First you need an idea. An exclusive, invite-only dress exchange society. The Dress Society.

I thought of this while trying on MANY dresses at an Australian department store. A variety of cuts, styles and colours, I thought they were all beautiful. Then it dawned on me – what a shame it is that I will probably only wear it once or twice.

From personal experience, I know that girls don’t tend to wear the same dress many times. Nobody wants to become known for having a uniform (unless you’re a superhero). These beauties end up buried deep within the closet, never seeing light of day again. However, I can’t help but think that my once-worn, practically mint-shape dress could be enjoyed by someone else. Similarly, I would not mind wearing a dress that someone else wore once (isn’t that what dry cleaners are for?).

Why invite-only? Because that’s a way to maintain quality – the items must be comparable in value to make it a fair trade for everyone.

This idea is still rolling down a hill, and I’m waiting to see how big the ball gets, but the jist is here. I spent a day planning/sketching it out, a day talking to my friends Hana & Melissa about its potential; I endured Igor’s rigorous questioning of “what ifs” and worst case scenarios, and I ended up with a little website (still a work in progress).

I currently have some freelance work so I must put this idea to the side, but it will be waiting for me patiently. I hope to come back to it in a week’s time, with a clear vision of who, what, where & how.

The preliminary sketches (made on a sunny day, on a sunny beach):

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Of course, the transition from paper to web always imposes a few changes to the original layout of things:

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