Mother-of-the-Groom Journey: The Formal Wedding Dress

Happy Monday, friends!  Our discussions lately have been awesome so let’s keep it going with the Mother-of-the-Groom Journey: The Formal Wedding Dress.

I am doing two things in today’s post.

I have a contender for the formal wedding dress, and I also want to discuss what shopping for this event means to me.

It is on a deeper level than the event…though that is super special.

You ladies have made this so much fun and I really like shopping with you here.

So, let’s get going…there is much to show and say…

Mother-of-the-Groom Journey: The Formal Wedding Dress

The lovely bride-to-be has given me permission to share her inspiration board with you.

These are the colors for the decorations and for bridesmaid dresses.

Her mother is wearing a coral that has more pink than orange in it.

These sweet ladies are not placing a lot of rules on anyone…you do not have to specifically wear this or that.

The biggest rule is for males to wear the traditional black and white tuxedo.

It is a formal evening wedding dictating the need for a formal wedding dress.

As you know, I have already looked at a ton of mother-of-the-groom formal wedding dresses.

Then, working with my Nordstrom stylist, I tried on this one and consider it a major contender for THE DRESS.

I am here in the Nordstrom dressing room with my stylist Julie to look over this formal wedding dress.

This is the Kay Unger Coco Gown and it checks several boxes for me.

1. The colors go nicely with this wedding and look good on me.
2. It is lightweight and I do not believe I will be hot in it for a wedding that begins summer.
3. It has sleeves.
4. It fits well and will fit even better as I continue my weight loss program.  It is a little tight in the middle, but I am working hard on that area. I will need it to have some room so I can dance with confidence.
5. It does not look like prom dress!  I decided no tulle or sequins for me.
6. It is a good length and will work well with flats.

Here are the other Kay Unger gowns currently at Nordstrom.

OK, girls…what do you think of this one for this mother-of-the-groom?  A contender or not?

Mother-of-the-Groom Journey: The Formal Wedding Dress & ALL WEDDING DECISIONS

As you ponder the mother-of-the-groom formal wedding dress option…allow me to go a little deeper.

All of you have been so great to give me ideas and ask questions which are food for thought. 

Linlee was wondering why I did not just shop my closet for the events around the wedding.

This one question has been on mind often since she asks, and I think the answer goes deeper than the wedding itself. 

I am going to do my best to verbalize my ponderings here.

Let’s go all the way back to my childhood.

Though she came from a low- income family, my mother did like to dress nice and was very inventive with how she dressed both of us.

She learned to sew and most of my clothes were homemade.

As I got into my teen years, I desired store bought clothing and at age 16 went to work in a local boutique…called Skibell’s.

That is where I learned about fashion and style, and it set a fire in me that is still there today.

I loved the beauty and creativity of fashion…it took me in my dreams to worlds and a life way past my West Texas home.

My “fashion” journey has been one of ups and downs and self-revelations.

I believe many here have been experiencing fashion revelations since the pandemic.

More retired earlier than expected and navigating that world between looking our best and dressing more casually has been a rocky one.

I know for me it has been interesting to come home to work and to leave my professional life at the office.

Since that happened, I did a closet purge to only include my best colors…then a closet purge to sell clothing for events I no longer attend and the more professional wear.

At the end of 2022, I found myself feel physically bad and maybe that tainted the way I looked at my style…those last few months of wearing mostly very casual clothing, my style was uninspired.

Also, because of the poor state of the American economy, I began to focus on shopping what I call more affordable clothing lines …to make sure I was showing you the options out there at places such as JCP, Target and Walmart.

Mr. B and I lead a modest middle-income life.

I am not one of those bloggers who are constantly showing you their lavish lifestyle and traveling often to far and wide places.  I am the everyday woman in suburbia who takes an affordable trip every now and then, and hopefully inspires you to live it alongside me with joy.

Without a workplace to go to every day and without those far and wide places to constantly travel to, there was nothing on the calendar to excite me once again about fashion…until the wedding announcement!

Of course, I want to look great for the two families and the couple, but this is also about ME.

The idea was fearful at first, but now has been such a spark for me.  A new enjoyment of shopping for ME…remember the Loreal slogan, “because I am worth it?”

I decided to take money saved from selling old clothing to buy new clothing and not worry about the costs.  Of course, I am being prudent…you will not see me in Gucci…but I am also going back to some trusted brands where I do pay more for the clothing.

And I cannot leave out my weight loss road, and I want clothing that reflects this new reality for me.  And that has meant more dresses.

I love wearing them again and feel confident in them.  This event will be a hot time of year, so dresses just make good sense for all of it.

For the events, I am attempting to make selections that I will wear often (except maybe the mother-of-the-groom formal wedding dress) and can be worn in different ways.

I want to speak my adjectives…be confident…vibrant and full of life and joy…smiling through it all.

This has meant so far that I do a lot of buying online and then returning if it doesn’t work.  I have returned much more than I have purchased so far. (Returns at Dillard’s and Nordstrom are very easy to do)

For the first time in a long time, I will be going to a tailor to make sure fit is just right.

And you know what?  I do not want this enthusiasm for my style to leave when the wedding is over.

I want to continue occasionally treating myself at one of the better brands and bring the joy of looking my best for everyday home with me when I get off the dance floor.

This is the way shopping later in life should be…our special occasions get fewer, and the opportunities get smaller…so let’s all treat our lives as one big SPECIAL OCCASION and enjoy each and every moment….wearing our own unique style.

Because We Are Worth It and life quickly flies by.

I want more moments feeling this way and fewer moments pulling from the uninspired pile.

This coming weekend, I have another closet purge in mind…some of the “uninspired” needs to go away.

Thanks for being here!  Please comment on any of this….especially “The Dress.”  Tomorrow I talk shoes which is a big topic for every day and for wedding time.

I hope you will continue to join in. 

KEEP SMILING FRIENDS!

By Pamela Lutrell

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