Honeymoon Style

banner

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Mother Of The Bride and Groom Dresses Are Ugly!



Please, don't dress mom in these dresses!


Yes, I said it, UGLY, unattractive, frumpy and no one
really wants what the dress manufacturers are cranking out
for the mothers of the wedding. No one wants what you
are selling!

Most mothers dresses fall into two categories: Dresses that
look like great grandma's burial dress and dresses that look
like mom is going to prom. There are millions of Baby
Boomer and Boomlet moms who want to look fabulous
and would buy a dress if they could just find it.

Moms want to look 10 years younger, and 20 pounds slimmer.
They want their upper arms covered and they want the dress
to hide the nasty parts. Most moms want a jacket they can remove
and straps on the dress wide enough to cover regular bra straps.
They want to look age appropriate, yet feminine with a hint of
sexy. And they want to radiate style. They want a flattering color,
and honey, that's not beige or platinum gray. Those colors just
drainthe color right out of your face. Its not too much to ask.

They used to manufacture dresses that fit the bill, but somehow,
the manufacturers let go some of their designers, moved their
manufacturing to the far east and knocked off competitors prom
and bridesmaid dresses and are trying to pass them off as
mothers dresses. Geeze, hire a designer familiar with real
women and real women's bodies.

Do all of today's designers think that every mother of the wedding
wants to wear beige and platinum ball gowns with big poofy skirts?
I've sold mom's dresses for years, and have yet to meet a
a mom who wanted a strapless ballgown, yet I'm sure they
exist somewhere, just not in my area. Mom does not
want to look like an older prommie, a street walker or grandma.
Even grandma won't wear these styles!

If you are a bride, get your mom out shopping stat. If she has
to order her dress, she'll have to allow 8 to 12 weeks or more to
have her dress made. Most dresses are now made in Asia and that
is the time frame to complete the dress. Unless she is a sample
size and wants champagne or taupe, she's not likely to find what
she wants hanging on the rack.

Here's what you need to know about MOB (mother of the bride)
and MOG (mother of the groom) dresses before you go shopping.
Forget shopping for a petite,very few lines cut petites and the
petite still runs long. Either way,the dress is probably going
to need to be shortened.

Mom's dresses are made either in colors that blend with all
weddingcolors, like all pastels, sort of a unicolor MOB dress.
Or you'll find garish hot colors that don't match anything.
Any color in between will have to be ordered.
Some dresses are only made in two or three unicolors, others
come in a variety of colors. If you are lucky, they'll have her
colorand size in stock but don't hold your breath. The sooner
you shop,the better the chance of getting what you want.

Some dresses start at size 6 and go to size 20 only. If you are
larger or smaller, you are out of luck.

Don't expect to find tailored suits, high necklines and collars.
You'll find some suit like dresses with a jacket, but I haven't
seen a high neckline in years.

And plan for alterations, all dresses need alterations to
fit properly,just like the wedding dress. Very few dresses get by
without a few tweaks.

If mom insists on waiting to shop until she looses 20 pounds,
she'll be panicking before the wedding when she can't find
anything to wear. The department stores stock way less social
occasion dresses than they used to carry because women just
don't get dressed up very often. You'll have to start with your
local bridal salon. Get her shopping early. If she finds a dress
that looks good now, it will look fab if she looses the weight.
And the dress can be taken into fit.

If a manufacturer would just LISTEN to what women want,
they'd sell tons of dresses and trounce their competition.
Women will rejoice, look fabulous and be deliriously happy,
the manufacturer will be revered. Happy women will spread
the word faster than Twitter.And please, if any of you reading
this are manufacturers, drop me a line. I KNOW what we
women want. We just can't find it.

6 comments:

  1. Hi This is Diana from www.MarylandSeamstress.com. Try your upper end department stores, such as Macy's. They'll have what you are looking for, for your Mom. I agree the bridal stores just dont get it for moms. Hope this helps, Diana

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Diana, Thanks for the comment, but its ALL designers, including the ones that sell dresses to Macy's. The selections form women are just horrible everywhere. My local high end dept. stores sell black, black and more black for mothers or floral smocks they are passing off as fashion. Get real and hire a designer, and talk to real women before you put out your new line. Whew, I feel better now! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I totally agree, Mother of the Brides do NOT want to wear strapless gowns!

    Your comment: "Mom does not
    want to look like an older prommie, a street walker or grandma." cracks me up!

    Many of the dresses touted as Mother of the Bride outfits are being modeled by young women in their twenties who certainly don't look like they have had children.

    Well done for speaking up!

    Mother of the Bride outfits

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have just begun looking for a MOB dress. You have it nailed...... there are prom-type dresses and lots of strapless dresses (please, I've had four kids!), and some wild colors or drab weird colors. If designers would consider these facts: MOB are probably over 50 and would like to hide their neck area, as well as their upper arms. They would like to look stylish but not promish. They don't want to wear black, yet dont want to stick out in all the pictures with a blaring color. They want to be classy, yet not like an old woman. I'm discouraged at the hunt ahead of me. I am petite and size 4. Things I have tried on look ridiculous on me. Where are the designers for real people?

    ReplyDelete
  5. You nicely summed up the issue. I would add that this doesn’t exactly concenplate often. xD Anyway, good post…

    live points free

    ReplyDelete
  6. whoa. some of us mobs aren't 50 yet! and some of us don't even like dresses! i would like something that reflects my edginess yet covers my pudginess...

    ReplyDelete