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Lindsey
Savvy December 2020

Mother of the bride- length of dress?

Lindsey, on December 10, 2020 at 3:56 PM Posted in Wedding Attire 0 9
My mom got her dress altered and they took off more than she asked for. Some of her feet are showing - around mid foot is where it starts. Is this okay? Should it strictly be floor length and would it look good to have it this length?

9 Comments

Latest activity by SLY, on December 11, 2020 at 1:24 PM
  • V
    Champion July 2019
    Veronica ·
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    I think it is just fine. There is no required length for mother of the bride's dress to be.
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  • Michelle
    Champion December 2022
    Michelle ·
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    Any length is fine. Most of the mother of the bride/groom dresses in online shops and by major dress designers are tea length (mid calf) and none look weird at all. I have never seen a mother of a couple wear a floor length dress.
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  • Yasmine
    Master October 2020
    Yasmine ·
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    It doesn't have to be floor length, if she likes it then that's fine!
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  • J
    Master 0000
    Judith ·
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    A standard floor length hem is 2-2.5 inches from the floor. This is so it appears to skim above the floor to people standing or sitting and looking at a downward angle. This prevents huge numbers of falls and damaged dresses from You or someone else stepping on it ( ripping loose the stitching at waist, or mermaid seam.) Ond more important keeps your skirt from getting sucked into an escalator track or elevator doors, and gruesome injuries.
    For several years, fashion designers have gone for puddling, dresses that drag the floor, not just at a train, but all around. You would not believe the number of hopelessly damaged, as much as 1-3 feet up from the hem, never cleanable or repairable. Sometime before the wedding or formal affair. If you are a hostess in a nightclub, or other person who wears a full length gown for a living, OSHA standards for safety are a hem at least 2-2.5 inches from the floor. And insurers, yours, your employer, the escalator maker, none have to pay you for damages or disability caused) if your long dress is closer than 2 inches from the floor. ( unless you got a special insurance.) So relax, by not indulging in the fad of too long dresses, she is safer.
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  • Michelle
    Master April 2021
    Michelle ·
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    I agree with the others- there’s no standard length for MOBs. The usual length is tea length for our mom’s. My mom has passed but my stepmom will probably wear.a pants suit. His mom is still up in the air.
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  • Mrs. Spring
    Master April 2021
    Mrs. Spring ·
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    Any length is fine, assuming she's okay with it.
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  • Gen
    Champion June 2019
    Gen ·
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    My mom wore a knee length dress lol
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  • Kari
    Master May 2020
    Kari ·
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    There is no standard length for MOB dresses, but if the dress was hemmed incorrectly, looks awkward, and your mom doesn't like it, then that's a problem. The 2-2.5 inches of ground clearance that a previous poster mentioned is an awkward, unflattering length and I would be furious if a tailor hemmed any dress of mine this way. A floor length dress shouldn't show the users feet/shoes when viewed from eye level at standard conversation distance and the person is standing with feet squarely under them, ideally about 0.75-1 inch off the ground. My mom's dress and my MIL's dress were both about knee length.

    If your wedding is outside on grass, the grass will help hide if your mom's dress was hemmed just a bit short. Other alternatives might be finding a different set of shoes (assuming your mom wasn't in flats to start) with a slightly shorter heel to recover some of the length that was chopped.

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  • SLY
    Master January 2022
    SLY ·
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    I agree with everyone else. The length is fine. As long as it doesn't look awkward or anything, then I wouldn't worry too much about it!

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