MOB style- does common sense go out of the window?

I was at Kew Gardens at the weekend and was amused to see w lady wearing the jungle print M&S dress that I wore for DD's wedding 21 years ago. It still looked very nice and made me wish I'd hung on to it.

Sorry to go off subject but looking at the dresses I’ve been wearing in the heatwave, two are Debenhams, a Monsoon and two M&S all charity shop buys

Glitter - you obviously have a good eye for what suits you and confidence to put an outfit together.
The charity shop dress I've been wearing in good weather for several years has had several spontaneous compliments in the past weeks. It's comfortable, both fits and suits me and has a Wallis label.

I should have said the 99p dress was from the 99p sell off rail in Age U.K. and I’ve since worn it to other occasions
Like Jayelld I’m very thrifty, and anything over £10 for a wear once dress is a no no for me too

As I don’t have a daughter I won’t ever be MOB and as none of my three sons want to get married even though two of them have been in very, very long relationships I will never be MOG Though I did buy a beautiful Bonmarche dress for 99p and a jacket from a jumble sale for youngest Grandaughters christening and received many compliments on my outfit

I have no daughters but have been MOG twice
My older son got married abroad without my knowledge so I mossed out MOG outfit
My younger son has been married twice and both weddings I wore a dress I already had worn and no hat.I hate the lampshade hats that seem to be MOB or MOG standard wear in shops and don't like fascinators either.
I am with the belief that it is the bridal couple's day and they should not be outshone as long as you look clean and tidy
My younger son seems to collect wives/partners so I have told him I cannot keep up with the expense of his weddings.

I think madness overtakes some mothers. It certainly did this one, when both my children married in the same year. I bought two designer outfits, absolutely eye wateringly expensive, from a boutique full of snotty assistants; the first looked ok but was horribly uncomfortable and the second was comfortable but I looked like one of those toilet roll covers that were around in the seventies in old lady's houses.
They hang in my wardrobe still, a decade later, and are a reminder to keep it simple, comfortable - and a lot cheaper!

Why buy MOB dresses in a bridal shop? I didn't go near one for my own wedding, or buy any bridal magazines and did neither for DS wedding either.

Just go out and buy something that you like and feels comfortable and forget about the occasion. Nobody is going to take much notice of you anyway.

Indeedee, MawBroon, bridal shop assistants gush and fawn (obviously to get an easy sale) over the most trite MOB outfits.

ie: acrylic or crimplene in peach, lavender or pistachio with Queen Mother hat to match. Easily puts 100 years on anyone!

Would they dare to offer this shapeless, frumpy kind of stuff to some like say......Janet Street-Porter?

Thank you for that info Hilda's. I will look into EWM asap in search of CC. Great news.

Looking for an MOB outfit at the moment, DD wedding next May. Totally agree with what a lot of people say, most of the outfits are hideous and very overpriced. I am short- 4' 10" and rather round and unfortunately cannot wear anything but cotton! On top of that I cannot afford more than £50. Think I might try making my own dresss!

The only good thing that has come out of my son’s impending divorce is that I gave away all my wedding pharaphanalia (have I spelt that right?) which included a silky top and long skirt, pashmina, handbag, shoes, fascinator, cream parasol and some jewellery etc to a vintage charity hospice shop. We got a very nice letter telling us how much we had individually raised for the charity, which was quite a decent sum. So every cloud does have a silver lining. ⛅️

Jaxie I love those dresses. Thank you.

I've never been MOB or MOG, but I just wanted to say that Edinburgh Woollen Mill have Country Casuals clothing. I almost bought a long line shirt for myself last time I was in their store.
www.ewm.co.uk/country-casuals/collections/impressionist.html

My son was getting married in a very hot climate; I almost despaired of finding a smart dress in cotton. Department stores only seem to stock vile synthetic over-designed frump gear in pink and mauve. Then I saw a Bombshell dress in Heritage Liberty lawn on Gransnet. Designed by a theatre costume designer, Katya, I could not believe it was so well cut: three quarter sleeves, over the knee, a wrap that would never expose my raddled legs, gently ruched over the tummy. Cleverly elasticated under the arms to create a waist. It looked terrific and was comfortable; I didn't feel the slightest bit trussed. I don't agree that Country Casuals was any good, too safe and predictable: why else would it have gone out of business? Arket, And Other Stories, Finery offer dresses that suit trendy oldsters too.

My son was married last summer and I worried about what to wear as I only usually wear trousers and don't do dressy. I found a dress while shopping with my daughter in Glasgow but as I was travelling home by train didn't want to add to my luggage so I didn't buy it. Once home I ordered the dress online and managed to get 20% off by taking the store's card which more than covered the cost of p&p. I bought matching shoes but they were so uncomfortable I changed into my old favourites to drive to the reception and didn't put them back on! I borrowed a matching bag from a fried so not too expensive all in all. In the end I wore it three times as I went to another wedding as my daughter's chauffeur so only attended the service, then wore it to a dinner at my old college a few weeks later. I doubt it will get another outing so I'm glad I didn't spend too much.

M0nica - some years ago Oxfam had a wedding shop in central Birmingham. There were lovely clothes in there for the whole wedding party!
Having no other reason to buy I got two beautiful bridesmaids’ dresses for GDs aged 3 and 9. They did great service for parties, plays and dressing up for years until they outgrew them!

I forgot to mention that dress and jacket were a fraction of the cost I would have spent in a bridal shop. The buttons were the exception (relatively expensive) but when all was tallied (shoes, bag etc.) I still came out ahead.

'yet another anecdote' alert....

For my first daughter's wedding twenty years ago, (evening formal), I had a clear vision of what I wanted, which actually made things more difficult for me.

After being accosted by several well meaning bridal consultants (with commission driven motives and taste), I decided to give the department stores a try.

Almost immediately, I found a beige 'peau de soie' evening gown similar to what I was looking for, except it had no jacket.
To my dismay, finding one that matched would be a tall order because the color 'beige' has too many iterations. I had to settle for a complementary fabric that would make a statement instead. It was a beige/taupe metallic brocade.

The jacket itself was very flattering with a fitted cut and a scalloped neckline. The buttons however, were cheap plastic rosettes and definitely had to go!

I went into NYC's fashion district and replaced them with a set of filigree bronze buttons, exquisitely accented with genuine Swarovski crystal teardrops! The buttons ended up being so gorgeous that the jacket morphed into a very expensive looking, 'designer' evening jacket. That jacket got a lot of complements and very good use even years after the wedding!

It was a lot of work, but in the end, I achieved the look that I wanted and without anybody's help.

I think for a really stylish MOB outfit you couldn't go wrong with what the Duchess of Sussex's mother wore. Simple yet elegant.
With the exception of one unmarried daughter all my future weddings are likely to be GMOG or GMOB. So I won't have to dress up...... I hope

I went to a classy boutique style shop for my outfit for my DD’s wedding 10 years ago. Made an appointment as MOTB so had an assistant all to myself. DD came too. Had a wonderful time trying on outfits, hats etc and ended up with a spectacular ensemble. Still love it to this day and still get no end of compliments when people see the photos. Bag came from EBay though! Oh and I’m a size 16 so not petite clothes horse! At the end of the day you have got to feel comfortable with what you wear wherever it comes from.

Last June I was grandmother of the bride and wore a gorgeous long floaty shift style dress in dove grey bought in Biarritz seventeen years before, bought a new big brimmed hat in the same colour and wore cream flatform sandals and bag that I already had.
The weather was scorching so my dress was perfect.

lesley

My friend did the same thing, she bought an awful outfit and I just kept quiet because she loved it. It will never be worn again as it’s one of those wedding only satin type monstrosities . If I had been with her I would of banned her from going near it

jillyblom59 I don't think MOBs are supposed to wear shift dresses & boleros, where on earth did that come from? Thinking of the many weddings I've been to, I can't think of one MoB adhering to that code! For my DD's wedding, I had a long cornflower blue silk skirt with a matching jacket edged in a stiffened ruffle and beneath it I had a flowery patterned silk camisole in matching shades of blue. I had a large blue "hattinator" and blue silk high heels & the whole outfit was divine, I felt stunning & it cost a fortune but I didn't care, it was for a very special occasion. Not a shift dress or bolero in sight!