All the colours of the rainbow as well as simple whites and smart blacks fill the racks of Shanae Barton’s home.
The University of Otago psychology student is no slouch when it comes to style and, when she is not studying, she uses her flair for fashion to help people across the country dress for special occasions without spending a fortune.
From her Green Island home she provides fashionable frocks for hire, with prices ranging from $20 to $120 depending on the garment.
Renting a dress was a good way to decrease overconsumption, she said.
"At the moment there’s a lot of issues with sustainability, a lot of fast fashion, overconsumption."
As well as being more sustainable, it was more affordable for people, she said.
Dresses that could be rented from her for $120 could have cost between $800 to $1500 to buy, Miss Barton said.
"I wanted to be able to offer girls basically designer garments at a fraction of the price, which is more affordable."
She used social media to display each garment, using models or social media influencers to show off the dresses.
She also had a website which had photographs of the garments, a clear description and the recommended size fit.
"At the moment I stock size six to 14."
"There is a little booking system where they can just click what date they want the dress for, add it to the cart and basically put all their details in and book it."
She had sent postal orders all over the country, and also provided pickups for local customers.
Weddings, 21sts and school formals were some of the occasions people had rented the dresses for.
With more than 100 dresses she had a wide range to choose from.
Even when she was sourcing dresses she tried to think sustainably.
"There is no point in buying brand new if I can buy it off someone else in brand new condition."
After renting the customer could simply send it back without worrying about cleaning it.
Some of the dresses needed to be cleaned in a certain way.
"If other people clean it, they might end up ruining the dress and then that is going to stress them out."
