Twosome Tuesday: Mother of the Bride wear

Yahoo!!  I finally have what I will wear to both weddings... I think.   I apologize in advance for the bad, dressing room, self-portraits that I'd initially intended to share only with my daughters.  Anyway, there were lots of things to consider in this hunt: price, comfort, fit, colors to coordinate with the weddings, wearability for other occasions.

Straps were falling off,
torso a little long

The first day Princess Sassy and I went wedding dress shopping was the first day I tried on a possible Mother-of-the-Bride dress.  I loved it, and the price was right... $35.  However, being a size too big, it was a little tall for me.  Yes, tall.  The shoulder straps were long so if the body fit me in the right places, the straps were too high/long for my shoulders...if I pulled the dress down so that the straps fit, the rest was off.  I figured time was on my side, and there must be another dress like it somewhere, but in the perfect size.  I searched every other Macy's in our area, and I searched on-line.  No.  I've been trying to find a dress to live up to that one since that day in April... I should have bought it and adjusted the straps.                                                                                                                                                 

Like the first, great dress,
but wrong color

So many have been "Almost right, but too tight"..."Almost right but too big"... "Almost right but the fabric is too casual"...  "Almost right, but the wrong colors"... and so on.

                             

At the time we hit the jackpot on bridesmaid dresses for Princess Bossy's wedding (as shown in Twosome Tuesday: Bridesmaids' Dresses), I also found a wonderful navy blue dress for myself.  Just my style...Elegant, but understated.
  Architectural and artsy detailing on the front like I love.  It fit like a glove.  Princess Bossy saw pics, and said it was "Just right" for her wedding.  I had one dress checked off the list.  One dress to go... and shoes.    
                                                                                    

A tad too tight

My mind was still stuck on the floral dress I'd tried on in April (and its price!), but with slim luck in finding anything close in the right colors, I began to check patterns and fabric stores.   I also rechecked department stores, and was surprised to find that new merchandise is sometimes added daily, not just at the beginning of a season.     
                                                                                                                    

Too formal

After my haircut last Friday, I checked Penneys and Macys, for the umpteenth time.  Penneys didn't have anything new to offer that day, but Macy's did.  Nothing looked 'perfect,' but I took an armload to the dressing room.  The most striking one was full-length, and I suspected, too formal.  It was.  I couldn't believe no one was there to at least see it on me for a moment...This photo does not do it justice. But I couldn't imagine anywhere I'll EVER go being formal enough to wear it, and I had to give some thought to what the groom's mom might wear.  I don't want to be too over-the-top in comparison, or force her to get a dress she won't be able to use later, either.  So back on the rack it went.                                                                                               

The bride says this is a
winner, too

The last one I tried on was a last ditch effort at trying ANYthing that might possibly have promise.  It was a fairly shapeless shift, which wasn't what I was after, usually preferring more flattering shaping and structure.  It was taupe, which wasn't one of the colors at the top of the list (blue floral, or gray).  It wasn't even one of my 'good colors.'  But as a 'Winter,' it's one I'm supposed to be able to wear, and something that, although wasn't one of the wedding colors, wouldn't fight with them either.  The great thing about it was that it had an overlay of almost a macrame'-style lace in a lighter color with silver threads to make it sparkle.  I tried to avoid dresses that looked too similar to the dark blue one I had already, and this definitely fit that bill.                                                                                                                             
For having seemingly more downsides than up, it looked decent on, and a little fun.  I sent a phone picture to Princess Sassy, and she loved it.  She saw immediately that it would coordinate well with her dress and work well with the grays of the wedding party.  She urged me to snap it up.                                                                                                                                                                                                         

This doesn't really show the right colors.
The dress is close, but the shoe color is called
'Adobe,' and they are EXACTLY the color
of the lace on the dress.

A short look for shoes in the same store turned up the perfect pair to accompany it.  The same color, and just the right amount of bling so they'd each set each other off nicely.  I wouldn't be as excited about either, separately, but together, it's a great combo.                                                                                                                             
 I'm still not quite 100% convinced.  Time, fatigue, and a bit of frustration are the enemies of budget...At $99, and not on sale, it is a bit more expensive than I would've considered previously, and goes against my grain to not wait for a sale.  But if I use the shoes for both weddings --possible, but not decided-- that will help. I was also set on getting dresses and shoes I could wear to church on Sundays, and these might not quite suit that use.  Anniversaries, maybe?  Hubby and I will just have to get better about going out once in awhile...