How a hard-working Australian mum has already made $6,000 from the Melbourne Cup: now she’s sharing her incredible secret

Australian women are increasingly renting out their clothes as pressure on living costs continues to rise, with one woman earning $6,000 a week by sharing her dresses for the Melbourne Cup.

The Spring Racing Season is in full swing, with the iconic Melbourne Cup race at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday afternoon.

Melbourne mother-of-two Mia Roth rents out her wardrobe to other Australian women who ‘share’ instead of buying new when it comes to big events.

Ms Roth has made as much as $6000 in the past week alone by renting out her designer dresses to people going to the Melbourne Cup.

Ms Roth has made $6,000 in the past week renting out her designer dresses to women attending the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday

Ms. Roth said she started offering her clothes on the peer-to-peer dress-sharing platform The Volte in November 2022 and it “escalated quickly.”

“I have about 140 dresses now, and the most popular ones tend to be the more expensive ones,” she told Ny Breaking Australia.

‘Renting out your clothes on The Volte is a great way to not only make money, but also help other women enjoy wearing beautiful designer dresses and new collections at an affordable price.

‘I’m a mother of two and wanted to work part-time when I started, but now it’s become a lucrative business.’

Renters also save money by renting out dresses they would otherwise only wear a few times, for just a fraction of the cost.

This comes as data shows that almost half (48 percent) of Aussies have or are planning to start a side business, with around 950,000 Aussies working multiple jobs due to the rising cost of living.

Melbourne mother-of-five Jo Pastras said she is having to cut back on groceries as she tries to cover rising prices.

‘I’m a mother of five and have two grandchildren and have had to cut back on things like groceries due to the rising cost of living, but I’m very naughty – I don’t want to skimp on clothes and looking good,’ she said.

Ms Pastras “borrowed” an $800 Rebecca Vallance dress for the Melbourne Cup from Ms Roth for just $138, rather than having to buy a new dress, which could cost her hundreds of dollars.

Melbourne mother of five Jo Pastras (pictured left on Derby Day) has borrowed a dress to wear to the Melbourne Cup (centre photo: Eddie McGuire).

Bernadette Olivier, CEO and co-founder of The Volte, says more women than ever are ‘renting’ or ‘sharing’ their clothes rather than buying new, with the platform reporting the highest numbers.

“Bookings have gone crazy this week for the Melbourne Cup Carnival,” Ms Olivier said.

“Sales are also up 300 per cent and we are seeing new rental offers for dresses on the same route.

‘More and more women see beautiful, quality fashion as an investment, as this is reflected in the number of new season dresses that are offered for rent.’

Ms Olivier said there had been a noticeable change in consumer behaviour.

“We hope this continues because eventually fast-fashion will no longer be a consideration when you can rent a nice designer dress,” she said.

Bernadette Olivier (pictured), CEO and co-founder of peer-to-peer clothes sharing platform The Volte, says more women than ever are ‘renting’ their clothes to others

The Melbourne Cup is held on the first Tuesday in November and is one of the most famous horse races in the world.

The day is celebrated with a public holiday for the state of Victoria.

The full field for the 2023 Melbourne Cup is filled with 24 horses competing for the biggest prize in Australian horse racing.

The field for the iconic $8 million Cup is dominated by foreign horses this year.

Australia’s Big Four banks are all predicting a rate hike on Melbourne Cup Day in a bid to curb persistently high inflation.

Bad news for borrowers on Tuesday would mark the 13th rate hike in 18 months and send the Reserve Bank’s interest rate soaring to a 12-year high of 4.35 percent.