Wedding Blog
Does this look like your Mom??
I know I’m not the first to complain about this, but why is finding a Mother of the Bride Dress so hard?? My mom is petite which has made it that much harder. Not only can we not find any ‘regular’ dresses, but now we have an even smaller market to look at!
This weekend Mama Peppermint and I plan to go out and scope out a few places in search of a winner. I think we’re both a little nervous since we’ve found no contenders online, in magazines or in person. But this weekend we will (positive thinking!)…
We’ve basically determined that there are two types of look: the hot mama or the matriarch. My mom doesn’t really want either one. I can’t imagine that my mom is the only one who falls in between these two extremes? There’s nothing wrong with either look, but what are the options for someone in between?
To give you an idea of what we’re dealing with, here are some dresses found on the Knot’s Mother Of the Bride dress section (okay, so I picked the most extreme examples–but it’s more fun that way. 
Help! Where did your Mom look (and find success!)??? Have you had similar problems??
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Why not look at Nordstroms or a regular boutique. Does it have to be from a bridal shop?
My mom found a fabulous silk pantsuit (we’re not having an uber-fancy wedding) with a beaded jacket at Talbots of all places. I wouldn’t do Talbots for daytime clothes, but they have some nice conservative yet non-matronly evening clothes. Also, Ann Taylor? Both Talbots and Ann Taylor also have petite sizes.
I actually like that white jacquard jacket going on in the 2nd picture.
My mom found a beautiful dress at Macy’s Bridal Salon. She is also small (5′2″). We went through similar trauma trying to find her dress, so I feel your pain. Good luck!
I swear if one more person recommends Nordstroms for a MOB dress I will personally stalk them and make them go to the store and realize that their large on-line selection doesn’t. actually. exist.
Why?
Because the second anything comes in they sell out almost immediately. Here’s a clue…ORDER MORE!!!!!
My mom didn’t want to go the suit route either because she didn’t want to look like every other MOB out there.
We finally found a hand painted silk ensemble from a boutique store.
But best of luck!! I mean it. Ah, and take some stress medication before going out this weekend. Believe me, you will need it!
My mom found the *perfect* dress at a bridal boutique…. it is the “Vivian Leigh” by Siri. Like your mom, she is neither the hot mama nor the matriarch… this dress was right in the middle!
With a name like Vivian Leigh, how can it not be fabulous?
i think your hot momma should totally wear that first outfit… yea, the pleathery looking one. hey, it’s got a shrug, right? just kidding!
i wish you lotsa luck. i’m sorry i can’t offer much advice though. my mom’s wearing something somewhat traditional (filipino), and didn’t quite have to shop like this.
My mother is also a petite shortie (love every inch of her!). She exhausted both King of Prussia (huge upscale mall outside Philly) and few dress shops.
Where did she find her dress? A consignment shop. Two-piece never worn silk brocade sheath dress and jacket from Talbot’s. Originally over $300 - Mom got it (and my sister’s also never worn MOH dress) for $100. Score!!!
She’s a conservative dresser, our wedding is at 1pm and over at 6pm so this was perfectly appropriate. She looks beautiful and for that I’m thrilled.
Maybe she could have something made? My mom went that route for my sisters wedding and was not only able to design her dress but the dress was made to her exact measurements. She got what she wanted…a long silk dress with a french lace jacket and silk sash…and saved money in the process…one reason was the elimination of any alterations. We had our bridesmaid dresses made by the same dress maker. I am sure you could research a dress maker in your area if you luck out this weekend. I bet you could find a great seamstress in LA.
For moms with a little extra tummy — my mom discovered the best trick: a sheath dress with a lace top layer. The sheath clings to and sucks in the fat, and the lace top layer just lays smoothly on top, so no visible bulges!
How about Ann Taylor or Nordstrom’s? I’m also sure one of the Macy’s in LA has a great dress section like the Macy’s in Union Square in SF!
MOG is wearing a lavender two piece outfit along the lines of that last one. She picked it herself, I don’t know where.
My mom is wearing a dressy suit, which I guess fits her into the category of that white one 
She’s having it made by a local designer and the colour is somewhere between mauve and taupe.
oh, funny story about my FMIL… I asked Mr Popcorn to ask her what colour she was going to wear, so I could pick her corsage not to class.
He didn’t think she’d have picked that already, but I thought she would have. Afterall, my mom had already gone to the designer of her own volition and picked everything out, colours and fabrics.
So he asked her, and she apparently responded in a panicked defensive squeal of “Augh! Don’t ask me about my dress!”
She had apparently just spent a lot of time looking unsuccessfully that week, and her husband had also innocently inquired about her search, not knowing it was giving her so much trouble.
I completely agree with you on the Mother of the Bride dresses. They are either incredibly dowdy or look like something Cruella Devile would wear.
I don’t know how formal you guys are going but Anne Taylor and J Crew sometimes have some nice stuff.
My mom is also an “in between”. Check out Evening Wear/Mother of the Bride section of Jovani.
http://www.jovani.com/overview.php?col=evening
My mom got one at a bridal salon in the area. It’s a Jasmine Jade line piece. http://www.jasminebridal.com/html/en/web1_jade_3_a.asp?id=168 I think some lines allow you to choose your length too. I haven’t seen much at Macy’s this year that’s appropriate for a wedding unless you want a 3-tone piece but Nordstrom’s had some nice ones too.
I’m a (petite) mother of the bride, who did not want that matronly look, nor the vampy look. I looked all over, too, and found my dress, a Montage, by Mon Cheri, at a bridal shop. It is a sheath with a sheer jacket in the same fabric, but unlined. It is embroidered all over in the same color as the fabric, available in many colors, with beading. A bit sparkly, but not slutty.
My momis also very petite and she found her dress at Kleinfelds during a Steven Yearick truck show. He personally fitted her and made adjustments (less back and front cleavage). It was beautiful and fit her perfectly.
is that a Bush mother in that one pic?
Anywho…my mom found one at http://www.barriepace.com
But wait — these dress selections need captions, a la Miss Lovebug’s recent hilarious lingerie collection post!
I don’t know if finding a MOB dress for my mom would be harder or easier for her. She’s in her early forties and looks even younger (some genetic qualities I can look forward to), so none of the “traditional” looks seem like they’d work for her. But at the same time, she can look at other types of outfits. I do look forward to seeing what she picks, though.
We kind of had a similar problem…and my mom wasn’t going for hot mama, but once she saw Jordin Sparks on the American Idol finale in a pink number, she knew she wanted it (thus began the process of ordering through a couture shop in Cali when we’re in WA and praying it would be a perfect fit, etc.) and ended up looking pretty hot.
I agree that there really only is the two extremes when shopping for a MOB dress and my mom was never feeling matronly/matriarch. We went out to department stores and looked at their online options (there’s always more online) and had much more luck there. My mom is also petite so that was a concern when look for us, as well.
My mother, who will be MOB and MOG in the same year, went shopping in consignment and resale stores. She scored a DKNY dress that was tailored to fit her. Also found a beautiful vintage skirt with a beaded top. She looks lovely.
Mom dislikes MOB/G suits as much as I dislike the words “party center.”
my mom is petite too, which makes her slightly round. I took her dress shopping and I feel like it only lowered her self-esteem. We ended up heading over to St. John and their dress suits really fit her well. I ended up sucking it up and getting her a St. John dress suit. She felt bad b/c of the price, but she looked good and felt so confident in it that I just had to get it for her.
my mom is unusually tall and is also a very fit and young 52. She ended up purchasing a BRIDESMAID dress from David’s and she’ll get a jacket/shrug/bolero type thing to go over to make it a tad older.
Your examples are hilarious! My mom had the same issues as your mom - she didn’t want to look matronly, but also wanted to wear something elegant and age appropriate… and something she could dance in! My mom has a great figure, but still had issues finding a great fit. I think everyone does to some extent. She ended up finding an amazing skirt/jacket combo by Carmen Marc Valvo at Neiman Marcus. It was way more expensive than she had planned for, but it was something she would be able to wear again and again (suits are versatile like that.) Also, she hadn’t bought herself a fab outfit in years, so I think she deserved it! She looked amazing, and I know she felt amazing too. As a side note, I recommend avoiding bridal salons for MOB attire - the quality sucks for the price you pay.
I also wanted to add: my MIL found her outfit in the Garment District in downtown LA - got a great deal on it, and it was stunning!
I think the Jasmine Jade line has some really pretty things. I ordered it from Pearl’s Place and spent a lot less than other online stores, too.
This is what we got for one of the mothers:
http://www.jasminebridal.com/html/en/web1_jade_1_a.asp?id=1338
It’s very pretty on!
My mom is very petite too (and very, very thin), so dress shopping was hard. She also wanted to find a balance between “matron” and “hot mama.” We looked in bridal shops and every store I could think of — Ann Taylor, J Crew, Nordstrom, Von Maur. It was hard, because a lot of places just didn’t have her size; it was hard to find anything smaller than a 6 (there goes the myth that skinny women have an easier time shopping — I felt so bad for her!). She finally found a gorgeous red empire-waist dress (she kept joking that she wanted a red bustier; thank God we couldn’t find one!) from Carson’s. Going there was a last-ditch effort. It fits perfectly — no alterations needed — and it’s beautiful on her. It’s fancy enough without being over the top, and I’m sure she could wear it again if she wants. I’m so happy!
Is anyone in fashion design because I think there’s quite market out there for good MOB dresses!
Both my Mom and my FMIL have had terrible times finding dresses. (Including my FMIL who felt she had to go get second dress after she found out her “cornflower” and my mom’s “ameythst” were the same color [though neither of us cared at all]).
My Mom ended up going with Jasmine/Jade as well, BUT she’s cutting a long gown to tea length so it’s less “old” looking.
My mother is also pettite (I blogged about her dress a while back) and we had a hell of a time finding her something she loved. We finally went to Bergdorff Goodman and found her something beautiful — expensive, but lovely on her. She felt confident and special which were my two goals. My only advice is to keep trying — stay away from “Mother of the bride” stuff and just look in formal wear sections.
My petite and slighly round mom had a really hard time finding something too, and then we rejoiced when she found a perfect dress suit by Mon Cheri. Fast forward two months (last weekend and 40 days from my wedding) and the dress comes in. Two. sizes. too. small. They remeasure her, assure her that the orginal measurements are accurate and that Mon Cheri sent the wrong size, and that there is not enough time to get the right one. ARGH!!!!!! So she had to settle for something she doesn’t really like, AND pay $50 more. I just hate it for her. There definitely need to be more options for our wonderful mothers.
I love that there have been so many responsed! Despite my 5 feet 10 inches, my mom is just 5 feet! She ended up finding FOUR beautiful dresses at a tiny boutique in Virginia, but she also loved the dressed from Watters that she’d tried on. They have a number of options with some cute little fitted jackets. And that’s another option - accessories. If the dress is a little too revealing, why not get a beautiful silk shawl to tied around the shoulders. Then when she feels like spicing it up on the dance floor she has the option to take it off!
Seriously, check out Talbots- you both may be surprised!
http://fayeandgreer.blogspot.com/2007/06/shopping-for-mother-of-bride.html
We found something between “hot mama” and “matriarch” at David’s Bridal back at the end of December. It’s a black and white print dress, full length, sleeveless, and not too low-cut or slinky.
My mom is a size 0. It was terribly difficult to find anything to fit her. We spent tons of time at all the department stores where nothing would fit her except for the juniors dept. We went to the bridal salons too, but the dresses were way to matronly and did not flatter her petite figure in any way. In the end, someone suggested looking a bridesmaid dresses. We did and found a very conservative Watters dress which we could order in her size and it was cheaper than any of the dept store/bridal salon MOB dresses. I would highly recommend doing the same.
It is so painful looking for MOB dresses. Especially when your mom hates shopping (for her size) in the first place!
I feel for all of you out there…but, seriously just think how much LESS you would find if you were in South Dakota (like me!)!!! I see a shopping vacation in my future!!
I love how they put 27-year old models into “MOTHER of the Bride” dresses….Only two actually looked like real moms - haha.
Talbots and Ann Taylor were both mentioned here - they both have a Petites section, and you can find some pretty nice formalish stuff, if you’re looking for it. I’ve also heard people stricking lucky at Nordstroms, too.
My mom is really short and plus sized, so we had a BORRIBLE time finding a dress for her. I know some people are anti Nordstroms but we found this dress there http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2932925/0~2376776~2374325~2384900?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=2384900&P=1 and it looked great on her, plus they altered it for her and shipped it to us since we went to the one in San Antonio and live in Corpus.
Thank you all for your help, you’ve given me some good ideas! I will keep you posted on how the weekend goes…
I am slightly biased, but St. John suits really are a great option for mothers-of-the bride (I’ll probably get this for my own mom). I’ve worked with and am related to a lot of petite women. Sue Wong, Tadashi, Cache, and Vera Wang make some great options.
[...] Hooray!I really appreciated all the wonderful tips (and encouragement) from my previous post, Mama Trauma. When Mama Peppermint and I set out to find her dress, I was definitely nervous. I imagined hours [...]
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Miss Peppermint, LA/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 23, Actress
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Web Producer
Engagement Date: October 21, 2006
Wedding Date: December 2007
Blogging Since: July 2, 2007
Venue: historic estate overlooking the heart of Palm Springs
About Me: I am a Southern California native who enjoys cooking, writing, travel and all things in the arts. Mr. Peppermint and I met in college and he proposed on our four year anniversary in one of our most special places, Joshua Tree National Park. We're having a destination wedding in Palms Springs that will incorporate tradition as well as reflect our personalities!
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