Hello Wisconsinites,
I am getting married in April. We are looking for an MOB dress for my mom. You know, the typical fancy dress with a matching jacket. My mother is a size 26. We were thinking tea length because my mom can't wear anything shorter because she has varicose and spider veins and doesn't want to wear panty hose, and my wedding isn't SUPER formal, so floor length might be almost too fancy or dramatic.
Department stores and David's Bridal only go up to 24, so we struck out there. We did go to Dillards, Sears, JCP's, Kohls, and Macy's, and the 24's were not flattering, too tight. The 24 at David's Bridal was not even close to being able to zip closed.
We have also tried the usual "larger" lady stores/catalogs (Catherine's, Lane Bryant, Roaman's Catalogue, Ashley Stewart, Dress Barn, Fashion Bug, Sydney's Closet) to no avail. Many of the dresses featured don't come with a matching jacket. My mom can't wear sleeveless or strapless. Even short sleeve is sometimes pushing it, if it's a capped sleeve.
Can anyone suggest a local store or boutique in the Milwaukee/Waukesha, even Madison, area for very plus size women? (I say "very" plus sized because many places only go up to 24 for plus size sizes, and my mother needs a 26. In a large lady specialty store, she is usually able to do a 24, as they tend to size their clothes a size larger, so their 24 is equal to a real world 26.)
Ideally, the dress would be pink or purple, or incorporate those colors, as those are my wedding colors, and tea length, but we know we can't be too picky!
(I know there are several ONLINE options for plus-sized women's clothing; however, my mom really wants to try the dresses on before purchasing them and not have to deal with the headache of ordering 15 different dresses from several different stores/websites and having to return all but one of them.)
Thank you very much in advance for your suggestions!