for everybody.”

And, to avoid a one-wear buy as we race for the Barbie look while it has its fleeting moment in the trending limelight, Olivier encourages Aussies to hire the bold pieces.

“More and more of us are becoming aware of the issues the fashion industry has. And so from that perspective, I think especially if you’re only going to wear a dress once, people are really thinking twice before they buy a fast fashion item.”

The Volte CEO notes that sustainable fashion has lent itself to the Barbie trend, as “people can be really experimental”.

“Because they’re not buying it forever. They’re just wearing it for a night. So people are definitely getting more adventurous in what they wear.”

Originally published as Aussies earn big bucks from Barbie dresses