Mother's Day Fashion with Mustang Sally and brand Catherines

Happy Tuesday my amazing blogger family, how is everyone doing? I hope you are all doing fabulous (because you all know you are right?) and that your week is off to a great start. I can’t believe that 30 Days of Dresses is over already! Time sure did fly by fast and I am so happy with how much everyone loved it. I think it will have to be an annual event.

The beginning of May is always a hectic time for me as tax season ends, I get a little bit of a breather, then it gets crazy again until June. And of course we have lots of things to celebrate – my grandmother turns 92 on May 8th, my 44th birthday is May 9th, I am selling my closet at the annual Consign Your Curves sale on Saturday and then we end things with Mother’s Day! It’s going to be a busy week!

Up until last year I hadn’t physically spent Mother’s Day with my Mom for a really long time, well over 10 years. And last year with my grandfather’s memorial at the same time, even though we were together the mood was a little somber. So when I found out that my Mom had healed enough from her knee replacement surgery to travel and could come visit me I knew I wanted to do something special.

Thankfully my friends at Catherines agreed that we should celebrate in style and they partnered with me to show case looks for all the fun things that we had planned. This post is sponsored by Catherines but all of the opinions are my own, as always. And Mom is sharing some of her opinions too (I mean where do you think I got it from lol…)

And before I dive into this post I just want to take a minute and let all of you that have lost your Mother know that while I can only imagine what that may feel like I am thinking of all of you and how hard this day must be for you. For anyone who has already asked me I will give out extra hugs and really be cognizant of how lucky I am. I encourage you to cherish the wonderful memories that you do have and hopefully if you have children of your own that they show you all the love and special attention you deserve. And if you are like me and don’t have children but are a fantastic aunt or godmother than get out there and feel the love that they have for you. A child’s unconditional love is definitely contagious in my opinion.

My Mom and I very much alike so its pretty easy for us to find things to do together. When I was a teenager our tradition was to get all dressed up and go for brunch at the beautiful hotel on the waterfront. It was definitely more fancy than I was used to and with the beautiful view of Lake Superior it was always a special treat. I always felt very grown up.

While my Mom’s style was pretty casual on most days if she wasn’t at work but she always did instill the idea of dressing for the occasion in me. As a single Mom we had a tight budget but she always found a way to make it work and we always felt and looked our best. Sometimes I think that this is now a lost art form and it personally makes me sad because I like to get dressed up.

So when my Mom saw the great selection of outfits that Catherines has for all those special moments she had a hard time choosing just one! Of course that meant that we just had to feature two looks!

I was fortunate enough to have my great grandmother and my Mom’s grandmother with us until I was about 11 years old. She was a very traditional British lady and she instilled her love of tea and fine bone china tea cups in both of us. And that includes drinking your tea with cream and sugar.

Since we both have such fond memories of my Grandma Gale I decided to surprise my Mom with a trip to a local authentic British Tea house, The Waterdown Tea House for a traditional high tea experience. As you can see in the photos it is the cutest little white historical building in a quaint downtown area of a small town near me. And it has pops of yellow, one of my favourite colours on the building and throughout the decor.

While this outing was special it was a little bit more relaxed so we chose outfits that were also a little more relaxed but still polished. And of course we both choose outfits that were in the same colour palette. I recently read somewhere that it was the modern day version of twinning with your Mama and I loved it.

My Mom is petite at just over 5 feet and while she loves maxi dresses, like many of you that I hear from she shies away from them because they are always too long. So she was really excited to learn that Catherines offers a great selection of petite options. She immediately fell in love with this palm print maxi with its knot detail at the bust that helps define your shape. Palm prints are a must have trend for spring and summer, especially when they are mixed with the Pantone colour of the year, Coral. She is wearing the size 1x which is an 18/20 and she was really happy with the fit and the length was perfect. And this dress is available up to size 6x. Did you know that Catherines has started offering a size 6x in a selection of styles? I am giving them a huge thumbs up for expanding their size offering.

Since the weather is still a little on the chilly side to be going sleeveless (yes my Mom has no problem going sleeveless!) she topped this dress with a perfect light weight shrug in this vibrant coral colour that really popped against the dress. Mom doesn’t like heavy layers or long sleeves as she gets overheated pretty easily so this was perfect. I know that she definitely wants it in more colours.

To complete her look my Mom chose this fun beaded bracelet and coordinating earrings that are also from Catherines and these super cute and comfy tan sandals with a hint of sparkle that are also from Catherines. She wears a 7W in shoes.

I decided to go with this pant suit because I have been really wanting to try this hot spring trend of the bold colour suit and just hadn’t found one I loved. This colour is absolutely amazing, its a cross between red and coral and I love it. These pieces are part of the Black Label Collection which is one of my favourite lines that they carry. All the pieces are polished and refined but they are comfortable too. I mean, who can say no to that?

I am wearing the size 4x in the jacket and the 5x in the pants. I sized up in the pants because I wanted that true wide leg fit and with my pear shape I wanted to play it safe. I could have probably got the size 4x. They are made in a light weight crepe knit fabric that has a bit of texture and a great amount of stretch to them. This material is perfect for the warmer weather. I would definitely get this suit again so please make more colours!

I like that this is a simple open jacket so you easily dress it up or down. I paired it with this floral print sleeveless blouse. I love the colour combination with the rich bright fuchsia. It’s very unexpected but they work together perfectly. It is also very light weight but it is engineered not to be see through which is perfect because I really don’t like when I have to wear a cami underneath something. I am wearing a size 4x and it was a great fit.

I paired my look with these colourful mini chandelier earrings and silver bracelet from Catherines as well as these cute sparkly wedge sandals that are also from Catherines. They also recently upped their shoe game by ensuring that Good Soles technology in them so you feet are supported and comfortable.

For our second looks we went with the idea of our Sunday best and we both chose outfits that we would wear out for a nice dinner, fancy brunch, to the theater or an upcoming wedding or graduation. And this time I surprised my Mom with her look. Thankfully she loved it!

These moments were captured in a local flower shop, Flowers By The Dozen that I have bought flowers from for years. Despite the fact that I absolutely love floral prints and everything to do with flowers they have a particularly special meaning for me this time of year because this is how I have stayed connected with my Mom when I wasn’t able to spend Mother’s Day with her. It is my annual tradition to send her a beautiful bouquet of mixed flowers. She always takes a picture of them and sends it to me. For me it has always made being apart a little easier.

When I saw the rich vibrant colour of this dress and jacket I knew that it would be the perfect compliment to my Mom’s hair and skin tone. She also really likes fabrics that are breathable so the fact this is linen was perfect. The dress is a simple sheath dress which works great with her apple shape. It has a really pretty eyelet detail at the hem and the neckline. She is also wearing the 1x here.

Now this didn’t come in petites so I was a little nervous about the length but it hits her about tea length and gives it a little bit more dressy feel. The coordinating jacket with its full eyelet front panels and sleeves was the perfect way to pull the look together. I love the detail and texture of the eyelet.

Since this was a dressier look we opted to pair it with these black strappy sandals from Catherines. These are the perfect basic black dress sandal with their low block heel and velcro strap that makes them easy to get on and off. This particular pair has a studded detail which adds a little extra visual interest. I thought it would be fun to coordinate our looks so I paired it with these black and white marble earrings, a metallic bangle and one of my signature bags from my collection.

It was pretty unexpected for me to gravitate towards an all white look without a specific event to attend but sometimes you just have to go with the flow and if an outfit speaks to you I say let it speak. And that was definitely the case here. There was something about the softness of the texture and fabric in the jacket that did it for me. I am wearing a 4x in both the jacket and the dress.

This dress is just perfect, it has a fit and flare silhouette, princess seaming that helps define your waist, a great stretch knit fabric and a beautiful floral applique detail at the sweetheart neckline. And I love that for a white dress the fabric has a nice solid weight to it so its not see through and comfortable to wear.

And the jacket is equally perfect. It has 3/4 length sleeves, a cropped length, the same great stretch knit fabric and the sheer floral print front panels definitely make a statement. I have to say I felt really pretty in this outfit and I loved the combination of the bold magenta and the white together.

To style this look I wore the same great white sandals from the first look and I added a pop of yellow with these marble earrings, a touch of black in the bracelet and the coordinating fuchsia from my Mom’s look in my bag. The combination of the yellow, black, fuchsia and white is unexpected but I love it all together.

So while it wasn’t officially Mother’s Day I couldn’t leave the flower shop without picking out a bouquet for my Mom. This particular shop tends to carry a lot of arrangements that are heavily white but of course we both picked the bouquet that was the most colourful. What can I say, like mother, like daughter?

I really hope that you have enjoyed this special post, my Mom has been such a good sport about letting me share her with all of you. And thank you so much to Catherines for allowing me to do something so special for her, it means the world to me. And if you want to do some shopping, they currently have 40% off tops, bottoms and dresses! Happy Mother’s day everyone! P.S. There’s a few extra photos below because I couldn’t help myself.

This post is sponsored by Catherines but all of the opinions are my own, as always.