Mother of the Bride Dress Help

jjoy1988

Hi All,

I am hoping you can help me. My mom is stressing out about the dress because she is not sure what will work with her body. She has had some major surgeries over the past couple of years cauing her to gain weight (particularly in the stomach region). She is very self concious about it and would like to hide it as much as possible.

The best way to describe her body is a pregnant woman. She is relatively smaller everywhere but her stomach/thighs. My wedding is in November in Chicago so she is able to dress "warmer" and not have to wear a strapless dress.

Any advice/help would be most appreciated! I want her to feel comfortable and beautiful that day too.

warpedredpenguin

Try to find a dress with ruching (sp?) in the waistline. It's pretty universally slimming. My mom is pretty overweight (just stating a fact) she wore that style for my wedding and looked fabulous, and about 30 lbs thinner. 

We found hers at Dillards. We didn't have very good luck at "Special occasion" stores, the salesladies were really snotty about the fact that mom was bigger. So on a whim, we went to the mall, and went to Dillards since she had store credit there. 

MairePoppy

My mother (grandmother of the bride) carries her weight in the midsection, too. She was very anxious about finding a dress and was concerned that she would most likely need alterations. We took her to David's, where she found a dress that fit perfectly and she was able to carry it home with her that day.  It was very flattering and comfortable. The dress has no waistline, v-neck with beading details to draw the eye up and a sheer jacket to cover her arms. I've seen this style in Macy's also in different colors.  Here it is:

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Georgette-3-4-Sleeve-Jacket-Dress-with-Beading-9629_Outlet-Outlet-Special-Occasion-Dresses

A few other styles that might work.

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Sleeveless-Triple-Tier-Jacket-Dress-with-Beading-6570549_Outlet-Outlet-Special-Occasion-Dresses

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Long-Chiffon-Batwing-Dress-with-3D-Flower-1418W_Outlet-Outlet-Special-Occasion-Dresses

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_3-4-Sleeve-Ruched-Cocktail-Dress-with-Beading-081863920_Outlet-Outlet-Special-Occasion-Dresses

Also check Macy's and Nordstrom or whatever department stores that your mom ususally shops in. I was stressed out about finding a dress, too. I found mine in Macy's when I wasn't even looking for my dress. Your mom has plenty of time to find a dress or dressy pants for the wedding.



ETA - I just wanted to caution you that the dresses in David's online outlet are not returnable. Macy's and Nordstrom are and they have free shipping

Jager1219

Agreed with not looking at bridal salons.  The consultant at these places kept trying to put my mom into a ball gown.  It wasn't until I finally said to the consultant that those dresses are more formal than MY dress that they finally stopped looking at "MOB" dresses.  My mom got hers at a sample sale at a formalware shop.  It doesn't look "MOB" at all, just a really nice formal gown.

[Deleted User]

I notice Talbots and Watters has some really nice dresses with beautiful jackets.  It seems like there were several styles to hide the tummy too.
Encourage her to explore all options and wear what SHE loves.  Pretty much anything goes, including an elegant pants ensemble

jjoy1988

Wow! Awesome ideas from everyone! I really appreciate the time you all have taken to help me (and my mom) with this dress. It really means a lot because, like I said, I want her to feel comfortable and beautiful too.

TroubledMama

SPANX!!!!!!!      They are our friend.  

Try seperates, they sometimes mix better. And, dont be afraid of alterations. Sometimes that extra money is well spent.