Tips for Finding Mother of the Bride Outfits

| May 12, 2009 11:00 AM | Posted in bridal fashion, fashion advice, smartbargains, mother of the bride dress, bluefly com, stylebug

Budget Fashionista:

I am a young (49) soon to be mother-of-the-bride. I have been searching for something stylish, but all the dresses I’ve seen are for 60 year olds! What are some tips to help me find a hip mother of the bride dress without spending a fortune?

A: When I got married, my mother, who is relatively young, hip and fabulous, faced the same dilemma. Here are some tips that we used to help her find a hip mother-of-the-bride dress:

1. Check out your favorite designer. Buy a dress from your favorite designer that you can wear after the wedding, getting more mileage for your bucks.

2. Think outside of the box. Unless it’s a formal wedding, leaving the sequins at home. Try a different option like a nice pant suit. Stylebug.com has some classy evening suits by designers like Valentino and Escada.

3. Avoid Bridal Shops. Bridal shops tend to carry ugly, sequined nightmares in horrible muted pastel colors. Try online stores like Bluefly.com , and SmartBargains.com
4. Get it made. This is great option if you know someone who can really sew. Also, try calling your local fashion design school and get your dress designed by an up and coming designer.

5. Bring your daughter. In an effort to be hip, make sure you are following the style that your daughter has set for the wedding.

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| Posted by The Budget Fashionista

Member Comments

July 4, 2006 Lesley Chaffey wrote:

I am the mother of the groom who lives in London while I live in Yorkshire I love my future daughter in law but do not quite know what I am suposed to wear. Do not do formal but would like to make a statement this time I need to wear something that is long floaty and would like skirt top and jacket am young at heart dont want to be frumpy. also would like to wer a big hat as I love hats can you help me

July 27, 2006 Margaret wrote:

Good advice on the dress - any advice on colors to consider? Pastels, jewel tones? he bride is wearing ivory - pretty formal.

Any info is helpful!

August 15, 2006 Nadine wrote:

To wedding mothers on both side of the “pond”: Try Alfred Angelo. Forget the “Mother of the Bride” stuff. Check out the combinations and dresses for the bridesmaids. You have a lot of color choices, hem lengths, prices, plus you can re-use the dress for another semi- or formal event at a later (or earlier!) date.

When my friend got married, both mothers, the best woman, and the matron of honor all got dresses from this company using the wedding colors. They even have dresses for pregnant women!

December 8, 2006 Debbie wrote:

Try catalogs like Barrie Pace. Ive been mom of brde 3 times in the last six years-first daughter’s wedding I wore a short dress w/matching coat jacket(liz Claiborne) in a silk fabric in blush pink (daytime/bridesmaids in lt.blue)
2nd daughter’s wedding I wore a (Barrie Pace)fitted silk 2 piece dress with column skirt (nighttime outdoor wedding/bridesmaids in victorian lilac)
3rd daughter’s wedding I wore chiffon halter in tangerine-very soft color-not bright (Da Vinci bridemaids) and had extra fabric ordered to make a shrug jacket (afternoon/evening/bridemaids in alfred angelo coral)
Yes-most MOB dresses are awful-either you’re the dowager or the over sparkled barfly

December 8, 2006 Debbie wrote:

Try catalogs like Barrie Pace. Ive been mom of brde 3 times in the last six years-first daughter’s wedding I wore a short dress w/matching coat jacket(liz Claiborne) in a silk fabric in blush pink (daytime/bridesmaids in lt.blue)
2nd daughter’s wedding I wore a mocha (Barrie Pace)fitted silk 2 piece dress with column skirt (nighttime outdoor wedding/bridesmaids in victorian lilac)
3rd daughter’s wedding I wore chiffon halter in tangerine-very soft color-not bright (Da Vinci bridemaids) and had extra fabric ordered to make a shrug jacket (afternoon/evening/bridemaids in alfred angelo coral)
Yes-most MOB dresses are awful-either you’re the dowager or the over sparkled barfly

September 9, 2007 Linda LeClair wrote:

Hi Everyone,
I am soon to be 60 and my daughter is getting married in Oct. 2008. Wonderful, exciting, we have the ceremony, reception, etc. booked. All is well.
I just have one little question….I am 5’3”...135 lbs….as I mentioned…60. I cannot believe the “mother of the bride” dresses I am finding! I want a gorgeous suit, skirt length just at the knee, a little lace would be great. My daughter thought pink for me, her color scheme is cream and cranberry.
Is there any such place to go look for such a suit?? I don’t care about the cost.

May 12, 2009 monalisa1452 wrote:

Even 60 year olds want to be hip.

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May 13, 2009 The Budget Fashionista wrote:

@monalisa1452 I totally agree.. women of all ages want to be stylish

May 18, 2009 meilinboss wrote:

Have you tried shopping online?

http://www.audreysmotherofthebride.com

May 27, 2009 anwallette wrote:

Hello Budget Fashionista - I am getting married in the fall and I absolutely LOVE the suit that is featured on this page. I think that it would look amazing on my mom. I was wondering where I would be able to find it. Preferably in Ontario Canada.

Thanks so much!

September 9, 2009 Dhamphy wrote:

Great ideas.. Thanks for the tips. Now it will be easy for me to look for my mom’s dress for my wedding.

September 13, 2009 anwallette wrote:

Get it made! I found a suit that is perfect to my mom’s figure and what she would wear. She looks wonderful in a very elegant pant suit. The price for the suit online was over 2 grand….so she brought a colour picture to the dressmaker who is making her an exact copy for 300.

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