It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post… too long.  My delay is certainly not because of lack of deals…I really have a bunch built up to tell you about but those are going to have to wait.  Why you ask?  Well because I have a very special event coming up (sooo many thoughts and feelings about that in a minute) that I have been really focusing on …had to put all my deal-finding energy to find THE perfect outfit for me.

Now the scoop on the special event that I have been preparing for.  You may remember me mentioning in previous post about my “oh so precious, very perfect miracle child son” (!)…well, he is marrying a wonderful girl in a few weeks! I don’t even know how to tell you what is in my heart about my only child leaving the nest…it’s a lot for sure. But of course I will try…he truly is a blessing in every way, the kind of son that every parent prays for… strong, handsome, kind, dependable, responsible, loyal, loving, intelligent, hard-working…I really could go on and on and on but I won’t (for now). His fiancé is an amazing, beautiful girl that I really love.  I am so grateful that they found each other and I know with the love that I see in them that they will be truly happy for a lifetime.  OH CRAP…I’m supposed to be talking about fashion and great deals for less, aren’t I?  So here we go…

So in anticipation of the wedding (yeah!) months and months and months (!) ago I started my quest for the perfect outfit.  Now as we all know I love to shop and explore all different kinds of clothes and looks and deals but really for this I just wanted something very simple and elegant and for me above all…comfortable …as I am going to celebrate my boys happiness and have a great time and for that I need to feel like I look great and put together but I also need to be comfy to truly enjoy.  I guess I may seem superficial to some that on a day of such great importance I put so much into what I’m wearing.  But it does matter …what we wear affects how we feel, how we act, and even how we move.

So, why not save some bucks while looking AND feeling good?!

I began my quest, of course, online at first …when searching “mother of the groom” dresses I discovered some of the most matronly dresses that I have ever seen.  Not that they are not lovely gowns but they are just not for everybody …what I mean is they just aren’t for me… not what I was looking for and really just not my style.   So I decided I would venture out to the department stores and bridal shops…what I found was just more of the same thing. Some gowns were quite beautiful but just didn’t look right on me and my very pear-shaped body does NOT look good in everything for sure! So it’s a challenge to find what I had in my mind.

Now all I wanted to wear was a simple, v-neck, light cool chiffon, flowy, a-line gown in navy blue or black…I honestly thought that was pretty damn easy to find…guess what… it wasn’t, especially in stores.  So I went back to my trusty computer and started tapping on my keyboard and found that what I really needed and wanted was actually in the “bridesmaid” category which as long as it’s not the dress that the bridesmaids are actually wearing for this wedding then I’m good.  Especially since what I was looking for was just simple and elegant and not obvious in any way.  So I did find the one I wanted from Watters Bridal line… unfortunately for me it was over $280…now we have all learned one thing about me in my previous posts and that’s that I don’t spend $280 for an item of clothing…I just don’t.  My wonderful husband said to me that “it’s your only son, his only wedding, your only time to be “mother of the groom” buy the dress you want this one time”…which really was correct and so sweet of him but it is just not in my bones to pay that for a dress, I just can’t!

So…below is the gown I found on Pinterest and really loved but was too expensive.  It’s available at a bridal shop near me but for between $280-$350 (depending on what shop you got it at). This dress had everything I was looking for v-neck, light cool chiffon,flowy, a-line…just perfect except for the price….so off I went on another quest to find that dress but cheaper.

THE EXPENSIVE ONE:

So back to my trusty tapping keyboard and I found it! There it was on Ever-Pretty.com and sooooo much more inexpensive too… only $47.99.  Now that’s a great price for sure BUT we all know I wasn’t going to pay full-price so I waited (not for long) until it went on sale for $24.99 and then got a coupon code for another $5.00 off , which means yes…that’s right I got it for $19.99!  So, I ordered and waited in anticipation for it to arrive (which was pretty quick too) and wondered…will it be made of paper?  Will it be a tiny, doll-size dress?  I mean for that price for a gown…I just couldn’t believe it could be OK.  Well it arrived, I tried it on, I fell in love!! It looks even better in person than on their website which is very unusual.  It really feels like I’m wearing a nightgown…so light and comfy but still looks simple and elegant.  .  SCORE!!!!!

Here is what the gown looks like on the Ever Pretty website:

 

And here is what it looks like on Pinterest and in “real life”:

 

Now originally I told you I was looking for either a black or navy blue gown, well I had decided on the navy blue…and it’s a really pretty navy blue too…not too dark.  But then I started to change my mind because I really have a true love of black and though it may be even more elegant. So back to Ever-pretty.com I went (tap, tap, tap) and wondered could I get that lucky twice to get such a great deal, would it still be on sale for $24.99?…sadly no, it was not.  BUT  it was on sale for $34.99 and I got a coupon for 15% off (email signup) and paid only $30.59 for the black gown!  For both gowns I paid a TOTAL of  $50.58. Nice!!      Oh by the way forgot…both times I got FREE SHIPPING…Yeah!!!! (Ever-pretty.com has free standard shipping on everything)

The black dress fit and looked just as pretty as the navy blue one but both required a few tweaks from my local tailor, mostly to adjust the bust line so I wasn’t flashing too much chest that day… not appropriate for the mother of the groom and not my style anyway.

Ok, so now you may have noticed that after all my searching for ONE perfect gown I now own TWO perfect gowns and with just weeks before the wedding I still can’t decide which color I am going to wear that day.  But I always say that when it comes to fashion a girl needs to have options…and now I sure have them…just have to choose!

For my shoes and accessories, they coordinate with both the navy blue and black gown so that worked out great.  I am mostly a “silver accessories all the time gal” but this time I went out of my comfort zone and went gold instead as I am wearing a pearl necklace and love gold with pearls and again think it pumps up the elegant factor.  I spotted the (see pics below) Lucia t-strap gold heels for $160 and the INC gold mesh bag for $59.50…but as we all know I needed to find a better deal than that for sure!  And the next quest began!

Now for the bag I found a very similar one right at my local David’s Bridal shop on clearance for only $14.99! That was fantastic but an even better deal were my shoes, Metaphor Sandrine goldtone pumps for $39.99-great price but then after the sale price and coupon I paid only $16.49! I found them on ShopYourWay.com …they are actually from Sears but can be ordered from the Shop Your Way site for a cheaper price and when you sign up you can earn points that give you great coupons.  And I have recently discovered (from a secret source…OK … it was my also super-budget-savvy sister!) that you can actually buy some of the Ever Pretty dresses from the Shop Your Way website as well. Great deals to be had!!!

THE EXPENSIVE ONES:

THE CHEAP ONES:

 

I now just have to decide which one of my fantastic dress deals I will wear on that wonderful, special day when I will be the proudest, happiest and no doubt the weepiest mom ever to watch her baby boy marry the girl of his dreams.  It’s every mother’s wish for their son to be happy and healthy, to love and to be loved….that wish has come true for me…I am a very lucky mom.

A very lucky, frugal, thrifty, happy, well-dressed mom!!