Bell Street vintage hire, Sydney
While it’s actually on Marrickville’s Illawarra Road, Bell Street vintage store does feel a million miles away from the inner-west thoroughfare once you walk through the door. Jewel-hued taffeta, vintage lace and tulle, silks, velvets and intricate embroidery… oh, and then there are the sequins.
And the best thing? No buyer’s remorse, but equally no FOMO - because this, as owner Ali Dibley puts it, is a “shared wardrobe”.
“I hate to be that person who, when someone asks where I got my dress, I say ‘it’s vintage’ and their face drops,” says Ali. “There are some pieces that are just too good not to share.” A true trailblazer in Sydney, other vintage stores barely let you loan items for a shoot. That’s because vintage can be susceptible to damage, and vintage collectors (usually the store owners) tend to be protective of each piece they’ve individually sourced, so the risk is just too high.
Ali sees it differently. “I know how to look after vintage, how to wash it, how to repair it, so they’re safer with me anyway.” Her customers pay for a week’s rent, can wear the item as much as they like, and don’t have to worry about dry cleaning or replacing missing sequins because Ali factors that all into her very reasonable pricing. Some of the pieces you’re allowed to borrow are almost priceless: a Belle Epoque era beaded bolero, or an Ossie Clark gown with Celia Birtwell print…
“I totally understand the thrill of a new dress, and it’s not compatible with everything else to do with sustainable fashion - hence this,” she says, opening her arms generously like Glinda the Good Witch, a character she played while promoting Australia’s Garage Sale Trail.
The shop is bursting with personalities, and almost all of them are clothes. You see she names each one, usually after the original owner, and can generally reel off their backstory on demand. She’ll tell you how Mavis wore this dress on a first date, or that Maggie McKendrick wore that as a circus performer. And it seems more and more customers are inspired to pass on their own special pieces to join this sartorial afterlife.
“People don’t want to sell their special but unworn dress never to see it again - they want it to be treasured,” says Ali.
Like all businesses during lockdown, Bell Street suffered. Weddings were postponed, work Christmas parties, charity events, award ceremonies - poof - and her business was obsolete, but through penny pinching and hard work it has survived and, in the wake of another busy Sydney Mardi Gras and a new wave of group dress-ups (Barbie! Harry Styles! Taylor Swift’s Eras tour!!!!), it looks set, even, to thrive.
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Owner Ali Dibley is a talented dressmaker (check out her bespoke bridal services) and textiles educator as well as co-host of the Questioning Fashion podcast with Slogue’s Jo Gambale. She finds joy being part of the local community and is a proud small business owner. Her approach to fashion is, as author Clare Press put it in an interview with Ali in 2021, “doubly sustainable”, and about as circular as you can get.
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Rental prices average around $100 per dress for a week’s rent, with separates starting at $40.
While the vintage includes very early pieces (20s, 30s, 40s), it is predominantly 50s-90s, but you will also find modern special occasion wear, so there really is something for everyone.
There is a wide range of sizing - up to women’s 24.
Ali is a highly skilled dressmaker and, along with her assistant Chloe, makes custom bridalwear
Beyond the main shop is an entire room of vintage wedding dresses, priced from $300 to rent
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We love to borrow vintage winter coats from here at the height of Sydney’s cold weather. And while the shop caters to special occasions, we highly recommend renting a statement piece (say, a leather vest, a devore maxi skirt, an organza blouse) and wearing it seven different ways before returning it to be cleaned. Heaven!
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“This place is such a gem!”
“What a treasure trove.”
“Best service EVER.”
“I've since hired outfits from Bell Street at least half a dozen times for different functions and events.”
“I love the mix of dresses - there's modern, formal, casual, vintage and retro.”
“The most amazing people, the most amazing shop. Treat yourself to some of the most gorgeous vintage clothing I've ever set my eyes on!”
