Where to shop for Mother of the Bride outfit?

[IM0GEN]

I’m helping my sister shop for an outfit for her DDs wedding in the summer.

So far we have been recommended to try

Catherine’s of Partick in Glasgow
Lady G in East Kilbride
Gina Smart in Ayr
Frox of Falkirk
Catwalk in Falkirk ( who knew there were so many weddings in Falkirk )

We’ve only scanned websites so far and a lot of them look ...ahem....a bit frumpy. Maybe all their cool dresses are just in store

We are also looking for a shop in Edinburgh, where DSis lives, but without success. Apparently the best known shop there for MoB has just closed.

For avoidance of doubt, we are looking for an off the peg outfit, her budget doesn’t stretch to designer.

D sis LOVES hats, she wears them all winter. She defo wants a serious hat, not a small fascinator.

@JoyceDivision I’m enjoying the Pearls and Swine. Lucky I don’t have MoG Hyacinth Bucket’s email address or I’d send them to her.

Especially these

pearlsandswine.com/collections/hats-available-today/products/sweet-as-hell-skull-ice-cream-cherry-leopard-print-hat

pearlsandswine.com/collections/hats-available-today/products/dela-creme-ice-cream-high-heel-shoe-fascinator-hat

Thanks @atticuslovesscout

My mum got hers from Reeta's at Trongate, she picked a beautiful silver 2 piece which was classy and elegant with a modern twist 💕 happy shopping x

Take a trip to PERTH

Marian's is a lively boutique with really personal service.

Look them up on FB for an idea of what they offer.

Sorry for shouting. Autocorrected perth to capitals

I have a gorgeous dove grey MoB outfit with a frock coat. It's a 14 though...and no longer needed since Dd and her lovely fiance split up!

This sounds very much like the issues I had when dd got married two years ago.
I too am mid 50s, size 10 and wanted to spend about £500. I visited so many “mother of the bride” shops where I live and even went to London for two days. Couldn’t find anything suitable and as you say they were more like Grandmother Of The Bride. None of them felt like “me”.

I ended up getting something in JL, a beautiful French, lace navy dress with matching lace jacket. I then went with shoes to match the bridesmaids/flowers colours. I was worried it didn’t feel “special” enough, but asked lots of people for their opinion and eveyone loved it. I think it’s so important to go for something you feel is you, rather than something you think you ought to wear. I look at photos and I’m so pleased I went with what I did.

Good luck!

Actually, if you’re in Edinburgh why haven’t you been to Harvey Nichols? Surely it hasn’t closed? Perhaps the stock is no longer what it was? (I know that’s happened in one or two other branches.)

On another note - I wouldn’t object if people could desist from describing hideous clothing as ‘aimed at the over 60s’. I’m not there yet - but I can assure you that in a handful of years from now I’ll still be choosing my clothes from the likes of Margiela, Rick Owens, Acne Studios, etc - whether for weddings or daily life.

A friend had a dress made for her daughter’s wedding. She chose the pattern and the fabric and I think the cost was about £250 ( Glasgow). She went for a Jackie Onassis style shift dress in navy.

I think i'd go for a very plain shift dress, maybe with a slash neck and go for something fabulous in terms of hat and bag - pure understated elegance and class. Pick a colour that really suits her :)

This is lovely and you could spend a little on a dress fitter to make sure it fitted perfectly and get a hat made:

www.phase-eight.com/product/ellise-lace-bodice-dress-205390707.html#cgid=occasion&sz=60&start=0&pid=205390707&pos=0

Many thanks for all your suggestions. D sis and I have spend tonight browsing various websites.

She has found a couple of dresses she doesn’t hate in John Lewis, which have been ordered to try.

She hated almost everything on the Harvey Nicks website, even the dresses that were more than 1k. Which I’m sure says more about her taste than HN.

Ditto Net a Porter and Matches.com.

We have got distracted finding tasteful headgear, thanks to @JoyceDivision. Fave so far is this

Also like this:

www.phase-eight.com/product/paige-short-tapework-dress-205746705.html#cgid=occasion&sz=60&start=0&pid=205746705&pos=53

I’d book a personal shopping appointment in John Lewis and get their help. They’re fab in there and so helpful.

Both Catwalk and Frox are quite traditional. I’m mid 40s and wouldn’t shop in either - bit too old fashioned for me.

Thanks @cazzyg

When my friend's daughter got married 2 years ago, she got a stunning dress out of Debenhams and had a lovely navy bolero jacket with it.

I know a few of my old work colleagues would shop in George Street for wedding outfits in Edinburgh but no clue what they are called 🙈 I was recommended Phase8 when I was looking for a dress.

Thanks @Groovee. Debenhams website seems mostly sale stuff right now but we will keep an eye out over the next few weeks as the summer dresses come in.

@PineappleDanish - we tried Vanity Fair but it was all day wear in red, black and leopard print! But thanks anyway, it was worth a try.

Have you tried asking on the Style and Beauty board? Lovely people on there who love hunting for clothes.

Good idea @Disfordarkchocolate

I’m a bit scared of them though .

What colours does your sister wear and look great in? Start with that. Dress and jacket always a good option. Anything that is in a store with many branches risks clones which may or may not be a concern.

If she never wears pastels don’t wear pastels. Proper hat rather than fascinator needs something that goes with proper hat.

Go and try on all sorts all prices. Get her eye in for shape/cut and colour.

Have you tried ASOS’s occasionwear or modest ranges? The dresses in their modest collection seem to be designed for big fat Asian / African weddings and are spectacular - I wore one at my cousin’s wedding and it didn’t look out of place amongst the £1-2k outfits people were wearing there.

Bear Necessities in Auchterarder (owned by the woman who had Hercules the Bear, if you remember!) My aunt found her MoB outfit there.

Marian of Perth

And that place in Patrick mentioned in first page. My mum got her outfit there (raw silk in magenta/purple) and no lace in sight.

Lovely people on the style and beauty board, I have created a list of useful bookmarks from their recommendations. One of which resulted in my MoG outfit

@Disfordarkchocolate that’s a lovely outfit - is that the one you bought ? What accessories did you wear ?

It’s similar style to the floral dresses that someone linked to / mentioned upthread ( was it you ? ). Kind of 40s style, floaty, and 100% the opposite of what my sister would wear.

She wears slightly bold dramatic angular styles in plain colours, red, purple, cobalt, fuchsia, navy, charcoal, sometimes green .

Sometimes sculpted but not figure hugging or tight . Doesn’t show a lot of skin.

Not pretty, floral, lace, pastel, embellished, embroidered, floaty.

You see the problem? She’s basically the Anti MoB

@GrumpyHoonMain

Thanks for the ASOS suggestion, some interesting dresses there . There was no specific section but I searched for modest dresses and found a few.

They are obviously winter style though and the wedding is in the height of the summer in the south of England so will probably be warm. Well warm by Edinburgh standards

IMOGEN, I'd still suggest she starts with a hat or bag or shoes that she loves and make a statement in a colour and style that makes her feel fabulous. Then i'd get a plain fitted dress made by a local seamstress to match. Make it about the hat or the hair do etc rather than the dress, the dress should just fit perfectly and be the backdrop to whatever the main event is.

I think a plain fitted dress wouldn't cost too much to get made up or just find something almost right and pay for it to be altered.