The most expensive dress that ever bought was for older d’s bat mitzvah and as she is soon to be 32, it was 18 years ago. It was $950 but it was very appropriate for the temple service followed by the party. I bought it at a high end boutique and it fit perfectly. It was actually very simple, sort of looked like a 1950’s day dress with an appropriate jacket. Yes it was more than I wanted to have ever spent on a dress but it was worth it and outstanding. Alas I had no other occasion to wear that again. For younger d’s bat mitzvah I also had a lovely sheath dress with an embellished grayish tone jacket that was much less expensive and I also never had an opportunity to wear again.
For most dressy types of functions I like to keep it under $300 or so, but the recent dress that I bought on Nordstrom.com for my greatniece’s wedding was over $400. As it is sort of a royal blue/navy I do think that I will have an opportunity to wear again.
Younger d just wore a beautiful blush dress with coral applique that she had worn as a bridesmaid for a friend’s wedding that I had bought in Bloomie’s, a Ted Baker dress. More than I wanted to spend at over $300 but she did get to wear it again. At this wedding which was at a rustic resort in the Catskills, the sister of the bride and the only attendant wore a royal blue dress that the bride had worn as another friend’s bridesmaid. My d has one of those as well, so good thing she didn’t choose to wear it. Actually they weren’t exactly the same and they were a good value as bought at a bridesmaid wholesale house in the garment district. It was a big wedding party.
Don’t you wish we could get away wearing the same thing to many events as our men? I think the last suit my husband bought was for our daughter’s Bat Mitzvah, 17 years ago As it is still in style, he is able to wear it as well as his other suits. Sure, he might buy a new tie for an event, but he doesn’t have to worry about if it will fit, will his boobs hang out, is it too short, or how much it will cost to alter! The same for his tux which he has had forever. As it was expensive to start, he has gotten his money’s worth
for it. He did buy a new shirt as his was wearing out and he needed a newer look.
For both my kids weddings I had hoped to stay under $300, but the dresses I found unfortunately never went on sale. I was luck that both only needed a hem and just a tuck in at the waist, so alterations did not cost an arm and a leg. As I don’t go to many events that call for a long dress, unless I shorten these, I don’t see wearing them again. The dress for my daughter’s wedding would be nice short, the other would be costly to shorten, so don’t see investing in that.
We go to one black tie event every year and it’s with the same group of people. I have a few dresses in rotation that I wear and get a new one every three years or so. I’ve seen other women in our group wear the same dress again - we are a pretty easy-going group of friends - if you find something you like that works and still fits, why not re-use it?
I had planned to spend in the range of $200-$300 for my MOB dress and there certainly were a lot of options in that range but nothing really stood out. I ended up with a $600 dress that was fabulous. I originally wasn’t going to get it because that is just so expensive, but I’m really really glad that I splurged. I felt great in it (got lots of compliments!) and it really added to my enjoyment of the day by feeling that I looked good. In the scheme of things in the wedding expenses, that additional $300 for my dress was just a drop in the bucket but it made a huge difference to me.
Let’s face it: if you’re on the taller side, have decent legs and are slender, you will look great in a lot of dresses, including plenty under $200. My sister in law can go to the Ross dress sale, buy any number of $40 dresses, and look GREAT. (Her MOB dress came from Burlington Coat Factory!! And yes, she looked chic and classy.)
But if you’re on the shorter side you need petite. That automatically limits you and likely costs more. If you’re on the curvy side, that demands trickier tayloring. If you want to hide much of your legs, that limits you too. If you want to hide your arms or need a higher neckline, ditto.
In other words, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that most women-of-a-certain age need to look harder, and often pay more, for flattering dresses.
I must have missed the gene of wanting/needing a fabulous MOG/MOB dress. I have never had nor wanted any dress that was much over $100 - perhaps except my wedding dress which I’m sure wasn’t too expensive as my parents wouldn’t have been able to afford it!
I find it very interesting to read the comments here - in a good way - it’s just so not me! I do like to look nice…but at minimal cost AND time investment - to me, it’s a dress! - your face showing true happiness - for the cocktail party, wedding, or whatever - that is what people should notice.
Different worlds! I am telling the truth that I found my MOG dress (a short style - I would never wear long) on the Nordstrom Rack sale rack for $12. I love it and would wear it again.
My SIL made us two piece bridesmaid dresses in that dusky pink color that was so popular in the 1980s. The top looked hideous on me, but I loved the skirt and wore it on a number of occasions with a Victorian style white blouse. I think my SIL wore the dress she wore to my wedding. It was quite a plain yellow tea length linen dress. She made it herself - I told her I didn’t care what she wore, except that it would be nice not to clash with yellow and orange flowers.
I’m too much of a cheapskate to buy a $1000 dress for a wedding no matter how stunning. But we will see, I’m not expecting weddings any time soon.
The last suit my dh bought - and he didn’t buy it his mother did - was in 1984! Needless to say, it’s a little tight now, though he’s worn it at a couple of Halloween parties.
For a nice dress I’ll look at the Saks and NM outlets for the dresses that have come from the stores to see if I can find something nice but discounted. I am picky about fabric and I find most inexpensive dresses I don’t care for the feel of the fabric.
The last dress I bought for a wedding I spent $160 at Michael Kors.I’ve already worn it twice and will wear it again in late October to another wedding. My top for an event that I wasn’t hosting is probably $300.
I’m going to be MOG next year and I hope to stay around $300 or less but if I found something I felt great in I’d spend up to $600.00. I might go higher if I loved something,
My MIL wore the same dress to all three of her children’s weddings. Knowing my MIL she probably still has it in her closet.
I find I buy clothes at Target but I also love Anthropologie. Last weekend I bought jeans, a t shirt and a tank from the AG store and also several tops and 2 sweatshirts from Target.
Do any of you unload your dresses at consignment shops or other places to recoup some of the cost or just hang onto them hoping you’ll have an opportunity to wear them again?
I ordered and returned and shopped and nothing would fit my smaller shoulders and bigger hips for S’s wedding. Weight loss during a stressful time was only partially successful. Now that I have downsized, I was prepared to spend several hundred dollars on a dress and it was to be my biggest splurge on a clothing item ever. The one that finally worked was from Amazon, less than $50, and was just fine. Yes, you need an upper limit on price. However what speaks to you may be on sale, or a lucky find somewhere. For the energy I spent on a dress, it would have been worth my while to get some nice silk and have a dress made that would fit property.
D gets married in May. I sort of dread the repeat dress ordeal.
Only occasion I have had is MOB. And with the help of my wonderful CC friends, I found one at Nordstroms for under 150 which was perfect. I would have gone up to about 300, but didn’t need to.
My MOG dress budget for S’s recent wedding was around $200. Maybe I would’ve gone to 250 if it was the superperfect dress. There were a lot of choices around $200. One dress I tried and loved had no tag. I was very excited about it–until the clerk said it was $550! (More than bride’s gown, MOB told me.) I ended up getting a custom-made dress online–it was only 90something including shipping. Looked good in the wedding photos, but I doubt I would have any occasion to wear it again. I was not comfortable in a long gown–felt like I was wearing a costume. I liked the more casual/knee-length dress I wore for the rehearsal dinner much better–I got it at Burlington for about $20 and have worn it several times. My most-worn “little black dress” I got at Target for $17. I’m fortunate that I can wear just about anything, but I’m very much a jeans/T-shirt/tennis shoes person.
About 13 years ago, I bought a dress for about $300 for H’s sister’s formal wedding. It is silk and quite beautiful. It still fits me but I want something different, and not strapless, for D’s wedding. It would be so nice to find silk…
I look around at MOB dresses at bridal salons and frankly, it appalls me. I’ve only looked when I was with her looking for her dress so it doesn’t really count but I’m afraid it will be a disappointing experience. I’d like to spend no more than $500 but I find that hard to justify if it’s all polyester.
Between DH’s work commitments and my nonprofit work, we do go to more than our share of charity galas. For most, a cocktail length dress is appropriate. I have a couple of go-to LBD’s and wear them again and again. Both from Marshall’s and were under $100.
For our very formal annual event, long is more appropriate. I’ve worn the same dress once or twice, but it’s fun to dress to the theme (different every year). $550 was the most I spent and I did wear that one twice.
DS’s wedding is next summer. My understanding is to let the MOB select her dress first and to complement (but not upstage) her. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in a dress so it will be interesting to see what she chooses to wear. I just hope that she doesn’t wait until the last minute to give me feedback because I do want to shop sales. I’m going to see DS and future DIL next month and will bring up the mom dress question.
All of my current dresses in my closet were sale or Ross or Nordstrom’s Rack. The top price was $49.99, I think. I have some stunning wraps and jackets that complement the dresses and slacks that were under $300. I wear the wraps several times/year and the dresses maybe once/year apiece.
I haven’t worn a long dress in years but would if it is one of my kids’ weddings and seemed aporopriate. Time will tell.
I bought my wedding dress by looking through bridal magazines (do they still even print those?) and pulling out the photos of ones I liked. Then, I called the manufacturers listed in the ad. In those days, I worked just a few blocks from the garment district and many of the manufacturers were open to the public occasionally. One Saturday, I put oldest son, then barely 2, in the stroller, took the railroad into the City and went to try on my top choices. My favorite looked horrible in white, but beautiful in cream. I bought the second dress I tried on. I paid $280 for it, plus about $50 for the underskirts to give me the Scarlett O’Hara look I craved - I would have KILLED for an actual hoop. I paid about $20 to have it shortened a bit. Out of curiosity, I looked for the same dress in a couple of bridal salons - over $1,000! I put the dress on one more time - for our first anniversary, H and I had a photo shoot done by a friend who was a professional photographer because i hadn’t hired one for the wedding.
As for the MIL dress issue, I can’t even remember if my MIL wore the same dress to my wedding and my sister-in-law’s wedding. I wore a maternity dress with nursing openings to sil’s wedding, which she thoughtfully scheduled for 4 days after my due date with number 3 (she set the date when I was in my 6th month!).
My favorite designer is St John. Ok…throw in some Chanel…and even on sale they are expensive. Why am I bragging? I’m not…WHO WROTE THE RULE BOOK THAT SAID WE CAN’T WEAR SOMETHING MORE THAN ONCE OR TWICE? It has to have been stores and designers.
I wear things when the occasion calls for it. And I’ll be damned if I spend a lot on an outfit time/effort/and loving it only to put it in a closet. I don’t have a museum of clothes I love but can’t wear again. I also wander into stores and if I see something nice I’ll buy it. An occasion will come up. And I dislike shopping under pressure. I wind up spending too much money and compromise much too much.
As it is still in style, he is able to wear it as well as his other suits. Sure, he might buy a new tie for an event, but he doesn’t have to worry about if it will fit, will his boobs hang out, is it too short, or how much it will cost to alter! The same for his tux which he has had forever. As it was expensive to start, he has gotten his money’s worth
