You Won’t Believe What Happened When I Stopped Shopping for “Mother of the Bride” Dresses

My daughter got married this fall. Beautiful wedding. At a dinosaur museum, believe it or not. I’ll get to that. But first. The dress.

Oh my god, the dress search.

Three months. Three whole months of my life I will never get back. I started looking way early because I’m a planner, right? Wrong. Nothing worked. Everything was either too tight in the waist or too loose in the chest or made from this awful stiff fabric that felt like sandpaper after ten minutes. I tried on this one gown at a local shop. The salesgirl was maybe 22. She kept saying “it’s so elegant” and I kept thinking I looked like a beige curtain. A sad, lumpy beige curtain.

I almost bought a black cocktail dress. You know the kind. The “fine, whatever, I give up” dress. My husband said “that’s nice honey” but I could tell he didn’t mean it. Even he knew I was settling.

Then one night I’m scrolling on my phone in bed. Way past my bedtime. And I see this rust colored sequin dress. Rust. Not red, not brown, rust. And I almost scrolled past because sequins on a plus size body? Risky. But something about the color stopped me. It looked like the leaves outside my window.

I ordered it.

When it came, I tried it on in my bedroom. My husband was watching football in the living room. I came out and he actually muted the TV. Muted it. That’s when I knew.

The dress has this deep V neck with little cap sleeves. Not too much cleavage, but enough to feel pretty. And it flares out at the bottom like a mermaid tail. Which sounds silly but trust me, it works. The whole thing is lined with this stretchy mesh that moves with you. I danced for three hours at the reception. Ate a full dinner. Hugged my aunt Shirley who talks for twenty minutes straight. Never once felt like I needed to unzip.

The sequins are hand sewn in this swirly feather pattern. Not all straight and boring. When I walked under the purple lights at the museum, they sparkled like copper pennies. My husband wore a rust colored vest and pants to match me. We looked like we planned it. Which we did, obviously, but I mean we looked good.

So many people came up to me. The bridesmaids. My ex sister in law (we get along now, long story). Even the guy running the audio asked where I got my dress. A guy. Asking about a dress. That’s when you know.

If you have a wedding coming up, or a fancy party, or honestly just want to feel good about yourself for a night? Get this dress. I don’t say that lightly. I’m cheap. I hate spending money on clothes. But this one? Worth every penny.

I’m wearing it again next month to my friend Karen’s holiday party. She said “you can’t wear the same dress twice” and I said watch me.

Anyway. That’s my story. Go get the rust dress. You’ll thank me later.

Love,
Linda

P.S. The dinosaur museum reception? They have a T rex skeleton right next to the dance floor. Best wedding photos ever.