The Senior - Why older women are refusing to buy expensive, new dresses for weddings
Article from The Senior
Not everyone wants to turn up to the family wedding in a micro-mini with a thigh-high split, a gap in the clothing market Sydney entrepreneur Lois Wake honed in on.
"I just thought there is a gap in the market, there's a niche here that is not being serviced," she told The Senior.
Fashion retail is undergoing a shift, where customers are turning away from expensive off-the-rack purchases when they're heading to a one-off event.
Instead, shoppers are looking for more economical and environmentally sustainable options, such as recommerce and dress hire. But the current options on the market in Australia skew significantly towards styles for younger women, leaving older women with no enticing alternatives.
Starting her next chapter
It's this gap in the market that businesswoman Wake saw when she launched the dress hire service Lois & Co in 2024, at the age of 72.
"I thought, if I'm finding it difficult to find something to wear, then I'm not the only one," Wake, now aged 74, said
"So many clients come to me and say, 'I'm so glad we found you, we've been looking for something to hire and they're all low cut, with a slit up the side, and no sleeves'."
Dress codes leave little room for movement.
The 2026 Australian Wedding Industry Report found 57 per cent of modern weddings stipulate a semi-formal or cocktail attire dress code, while 34 per cent enforce a strict black-tie requirement.
Finding confidence through fashion
Wake was not expecting to share such deep connections with her clients, but discovered her business was not just budget relief, it was also an affirming emotional experience.
"They look in the mirror and see something that they never thought they would fit into anyway," she said.
"It does provide a lot of confidence that you're never too old to dress up, you can always look great."
The price of a good celebration
The Lois & Co collection focuses on high-quality garments designed to celebrate older silhouettes with dignity and grace from designers including La Strada, Anthea Crawford and Trellis Lane.
To keep this luxury accessible, the business uses a formula based on a percentage of the retail price, meaning a high-end $800 gown can be hired for a four-day booking for around $120.
While some simpler silk pieces are priced under $100, the baseline hire fees cover the ongoing overheads of professional dry cleaning, stock maintenance and garment insurance.
"When you walk into a room at an event, you're not auditioning for anything, you've arrived," she said.