<p>Like Emilybee, I would notice /remember what people wear to a nice event. That doesn’t mean I’d think I’ll of someone re wearing an outfit if it looked nice. </p>
<p>I’m going to Europe for 2 weeks for business shortly. I planned out my wardrobe and accessories a month ago. It’s fun for me. </p>
<p>Otoh, other people remember what they are at nice restaurants. I’m not a foodie, so I don’t remember that at all. </p>
<p>^^^
Was thinking the same thing.</p>
<p>I should add my dad was in the fashion business and his business reading was Vogue, WWD, etc. </p>
<p>The whole concept of an LBD (little black dress) is that you take the French approach of having one quality thing and adapting for different situations / changing the look with jewelry, etc. </p>
<p>Someone with a lot of style could have a gorgeous piece that is “worth” wearing again; someone afraid of shopping (like my friend I described upthread) might have a blah, uninspired choice where she’d be better off trying something new. Hard to say! </p>
<p>“The whole concept of an LBD (little black dress) is that you take the French approach of having one quality thing and adapting for different situations / changing the look with jewelry, etc.”</p>
<p>I have a LBD that I love and wear all the time. Just wore it to a wedding a few months ago. But, if it was appropriate to wear a LBD to my kid’s wedding, I would buy a new LBD. </p>
<p>Styles do change through the years- even if they are subtle changes. </p>
<p>I can’t imagine that most guys would notice/remember the dress the first time let alone worry about the second - especially on their wedding day. </p>
<p>My MIL wore a dress to our wedding that I thought could have been better chosen color wise. She obviously loved it enough that it was still among the clothes that she had in her closet at her assisted living place before she passes away (not to wear just in dry cleaner plastic). I brought it home when I was sorting things out because I hadn’t decided what to do with everything yet and DH wondered what it was hanging in the front closet. Not only does he not remember and not hang around looking at large group photos of our wedding but even if he were looking at a photo and looking at the dress he might not register it.</p>
<p>^I don’t know what price point you are shopping at, but I couldn’t possible afford a LBD the quality of the ones inherited from my mother and grandmothers. 60s styles. At this point I am having my clothes custom made. And I can’t even find fabrics comparable to those I wore as a much younger woman. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to argue. Just express a different pov. Deterioration of dress options available to me to purchase is kind of an obsession. For a long time, I thought I was just losing my mind and misremembering the past. Then I figured out other women see this problem as well. It was kind of a relief.</p>
<p>My opinion is definitely in the minority camp of buying something new. It would never occur to me to wear the same dress for my children’s weddings, ever. Once the weddings are over, I would wear those dresses to other events, just not my other child’s wedding. I would keep looking and trying on until I found another dress. It does take work, but in the end it’s worth it. Right, JEM? I am thrilled I was able to find you a dress you were so happy with. I would suggest finding another dress for wedding number 2. I find it interesting that so many posters would wear the same dress to another child’s wedding. That would not be me. OP: my advice would be to keep looking! PS: I would absolutely notice what the MOB and MOG wore and if it were the same dress, I would find it really so odd. This is a special day in the life of your child and I personally would keep looking until I found another dress.</p>
<p>chocchipcookie, I think a lot of us would not wear the same dress to a second child’s wedding. At least, I wouldn’t. But I do support the OP’s choice to do so if that’s what she really wants to do.</p>
<p>"I don’t know what price point you are shopping at, but I couldn’t possible afford a LBD the quality of the ones inherited from my mother and grandmothers. </p>
<p>$400-500ish. </p>
<p>“Deterioration of dress options available to me to purchase is kind of an obsession.”</p>
<p>Really? The last several years I have seen more dresses that I love than before. But I am petite and can wear a lot of different styles. </p>
<p>"Not only does he not remember and not hang around looking at large group photos of our wedding but even if he were looking at a photo and looking at the dress he might not register it. "</p>
<p>My H can’t tell the difference between something new and something I have worn for years. He often asks if something I have worn for ever is new. </p>
<p>I think most women dress for other women, not for the men in their lives. But, maybe that is just me. </p>
<p>emilybee: Do you have a suggestion for dress brands at that price point that aren’t wool blends? I just looked quickly on-line at Barney’s and at St. Johns at Nordstrom and don’t immediately find any. I will confess I haven’t been in a store dress shopping for some years now. It’s the fabrics, stitching, etc. If you have a brand, I would love to know. : ) I am limited by being petite and can’t wear some designers that make things for tall women. But that will be the same issue for you, too, I am guessing.</p>
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<p>Does everybody here have that kind of cash to spend on something they already own? Sorry, it feels so materialistic and superficial to me. The wedding isn’t all about the MOG or MOB anyway.</p>
<p>Alh, I buy a lot of Nicole Miller, Kay Unger, David Meister - but a lot of times I buy dresses that I have never heard of “designer” before. I like dresses with spandex in them. The dress I bought for S’s high school graduation was BB Dakota - very inexpensive. I think only $100! I think I am going to wear it to my sister and bil 60th birthday party. BBD is a brand a lot of young people in their 20’s wear but being petite I can wear it even though I am in my 50’s. I buy BBD casual wear a lot. </p>
<p>St. John is kind of matronly, imo. </p>
<p>intparent,I would buy a new dress for the occasion but would not be spending that kind of money. I’m sure there are nice dresses out there that cost much less than $400-$500. So,no I would not be spending that kind of cash on a dress. But if somebody wants to pay that kind of money on a dress, that’s fine by me. I don’t see it as “materialistic and superficial” to want to look nice for your son’s wedding.</p>
<p>^^^Heck, that’s more than D’s wedding dress cost. No way could I afford that for any event, ever.</p>
<p>Fact is that some people would never repeat the dress for their kids’ weddings, and others would. But more people agree that it’s not a terrible thing to do. I think.</p>
<p>I really think it’s personal predilection–some people may think tacky. But they’re in the minority and it’s hard to go through life not triggering that reaction with a subset of people with very particular rules.</p>
<p>I do not think anyone in this thread said that it would be tacky in their personal opinion! Unusual, not traditional, strange… maybe. Tacky would be wearing something kitschy from the distant past (like from the disco era) even if it fits perfectly. </p>
<p>I’m with alh on the quality of dress today. It is really hard to find something at a lower price point that would be of good quality! Even premium brands… St John is not all “matronly”, but very expensive for the quality. It takes a lot of shopping around (if one does not have a Chanel budget) to get something that one likes, so for a person who hates shopping this would be a real challenge. </p>
<p>It sounds to me like the OP really likes the dress she has and that she feels good in it and isn’t interested in buying another dress for the upcoming wedding. What’s wrong with that? I don’t think it’s tacky. I think only a few people might remember that she wore it before, but who cares–especially if it’s a dress that flatters her. If it were me, I would check with the son and DIL to see if either had feelings about it.</p>
<p>"Does everybody here have that kind of cash to spend on something they already own? Sorry, it feels so materialistic and superficial to me. "</p>
<p>No, not everybody “has that kind of cash” but for those who do, what’s the difference? You might think that $400-500 is “superficial” because you’d only spend, say $125 – but for other people, $125 is outrageous and they can spend only $50. Why is your specific budget OK but above that is the magic line of materialistic and superficial? </p>
<p>This is the dress that I have bought for my son’s graduation a year from now. I wanted a very specific shade of purple, and this is Missoni, the fit and knit are beautiful, and it’s a splurge, but this is a big deal to me and I had a specific vision of what I wanted. I tried on dresses ranging from $100 to $800 and this was my favorite. I spent less on the dress for my D’s graduation simply because I happened to find a dress in the color I wanted at a resale shop. I <em>could</em> wear this dress for both occasions (they are a month apart, D’s is before S’s) but I don’t want to. I am styling it different from the model, however. It comes to knee length since I’m not 6 feet tall like the model, and I’m wearing nude patent peep-toe heels instead of trendy shoes. </p>
<p><a href=“http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/m-missoni-knit-fit-flare-dress/3596061”>http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/m-missoni-knit-fit-flare-dress/3596061</a></p>
<p>“Does everybody here have that kind of cash to spend on something they already own? Sorry, it feels so materialistic and superficial to me.”</p>
<p>I just spent that kind of money on Paul McCartney tickets because, well, I adore Paul McCartney. Is that materialistic and superficial? It was an experience, rather than a dress - but either way, it was for my benefit, it’s not like it got donated to charity. </p>
<p>A lot of people spend a lot of money on fine wines. I don’t drink so the benefit of a $40, $75, $100, whatever bottle of wine is completely lost on me since I can’t tell the difference between that and Two-Buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s – but what’s the difference? Everyone has their own “thing” that they like to spend on. I, personally, would splurge on clothing for a child’s wedding, but not everyone does. Different strokes. </p>
<p>I seriously considered, but wound up not buying, this dress for my daughter’s graduation (since I was intent on finding this very strong blue color). It could easily have been a dress I could have worn time and time again.</p>
<p><a href=“http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/rebecca-taylor-ponte-a-line-dress/3798811?origin=keywordsearch-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=720&cm_sp=personalizedsort-_-searchresults-_-1_3_D”>http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/rebecca-taylor-ponte-a-line-dress/3798811?origin=keywordsearch-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=720&cm_sp=personalizedsort-_-searchresults-_-1_3_D</a></p>