Mother of the Groom in 8 weeks!

[ihaveafavouritecat]

Please help me! My son is getting married in 8 weeks and I haven’t a clue what to wear. So far I’ve ordered three dresses online (Coast, Lavish Alice and Florere) and have sent them all back. Earlier this week I had a personal stylist appointment at John Lewis, bought 3 items (Hobbs dress, Reiss dress and Phase Eight jumpsuit), but not sure any of them are right. Also ordered a jumpsuit from Me+Em, not yet received. I don’t know if that will be right either, I know it will need shortening about 6 inches!
I’m 5’3, 9st 6, have lost 7 stone over last 3 years. Blue eyes, brown hair/blond highlights. i think the colours that suit me best are greens/golds/sandy but not at all rigid except that pastel colours make me look washed out.
There’s a register office wedding service and then the bigger wedding ‘do’ 3 days later, so I need two outfits! Budget about £400ish for both. I just feel so much of what I’m seeing is so ‘bland’ and ordinary, I want to feel a bit more cool and funky but still smart of course.
Would really appreciate some help or suggestions of makers/brands I’m not aware of… thanks in advance.

I bet she's lovely and cosy for a cuddle though!

I am late to this thread and not an S&B regular so my opinion should count for little but I wanted to come on here and say that out of the whole thread Imy clear favourites are the olive Me+Em jumpsuit and the teal Florere, closely followed by the green Florere and that you are going to look FABULOUS. Send wedding pics!

I just had the jumpsuit delivered and it’s not for me sadly, so it’s a return job. Pics below.

it is absolutely beautiful and clearly silk, the size 6 fit perfectly, no pulling, but it’s very very much like an evening gown, and very shimmery, and I sadly simply wouldn’t wear it more than once.

it’s perfect for what you want, but I think op it’s actually going to be way way dressier than the dress, so I’d recommend this for the main wedding,

It looks amazing with your beautiful hair - but a lot of money to spend if you won't have several chances to wear it.

Thank you and it is an absolutely beautiful item of clothing, very high quality but I just won’t wear it.

i have a few velvet pieces for me and em and they are very wearable for many occasions, but this piece is not like that, its immediately recognisable as high end and eveningy, with the width of the trousers I’d liken it to an evening gown, I thought it more like the blazer which isn’t shimmery at all.

perfect for the op, but I’d say more main wedding than registry office, it doesn’t come across in pics just how shimmery and absolutely beautiful it is, but it’s not something I’d go out for dinner in, for example,

It's always a subjective and personal opinion but for me: the Reiss brown dress - brown is yuk and yes it is far too long and what's going on at the shoulders? It's a no from me. The red Hobbs dress looks frumpy. It's a no from me. The Phase Eight jumpsuit is lovely - a big yes from me. The Vinted two piece, who cares what some stylist from John Lewis thinks about the 'age'. It fits well and looks smart. It's a yes from me. That floral monstrosity? Oh my life a huge NO! Next time you need to take a different friend.

My friend was mother of the groom a couple of weeks ago and she chose brown - it may well be being forced upon us as the new in fashionable colour palette, because it's everywhere, but, just: No. It was a beautiful dress but colourwise, it was eugh. Whatever you choose, you need to like it and to feel both comfortable and wonderful.

Hahaha 🤣 Definitely want to steer away from that look then!

Ooh I’m liking this!

Thank you @ecuse that’s so nice of you to drop in to say this. (Check me out I sound like I’m hosting some giant virtual coffee morning!) I’d quite enjoy that actually ☺️

thanks all for showing up again today with more thoughts and recommendations it’s just brilliant 🙃

Thank you @Ruthietuthie Gentle prodding?! Some pretty brutal feedback at times (but totally well intentioned I know), but hey, I’m here for it and have learned at lot! Very much appreciated .

me+Em necklace
this was the necklace they gave me (unlocked from a cabinet actually ), to try on with the jumpsuit…

Yup, I can see this. Less is more. Fab earrings and a cuff-y bangle…

Thank you @Wildgoat Those shoes are beautiful… but way too high for me to feel safe in frankly! And way too expensive too. As I mentioned, I’ve pushed my budget on the outfits, and want to try and rein it in a bit for shoes etc. I’m sure I can find something similar but more affordable.

This has been such a lovely thread with loads of ideas and advice, which has significantly moved on, over time, from the first post.

Have a read, the OP has chosen her main outfit for both events and is now accessorising.

Thanks @Woodfiresareamazing2 that’s a good thought, I know the store you mean. There’s also a quirky jewellery shop that I’ve never been in, on the left as you go over Pulteney Bridge towards Laura Place. That could be worth a look too.

Wow @Wildgoat Thank you for all these suggestions, you clearly have a wardrobe full of beautiful things … I like the cream cropped jacket very much, but not the blazers if I’m honest. I’ll say a bit more in reply to one of your other posts…

It looks beautiful on you - fab hair indeed! Sorry you don’t feel you’d get enough occasions to wear it. I see myself wearing it to go out to dinner, or having friends over, or a Christmas gathering. It just feels very me.

I’d wear silver bangle and very small silver earrings with teal dress as I think silver goes well with teal, if that , and a cute clutch all to the register office. So teal and silver combo

Then the jumpsuit to the main event with necklace and so on. In both cases the clothes are the main event not the jewellery or one counteracts the other. And green and gold combo with lots of dancing in the jumpsuit 🥰

You look fantastic in it though, you seriously do, if I was you I’d keep it too!

You do look lovely as well. But I buy clothes to wear to as many things a I can so I understand. I’m on a low budget per year so the few new things I do buy have to cover lots of things lol

I’m now tempted by the jumpsuit as well btw. it’s above any price I ever pay for clothes, I’m an 18 and I have no occasion to wear it too but it’s lovely.

In terms of the faux fur jacket or whatever… Let me know what you think but:

1. registry office thing - only 8 of us attending then dinner after… probably wearing the jumpsuit… this is the only event where I’ll be needing a jacket I think, as it will be parking, walking to reg office, walking back to car, driving, parking, walking to restaurant, etc Whereas
2. wedding do = 80 guests, in a hotel, where I’m staying, so no walking and no outdoors… I don’t need a jacket for this do I? I can just be photographed in my dress (or jumpsuit?!), no jacket required…?

No no jacket needed for the second. For the first also if I didn’t already own anything to match I’d just wear a standard winter coat over my beautiful outfit and hang it up on arrival.

has the bride got back to you about the colours of MOB ?

Hi @OneNewEagle No, her mother hasn’t bought her outfit yet, but is back in UK and looking at dresses now I gather . Future DDIL said she would let me know. I’m going to be away for much of next couple of weeks, so I needed to get my outfit sorted. I’ve shared photos with DDIL and told her my rough plan. I’d be open to wearing either green or teal dress if she or her Mum had a preference based on their own outfit, as I gather this is wedding etiquette. But equally I could swap jumpsuit to the big wedding day and wear one of the dresses to the reg office. I don’t know. I currently have three outfits and two events so surely I should be okay. And I still have that cherry red Hobbs dress from my John Lewis stylist appointment, which seems like ages ago now, but was in fact only 11 days ago!

Seduced by The Jumpsuit… for she is a divine thing…