Women We Love: Rebecca Goodwin & Damaris Paputsakis from The Dress Tribe
Bold, fashion-focused, and designed with the modern bride-to-be in mind, The Dress Tribe searches for the perfect bridal design that's easy, fun & inspirational. Think of them as your bridal outfit matchmaker! The Dress Tribe currently features 233 retailers, 53 designers, and over 3000 dresses! The Dress Tribe was born from the frustration of Co-founder Damaris Paputsakis' own search for her wedding dress. Together with her best friend & Co-founder Rebecca Goodwin, they took on the quest to provide brides with a unique solution that would take them through their bridal dress hunt journey.
We first started our relationship earlier this year, and we couldn't be more blown away with this girl boss drive this team has. They are so inspiring, and after each meeting, there is nothing but smiles and so much laughter. These ladies are a force to be reckoned with, and we couldn't not ask them some juicy questions. We sat down and had a chat with Rebecca & Damaris to find out more about how they started The Dress Tribe and the inspiration behind it, and some of their goals in the New Year while navigating life post-pandemic. Read what they had to say below!
We first started our relationship earlier this year, and we couldn't be more blown away with this girl boss drive this team has. They are so inspiring, and after each meeting, there is nothing but smiles and so much laughter. These ladies are a force to be reckoned with, and we couldn't not ask them some juicy questions. We sat down and had a chat with Rebecca & Damaris to find out more about how they started The Dress Tribe and the inspiration behind it, and some of their goals in the New Year while navigating life post-pandemic. Read what they had to say below!
What does your morning routine consist of?
Rebecca’s morning routine consists of tea in bed with her boyfriend and generally a slow start to the day. She is not such a morning person! Damaris’ morning is much more hectic trying to balance work and mum life.
We’re both quite low maintenance and favour having a coffee or 4 to putting make up on or doing our hair!
What gap in the market did you find lacking and thus resulting in TDT?
Following Damaris’ engagement back in 2016, she realised how hard it was to find inspiration as well as concrete product information in one place when looking for THE dress. Pinterest is great but it can be overwhelming, and we wanted to be able to help brides find all they need under one roof, after all planning a wedding is stressful enough why should finding the dress be?!
When you started TDT, did you already know you wanted it to be a pioneer as a tech enabler for bridal design match making or did that organically take its course as time unfolded?
We had grand designs right from the beginning! We dreamt big and wanted to create something we realised the modern bride needed to find her dress. The type of bride that uses TDT is tech savvy, fashionable and knows what she wants – we designed TDT to support these kinds of empowered brides.
Do you remember the first designer you signed on to platform? Who was this and how did that relationship start?
We always had 3 criteria in mind when curating the designers listed on TDT. Quality, style and affordability were at the directory’s core. We had many designers in mind that we wanted to showcase and that met our criteria so we started off with a small-ish selection of designers but enough that brides had a great selection of dresses to choose from to add to their personal boards. We launched the platform in 2020 already with 35 amazing designers from all over the world.
Now that we are nearing the end of 2021, what were the top 5 lessons you have learnt and loved during the year?
Wow where do we start… 2020 has been the year of lessons! The main thing we’ve learnt is to not take things for granted! Sometimes the world has other plans for us so try not to sweat the small stuff. Quite simply, laugh, be kind and be grateful for all we have!
How did you and your gorgeous partner Damaris meet?
We met through a mutual friend back in 2010. We both love food so it was fate for us to meet at a burger bar in Geneva, Switzerland where we both lived at the time. We both were working at UEFA (in football for those that done know!) travelling to work at football events all over Europe.
What are some goals you have set for 2022?
World domination! Seriously we have big dreams but small goals that consist of really taking each day as it comes and supporting brides in finding their perfect dress!
Now for some fun fire questions, what is your preference...
Sweet treats or something salty? Salty every day!
Cocktails or a glass of bubbly? Bubbly!
Yoga or Cardio? Cardio 😃