Comfort Shows From the Outside: A Designer Named the Rule Godmothers and Mothers of the Bride Break Most Often

The rule designer Alvaro Poidel states for godmothers and mothers of the bride is more interesting than any single garment: comfort shows from the outside. If a woman does not feel secure in the dress, it reads in how she holds herself all evening, no matter what the dress cost. And a second piece of advice, almost heretical for a fashion desk - do not follow too closely what social media dictates.

The protocol he sets out is more specific than most people think. The long dress is reserved for the godmother, especially when a mantilla is worn, and that holds for both a morning and an afternoon wedding. The mother of the bride goes for midi length. French sleeves are the first choice for both roles - they give the most confidence.

On colour, the line splits. "Monochrome looks work very well for godmothers," Poidel says, while mothers of the bride more often take a risk by combining colours and textures. That is a distinction barely recognised here - at a Macedonian wedding both roles usually fall into the same "formal" category, so everything ends up in the same shop window.

Designer Cristina Valenzuela carries the story through the materials: crepe, bombazine, silk georgette, jacquard, linen and natural rustic silks. These are not names for showing off - these are fabrics that hold their shape and move properly when a person sits, stands and dances for hours.

Her closing sentence is also the best reason this is a subject at all: dressing a godmother or a mother of the bride means "accompanying her on one of the most important days of her life. The design has to match that emotion." Here a wedding is a serious matter with months of preparation, and yet the woman standing closest to the bride is the one who gets the least attention.