The Bride’s Heart

Until recently nobody seemed to care about plus size mother of the bride dresses. Your daughter’s wedding is a landmark, amazing time of not only your daughter’s life, but yours as well. You want to look your very best (without outshining the bride, of course!) and wear stylish, elegant fashions.

Traditionally, the plus sized woman was hard pressed to find anything that was sophisticated and fashionable. Full figured women found themselves confined to archaic fashion "rules" that dictated they cover as much flesh as possible in yards of dark, drab fabric. It seemed that designers were more interested in hiding women who were not model slim instead of celebrating their beauty.

It is time to do away with the outdated laws of style and step into the light as proud, plus sized women. Now designers are taking notice of this popular customer base and are designing not only special event fashions, but casual ensembles that are trendy, fun, light and beautiful. Mother of the bride dresses are emerging as colorful and fashionable. Gone are the days of drab, dreary clothing that resembled tents and hid as much flesh as possible.

You want to be stylish at your daughter’s wedding, not flamboyant drag queenish. You may want to ask your daughter to go shopping with you so that she can help you choose good, complimentary colors and designs.

All Figure Types

A sheath style of dress can work with nearly any figure. An A-line or princess style can also work well with all figure types. The empire waist is yet another universal look.

Bottom Heavy

The bottom heavy body shape is fuller in the hips and thighs while more narrow in the shoulders. This is also known as the pear shaped body.

Dresses that are nipped in at the waist and flare slightly over the hips and thighs work well for this body type. If you have pretty arms and shoulders, go sleeveless. If you are self conscious about your arms, wear a sheer shawl or cover. An empire dress will draw the eye up and away from the problem areas, but it can make you look like a mother to be if you are not careful.

Top Heavy

Also known as the apple shaped body type, the top heavy figure has narrow hips and slimmer legs while the upper body had heavier breasts and the midsection is softer.

Go for two piece ensembles such as a blouse and skirt, sleeveless sheath or a princess seamed dress. Don’t be afraid to show some skin, bare your arms or shoulders. You may even try a slit in the skirt to show a little leg.

When dressing the full figure, you want to wear colors that look fabulous on you. You are not doomed to a miserable existence of wearing all black all the time. Experiment with different colors and try shades of pink, blue and white which are complimentary for nearly any complexion.

A last important tip when choosing a plus size mother of the bride dress , is wearing clothes that FIT. No one is going to come up behind you to peek at your tag to see what size you are wearing.  Besides that, size is just a number. What does it matter if you look stunning?

You may have married some time ago, but watching your daughter walk down the aisle with the love of her life is something that you are looking forward to. Of course you don’t want to buy a white gown on this occasion. However, in your mother of the bride outfit you want to look your best as well.

I’ve heard horror stories of mothers wearing white to weddings. This is something that you should never do. An outfit that matches the wedding colors is required. Something that will enable you to look great while leaving the spotlight on the happy couple.

The mother of the bride can have almost any kind of outfit, provided that it looks good. A majority of mothers wish to wear an outfit that matches the wedding theme colors, and that is perfect, provided that the colors are not fluorescent yellow or hunter’s orange.  When my sister-in-law got married, my mother-in-law wore the most beautiful mother of the bride outfit.  It matched the wedding colors, and it was something that was made for the purpose of a mother at a wedding. However, this does not have to be the case for you.

You can wear a mother of the bride outfit that you already possess in your closet. Of course it is perfectly acceptable to go out and purchase a completely new outfit for the special day. This may depend on how much money you are spending on your daughter’s wedding. What if you don’t have enough money remaining to purchase a new outfit for yourself? Only kidding, I hope.  It may be a good idea to go shopping together with your daughter, so that you can choose something together. Then you will both be happy on the special day, with no surprises of ghastly outfits.

Remember that you can also look online for mother of the bride outfits, if you cannot find anything suitable in the store. There is usually a wider selection online but take into consideration that when purchasing online, you don’t get the opportunity to try the outfit on before you buy it. So you better have plenty of time to spare, just in case you have to return the outfit or have it altered.

Whether it’s a dress or a gown or a suit, the important thing is that you feel comfortable and look your best. It can be anything you like, even if it is not purposely made for the wedding day. There are many people that pay more for the label, but this is simply not necessary. After all, it’s about sharing the happiest day of your daughter’s life.