Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do ...
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Ugh! Dress Shopping


I recently I made a trip to our local mall. I was on an errand for my mom and husband who both needed watch repairs.

The watches would be ready in 30 minutes, and I could have sat around and people watched.

Not happening. I am one of the picture people now.

There had to be something worthy of my lens in this mall.



I hadn't been at the mall in months. There were changes.

Looking down from the second level I had a great view of a child's play area sponsored by our local hospital.

It was really a colorful and inviting area. I almost wished I had a kid with me so I could explore it without looking odd. :-)



I am a big fan of Coach bags. I have owned a few in my past. I decided to walk into the Coach Store and see what the new styles were.

This purse was quite large, but I was really, really drawn to its style and colors.

I wasn't drawn to the price - $799.00

Can you imagine - $800 for a purse? And that doesn't even include the sales tax!!!

A picture was all I could afford.


And then I remembered...
I need to shop for a dress!
A mother of the groom dress!!
small panic feeling ...

"Wear whatever you want!!", the bride has said. I probably should wear something conservative ... with a nice matching jacket. A "motherly style" comes to mind. *sigh*

I don't wanna. I want to wear something spring-y, pretty, flowing, feminine! Something that drapes beautifully and makes me look 20 again. Ok, maybe that is asking a lot of a dress, but all the rest of it ... I want that!

And so the search began ... not to buy, or even try on, but just to see what the heck they are showing in dresses these days. After all, the last time a bought a dress (or even wore one) it was sometime in the 90's, it was from L.L.Bean and made of flannel! :-)

Unfortunately this short trip did not ease my anxiety! You be the judge.




So I guess this dress is feminine in a sordid kind of way.

And my future daughter-in-law did say I could wear anything.

No, no ... not a good way to start off my relationship with this lovely lady who will be my son's wife.











This one was flow-y for sure and eye catching in a circus kind of way.

With this dress I could ride into the reception on an elephant.

Oh ... that is right, the mother-of-the-groom is supposed to keep a low profile.

Guess the elephant would be too much, and if I can't ride the elephant, I can't have the dress!!








And this is a dress that screams -

I am DRESS, hear me roar!

No, I don't have the chutzpah to carry this off even if it was marginally appropriate for a wedding.











And this one - well, it is kind of hard to imagine where this would be appropriate.

Since the skirt was made up of individual scarves tucked in the waist band ... maybe a strip joint???

Of course the white blouse was a bit tailored - not the feminine look I was going for.







After a distressing 45 minutes, I scampered back to the shop where I dropped off the watches.

They were ready, and so was I ... to go home!

This dress shopping was going to be a challenge! I will need to bring my fashion consultant with me. My daughter! She can advise me and carry the tissues I will need to express my frustration.

(I wonder what my son thinks of flannel?)

And, of course, I will take you along on the dress shopping ride when we do it!!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah...those were all a big NO weren't they? Gosh I haven't bought a dress since my daughter got married. That was 1996. The consultant only gave me one piece of advice. Go with the brides colour scheme and choose something that will contrast.

Noofy said...

I'm not sure what your tastes and styles are. I really liked what Kate Middleton's mother wore to the Royal Wedding. Google it, I'm sure some photos will pop up. It was a beautiful dusty blue straight dress with matching overcoat, just gorgeous (minus the hat, of course). Don't fret about it, whatever you find, I'm sure it will be perfect, just you!

Anita said...

locally there are no dresses...none...zilch..haven't been for many years now; even the "dress shop" stopped carry them, told me the buyer looked in vain for some to stock.
the "slob" look has been in for far too many years for my taste; I'm tired of Casuals.
there are "separates" in abundance, but of course my top and bottom have to come in two separate sizes.
I guess my taste in dresses might be called the Mennonite look! I like collars and sleeves and actual waistlines,
and whatever happened to darts?
Either I shop at Goodwill for clothes that were in style a decade or two ago, or I order from a catalog.
as for that $800 handbag, it would cost way more than the contents I'd put into it! Unbelievable.

happyone said...

You found some really interesting dresses there!

Manzanita said...

I know a place where the scarf-in-the-waist dress could be worn. I have an old video of gypsies dancing and a gal wore a dress like that. Of course you'd have to travel back to the 1920's too. Ha
Good luck with the dress shopping and looking forward to the pictures.
Manzanita@Wannabuyaduck

ipkristin said...

I'm SUPER excited to shop for your dress! I can't wait to see you in something flowing and feminine!

Linda said...

LOL - always easy to find the dresses that wont work! I know there is a flow-y dress out there for you and you will have the help you need!

Laura said...

Good luck on the dress search. I figure I won't have to go for a dress search till one of my kids is married. Hopefully that won't be for a couple of years. Hopefully.

g-girl said...

you didn't love that last one? teehee! it seemed the most unique of all of them. you could probably make your own version with a bunch of your own scarves! ;) good luck on the dress search.