The long dress I was planning to wear to my son's wedding needed earrings. Not a necklace. Not a bracelet. Not a glitzy ring.
My gown needed earrings. Big, attention-grabbing, dangle earrings that would draw the eye to my face and away from the wobbly upper arms and neck. Away from the slumpy upper back. Away from the excess around the belly.
I needed earrings with a presence.
For a minute I thought, who am I kidding? Aren't I a little old for splashy? But then I thought -- twenty years from now, when I'm a bona fide old person, I'll want to be able to look at Peter's wedding photos and think, "Gosh. I cut quite a figure when I was young."
To make that happen I'd need earrings.
I started the search in my own jewelry box. I love the little balls studded with Swarovsky crystals I once gave to my mother -- which came back to me when she died. But they were way too tiny and modest to do the job.
Also in my jewelry box -- a pair of ring-shaped earrings embedded with crystals. They were bigger and more eye-catching, but the gold setting would clash with the silver brooch stitched to the waist of my mother-of-the-groom gown.
Clearly this was a job for Shopper Barb. To see what I found in the stores, check out the slide show below.
Too old for showy? Not yet.
To see my complete mother of the groom outfit, go to "The Mother-in-Law Diaries: The Day Before the Big Day." To read about shopping for shoes for the event, go to "Killer Shoes -- Brought Down to Size by Four-and-a-Half-Inch Heels."
Photos by BF Newhall
