Dresses by style and occasion
On the wedding day the mother of the bride or groom is part host, part guest and in nearly every family photograph. She welcomes people, sits through the vows or the nikah, keeps an eye on the timings and gets pulled onto the dance floor later, so her dress has to look right through all of it and still feel comfortable at eleven at night. We make long, formal and modest dresses for both mothers to order in Pakistan, sized S to XL or cut from your own measurements, petite and plus size alike, and every change is written into your quote before cutting.
Design preview
Design preview
Design previewQuick answer
The Gilded Seam makes mother of the bride and mother of the groom dresses to order in Pakistan: long, formal and modest designs with sleeves, sized S to XL or cut to your measurements, petite and plus size included. Colour, length, sleeves and lining are agreed in a written quote, and making takes 5 to 7 working days once the quote is approved and paid in full.
10 designs
Each design is made to order in your size or to your measurements. The pictures are design previews made before sewing, so the finished piece is confirmed in your written quote.
Blessed Friday SaleUntil 30 November
20% OFF everything30% OFF leather jackets
Ends in
10 designs shown
£280Regular £350· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · eid
A long-sleeved floral gown in sage and rose, with an embroidered lattice panel down the front, embroidered cuffs and waistband, and sheer pale blue panels that fall from the shoulders like a cape.
£87Regular £109· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · eid
A royal blue floor-length dress with a V-neck, a square embroidered yoke and embroidered cuffs in silver and white, flowing into a full flared skirt.
£112Regular £140· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · eid
An emerald green anarkali-style frock with a round neck and long sleeves, a floral embroidered bodice and a full flared skirt with scattered motifs and a deep border.
£256Regular £320· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · everyday
A fitted maxi dress with a round neck and long sleeves, shaped by curved seams from the shoulders to the hips, then flaring gently to the ankle. In six colours.
£120Regular £150· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · eid
A floor-length emerald green kaftan with a V-neck and wide cape sleeves, embroidered in gold with flowering vines down the front, along the sleeve edges and around the hem.
£79Regular £99· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · party
A powder blue fit-and-flare dress with a square neck and long sleeves, embroidered with trailing wisteria across the bodice and sleeves.
£120Regular £150· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFdresses · party
A lilac floor-length gown with a square neckline and wide straps, embroidered with sweeping peacock feathers across the bodice and the full skirt.
£56Regular £70· 20% offSale20% OFFeveryday · party · dresses
A floor-length chiffon maxi with a split band collar, full balloon sleeves gathered at the cuff, and three soft tiers. In seven colours.
£127Regular £159· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFfrocks · party
A rose gold sequin gown with a V-neck on fine straps, fitted to the hip and falling to the floor, with straps that cross over an open back.
£100Regular £125· 20% offDesign previewSale20% OFFfrocks · party
A burgundy satin gown with a black lace bodice and cap sleeves, falling to the floor with a scalloped black lace hem.
Design preview01
Most mothers of the couple start with the same three wishes: a skirt that reaches the floor, sleeves down to the wrist and a neckline that stays put each time she leans in to hug someone. The floral cape gown has all three, with a lattice embroidered panel from neck to hem over a sage floral base and sheer pale blue panels falling from the shoulders. So do the Royal Blue Yoke Dress, with silver and white work around its V-neck, and the Emerald Rose Anarkali, with a floral bodice and a deep border at the hem. The seamed maxi is the plain one, shaped only by curved seams and ending at the ankle.
Here is where each design stands on sleeves, with every change confirmed in writing before cutting:
Beyond the sleeve, a modest mother of the bride gown depends on three things: the neckline, how sheer the dress is and how the skirt behaves once you sit down. The floral cape gown and the Emerald Rose Anarkali close at a round neck that lies flat under a hijab. The Royal Blue Yoke Dress opens at a V, which can be raised if you write it in the changes box. Every design on this page can be lined, and the Tiered Maxi in particular is chiffon, slightly sheer, so a lining is worth asking for; its band collar can also be closed higher. If the nikah is in a mosque, keep a scarf in your bag for your hair. Our modest dresses page has more covered designs.
A hem that touches the floor looks right in a church aisle, a banqueting hall or at a black tie reception, but only if it is measured in the shoes you will wear. Plenty of mothers swap their heels for flats once the dancing starts, and a hem that grazed the floor in heels then trails behind, so measure in the flatter pair or ask for an ankle length that stays clear in both. Add a back length for a full skirt so it hangs level; the maxi dress measuring guide shows each step.
Design preview02
Ready-made dresses for the mother of the bride are usually graded out from one middle size, so the waist, the sleeve end and the hem are all placed for a woman of average height and build. When a dress is cut from your own numbers, all three are placed for you, and petite or plus size is simply part of the measurements rather than a separate range. Take your measurements with our size guide, mark every number as body or garment, and add the few below that matter most for a long dress with sleeves.
On a petite frame the trouble with a bought gown usually shows in three places: sleeves that swallow the hands, a waist seam resting on the hip and a skirt so long that shortening it cuts away the border. Send your height, your sleeve length to the wrist bone and the full length from shoulder to hem in your shoes, and if your waist sits high, add the distance from the shoulder beside your neck down to your natural waist in the notes. Since the skirt is cut to your length from the start, the deep border on the Emerald Rose Anarkali still finishes at your hem. Our petite dresses page goes further.
For a fuller figure, the numbers that make or break a long formal dress are the upper arm, the bust, the widest part of the hip and the front and back lengths. Measure the upper arm at its fullest with the arm relaxed, because a sleeve cut too close pulls when you reach for a hug or lift a glass for the toast; measuring your upper arm shows where the tape goes. The floral cape gown, the Royal Blue Yoke Dress and the Emerald Rose Anarkali all flare out from the waist, leaving room at the hip, and the kaftan falls straight from the shoulder with no waist seam at all. The seamed maxi is the closest cut here, so it relies most on accurate numbers. Our plus size dresses page has more long designs.
03
Before you pick a colour, ask the couple what theirs are: the flowers, the bridesmaids and the table decorations. You want a shade that sits happily beside them in the group photographs without copying them, so if the bridesmaids wear dusty pink, a deeper rose, a plum or a navy will look better than the same pink. It also helps when the two mothers tell each other what they plan to wear, so they neither arrive in the same colour nor in two that fight. White and ivory are left to the couple almost everywhere. At many Pakistani weddings red is kept for the couple at the barat too, and black is worth checking with the family first; wearing black to a Pakistani wedding explains why.
Here is what each design on this page comes in, and what can change:
A Pakistani or South Asian wedding often runs over several days, and each mother has a day when she is the host. The mehndi is the brightest, with greens, yellows and oranges all around, so the Emerald Vine Cape Kaftan with its gold vines, or the Tiered Maxi in Sage Green, fits in well; see whether guests have to wear yellow to a mehndi. The nikah is usually the quietest and most covered event, which suits the floral cape gown or the Wisteria. At the barat the mother of the bride is welcoming everyone, and at the walima the mother of the groom is, so those are the evenings for the most formal dresses: the Royal Blue Yoke Dress, the Emerald Rose Anarkali, or the Peacock Feather Gown with sleeves. Our Pakistani wedding clothes page plans outfits event by event.
At a Western wedding the mother of the bride usually sits at the front for the ceremony, stands in the receiving line, takes her place at the top table for the meal and the speeches, and is among the first up to dance. A daytime ceremony in spring or summer can take something lighter and shorter, such as the Wisteria at mid-calf in powder blue or the Tiered Maxi in Lavender. An evening reception or a black tie wedding calls for the floor: the Peacock Feather Gown, or the rose gold gown with sleeves added. For a register office followed by lunch, the seamed maxi in navy or burgundy, cut to midi length if you like, looks smart without being overdressed. Our guide to colour and shine for day or evening helps with the in-between cases.
In the US in particular, the groom’s parents often host the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, so the mother of the groom may want two outfits: something a step less formal for the dinner and her long dress for the day itself. At a Pakistani wedding the walima is hers to host. Either way, put both dates in your quote request so the order is planned around the earlier one.
Design preview04
A mother of the couple can easily spend twelve hours or more in her dress, from photographs before the ceremony to the final song. Most of the comfort is settled by a few choices made before cutting rather than by ordering a looser size.
Measure your waist and hips standing, as the size guide asks, but remember that you will spend hours seated at the meal and through the speeches, when both need more room; why clothes feel tighter when you sit explains the difference. If you would like a little more ease than usual, write it in the changes box and it is agreed in your quote like any other change. The full skirts on the peacock gown, the Royal Blue Yoke Dress and the anarkali leave plenty of room to step and turn on the dance floor. Embroidered bodices and cuffs can start to feel scratchy against bare skin by the evening, one more reason to ask for a lining.
Order as early as you can. Making takes 5 to 7 working days, counted from the day your written quote is approved and paid in full; shipping comes after that and depends on your country, so we cannot promise a delivery date. Count back from the first event you need the dress for, which may be the mehndi or the rehearsal dinner rather than the wedding, and leave spare time for the parcel and for trying everything on at home with your shoes; planning ahead for made to measure goes into the timing. Your quote already includes delivery to your door and any import duty and taxes. If your weight is changing before the wedding, read when to order while losing weight before you measure.
If you are the one getting married and want to give your mum her outfit, measurements taken from a dress that already sits well on her can be sent in place of body measurements, as long as every number is marked as garment. Gifting an outfit without her measurements explains how to borrow one quietly. For a surprise, choose a forgiving shape such as the kaftan, the Tiered Maxi or one of the flared skirts, and keep a close cut like the seamed maxi for when she can measure herself.
In close-up
Necklines, sleeves and backs from this collection. Tap a name to see every view of that design.
Design preview
Design preview
Design previewYour choices
Initials, a name or a monogram can be embroidered too: tell us the letters and where you would like them, and we confirm the size and thread in your quote.
Anything else you would like changed, ask in your quote request and we tell you honestly whether it can be done.
How to order
Delivery to the UK
Quoted and paid in pounds. Your quote includes delivery to your door and any import VAT, duty and courier fees, so there is nothing to pay when the parcel arrives. Ordering from the UK
Delivery to the UAE
Choose to be quoted in US dollars, euros or pounds. Delivery to any emirate and the import charges are included in the quote. Ordering from the UAE · the Gulf
Keep looking
Design preview6 designs
Design preview28 designs
Design preview9 designs
Design preview9 designs
17 designs
Design preview9 designs
Design preview14 designs
10 designs
Design preview2 designs
FAQ
Usually a long, formal dress with sleeves, in a colour that sits well with the wedding colours without matching them exactly. White and ivory are kept for the couple. Ask the couple about their colours and dress code first. Every design on this page is made to your size or your measurements, with the length taken in your shoes.
Yes. The same designs and options apply. It helps if the two mothers share their colours so they do not clash in the photographs, and if you also need an outfit for a rehearsal dinner or a walima, put both dates in your quote request.
Yes. Choose S to XL or send your own measurements and the dress is cut from them, so petite and plus size dresses are made the same way as any other. For a long dress with sleeves, include your upper arm, your sleeve length and the full length from shoulder to hem in your shoes.
As early as you can. Making takes 5 to 7 working days once your written quote is approved and paid in full, and shipping follows, depending on your country. Count back from the first event you need the dress for and leave spare time for the parcel.
White and ivory, which are kept for the couple, and the exact shade the bridesmaids are wearing. At many Pakistani weddings red is also kept for the couple at the barat, and some families would rather guests avoided black, so ask first. A deeper or softer version of the wedding colours tends to photograph well.
Ready when you are
Send the design you like with your size or measurements, and we reply with a written quote.
No commitment until you approve your written quote.
