There was a time when a mother of the bride was supposed to wear a matronly dress in washed-out shades of beige or Easter egg pastels. Thankfully, this was happening in the past. Today, they are allowed to express their sartorial sensibilities.
Determining the right mother of the bride dresses can be overwhelming considering that there are many options out there. Regardless of whether or not you are a bride who wants to help your mother to find the proper dress for your wedding, there are some things you have to know. This article discusses how to find the right mother-of-the-bride dress.
Don’t procrastinate
Dresses for a wedding can include the attendant’s dress, the bride’s dress, and a dress for mothers, but these dresses don’t change significantly from one year to another. Regardless of the type of dress you intend to purchase, you need to make sure that it’s suitable for the time of the year. This is especially true unless you want to be on the cutting edge of today’s fashion and what is hot current hot. This means that a dress that was made last year can suit you fine, and you can sometimes find a great bargain. You should also give yourself enough time for this project so that you can shop around for all available dresses in department stores, online stores, bridal shops, and boutiques.
Another good reason you need to shop around for your dress immediately after the bride has indicated the wedding date is that you can have enough time to try various colors and styles so that you can find what is right for you. But if you delay in finding the right dress until a couple of weeks before the wedding, you can opt for whatever is available on the market, and not what flatters your skin tone and shape. Remember that you should look your best at the wedding because you will be on display.
Color is important
It’s a good idea to look for attire that blends with the chosen colors of the bride. Many mothers use the dresses of bridesmaids as a palette. Therefore, if their dresses are green, you should avoid a pink dress. Instead, you should go for a different shade like green or a dress that compliments blue. Also, you should avoid black, red, ivory, and white, or anything that is too bright, such as an electric-blue dress and anything that is overdone.
Black is now becoming quite acceptable for most guests and mother-of-brides to wear at weddings, but you should remember that you may be under scrutiny. This is because regardless of how the fashion world is progressing, mother-of-brides who decide to wear black dresses are usually believed to be harboring some ill will toward the wedding.
Have fun while shopping
You can decide to go to lunch or even dinner for a day or two. If you are visiting several shops and you think you may not remember where you find your preferred dress, then you should have a notebook with you to write down the description of the dresses and the name and addresses of the retailers. Knowing that you tried the proper dress somewhere but fail to remember where can be enough to frustrate you.
And, if you know any person who recently was the mother-of-the-bride, you should ask her what she experienced while shopping for her dress. There is a chance that she can show you the right direction, helping you to save time and effort in the process.
You can also take a friend with you so that they can provide an honest assessment of the looks of the dress when you put it on. It makes sense to have someone who is not there to make a commission from your purchase. You just want a person to tell you whether the dress flatters your skin tone and body shape, and they should also give you their opinions on the color and style.
Set a dress budget
Perhaps, you may visit your first dress store on your list and find the perfect dress for you, the one you have been thinking about. This can also be the dress that makes you look slimmer and younger. The only problem is that this dress can cost a lot more money than you had expected or wanted to spend. But you are the mother of the bride, so you want to look your best.
This situation usually happens, though you don’t need to spend a lot of cash to look great. Therefore, you should know what you are ready to spend before you visit any dress store, and stick with your budget. Keep in mind that it’s fine to spend a little more cash when you find the right dress, but blowing your entire budget is not a good decision unless it’s attire that you can wear again in future events. Before you promise yourself just like most one-time dress-wearers across the globe, you need to figure out where you may wear it.
And, if there is going to be another wedding event coming up, chances are you can end up purchasing another new dress for this event. This is because many children may not like you to wear the same dress to weddings of the same family members. But if it’s a formal dress, and you intend to wear it to several formal events you want to attend in the coming year, ensure that the same crowd should not be at these gatherings or they may wonder whether or not you cannot afford to buy another dress.
And, if you want to attend several weddings and formal events and you are quite sure that your dress is not going to make you to stand out as the mother-of-the-bride and you are not going to see the same crowd at each event, then it makes sense to invest a little more money in your dress. Otherwise, you should just accept that you will most likely have to wear your dress once, so don’t go beyond your budget.