Mother of the bride dress

We're having a semi-formal rustic themed wedding, so to me personally a floor length dress would be a little much for the moms at our wedding. My mom will be in a knee length dress while FMIL is leaning towards a jumpsuit (not a big dress fan).

I completely understand where you're coming from with the "old lady look" of some MotB dresses. I would ask your daughter if she would be willing to go shopping with you to help you find something appropriate but that still makes you feel like a hundred bucks!

I ended up choosing a floor-length MOB dress because daughter's BMs were wearing long dresses, and the later afternoon ceremony, in January, was going to be outside (in So Cal, so not freezing, but a little bit of a weather-crap shoot). I had great luck at Macy's. I had my heart set on a pale pink dress for sentimental reasons, so that made the search a little more challenging but I found a dress that I do not think was "old lady looking" (and I understand what you mean, because I saw PLENTY that were). I did find the selection of "occasion" dresses varied a lot depending on which Macy's store I went to. Luckily, we have one in a very high-end mall near us. They had a wonderful selection. With the holidays approaching, I think you should fine a good selection (and, if you can wait, there will be tons of clearance items in January).

this was my dress...not matronly! (Actually, my best friend of 40+ yrs didn't initially recognize me dressed up with my hair & make-up, and when I first started down the aisle during the processional she thought I was a BM! Anyway, at least that's what she told me.... lol)

We didn't dictate what our mothers are wearing, they're old enough to dress themselves. My mom picked this beautiful sequined gown from DB. My FMIL is wearing a knee length dress.

Option 1Option 2Option 3Option 4

My mother wore a floor length dress and so did my mother-in-law. My bridesmaids did as well though. I personally am always in favor of long dresses on moms! I think it's a special day for you too and you should look glamorous. My mother had the issue of not wanting to look or feel like an old lady too, and I think that's a very valid concern! There are plenty of dresses out there that just look like they're made for much older women. We went to a local bridal salon, family owned. They had some beautiful options that were age appropriate, not old looking, and still very glamorous. I recommend you try that! Or even look on amazon? There's lots of great options there! one website my Mom had been looking at is jjshouse.com.

Here's a few examples I think might look great!

I just wanted my mom, MIL, and our grandmothers to be in floor length or mid length dresses since the bridesmaids will be in floor length dresses. They could be in the wedding colors or in complimentary colors (my mom and grandmother chose to wear one of our wedding colors - navy & silver; my MIL is wearing a champagne colored dress & FH's grandmother is wearing turquoise). These are my mom & grandmother's dresses! All four of the ladies are wearing beautiful dresses that aren't old lady-ish.

MOB Dress

Granna's Dress

This was my mom’s dress! Knee length and she just got it at lord and Taylor. She wasn’t a fan of any of the “mother of the bride” dresses she found

My mom came across this gorgeous dress in Macy’s while we were shopping for other wedding related stuff. She looked so perfect in it and she felt like it wasn’t too “old” for her so she got it, even though our wedding isn’t until next November!
A lot of the dresses we looked at were unfortunately very unflattering colors, or kind of dowdy.
This is a special day for you too!! Get something you love! I’d suggest looking at Macy’s and Nordstrom, BHLDN has an amazing collection of evening gowns but are more expensive. My FMIL did a LOT of online research/shopping before finding a potential one at Nordstrom.

I told my Mom and FMIL that they were welcome to choose what they wore, as long as they didn't go for traffic cone yellow or lime green. lol They're grown women. They can pick their own dress. My grandmother is trying to dress my mom as is... I don't need to add to it. I'll let them work that out amongst themselves.

My mom's dress was floor length and my mother-in-law's just was just above the ankle. My mom focused more on comfort and my mother-in-law was worried about looking old. My mom is only 44, but my mother-in-law is 61 so there was an obvious age difference no matter what each mother worn. My mother-in-law was concerned she would look old compared to my mom. She wanted my husband and I to go dress shopping with her. It wasn't fun because she kept trying to find dresses that made her look younger. Finally, I told her to just pick a dress she loved rather than worry if it made her look close her in to my mom.

My mom found a three-quarter sleeve dress in a funky pattern with the wedding colors at a thrift store for $3, lol. On a standard lady it would be knee length, but she's got legs for days so she'll wear some high denier tights. My FMIL doesn't do dresses, so she'll just wear some nice black dress pants with a top and a cover, all of which she already owns. I'm not being picky about what family wear bc they aren't walking, so really it's just minimal coordination for the sake of pictures.

I didn't dictate what they wore, but did go shopping with them because they just wanted a 2nd opinion. Both chose floor length gowns, but that was their choice. Also, it was a Saturday evening wedding at s country club, so it was a bit more on the formal side. My mom got hers at Lord and Taylor and MIL got hers at David's Bridal. I don't think either of them looked matronly in the dresses they wore.

My mother and FMIL are picking their own dresses, I didn’t put any requirements on them, so long as it’s not white or cream! I agree, I find a lot of the MOB dresses online are extra matronly and often don’t have much color variation. My mom has been finding regular special occasion dresses at Macy’s that she likes better than any formal MOB dresses online. You definitely don’t have to pick one from a wedding attire website if you’re not going to feel comfortable in any of them.

I just went MOB dress shopping with my mom this last weekend and she actually picked a dress that was in the "bridesmaid" section. It's a floor length off the shoulder charcoal dress that she is dressing up with accessories. Wear what you are comfortable in!

I let them choose whatever. They both opted for long gowns

My MIL is 20 years younger than my mom, she wore a floor length bridesmaid dress. Very different from my actual bridesmaid dresses. My mom wore the more traditional older long sleeved sequin dress. But she was the age of many people’s grandmother so it seemed appropriate