My parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. My sisters and I are planning a party for their friends and family members. My mom is very excited about this and asked me if I would help her find something to wear.

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We picked a day to go shopping and started at a large department store in the local mall. In the past this store has sold dresses for special occasions so we thought we would find choices for mom. They were very limited on their selection for someone mom’s age. They had several dresses for special occasions that were off the shoulder or featured low necklines, but these were not right for my mom. Next we tried another large department store where my mother buys many of her clothes. This store also had dresses for special occasions. They had one that looked very nice on my mother but it was black. My mother felt that this was too somber of a color for a celebration. Our next stop was a bridal shop. This store carried a wide selection of dresses for special occasions. We found a beautiful blue dress that was in mom’s size. I was just going to ask the clerk if mom could try it on when mom told me that it was too expensive. The dress cost $500.00. I told mom 50 years of being married was very special and that she deserved to treat herself to an expensive dress. Another shopper over heard our conversation and joined in. She told us that there are two consignment shops near the mall that have great selections of dresses for special occasions. She said that mom could either look there or consider selling the blue dress after the anniversary party.

Mom and I went to check out the consignment shops. The first one had a large sign in the window stating that they specialized in dresses for special occasions. They did have a very nice selection, however because the merchandize is sold on consignment they do not have each style in more than one size. Mom did not find a dress in her size that she liked. I did find a great skirt and top that fit me very well. This was a designer outfit that was being sold for $75.00. I bought the outfit and mom and I went to the next consignment shop. This shop had a smaller selection of dresses for special occasions; however they had the perfect dress for mom. It was in a beautiful shade of blue and fit her very well. When the owner of the store found out that the dress was for Mom’s 50th anniversary she gave mom a pair of earrings that matched the dress as well as a necklace and bracelet. She told mom that she could bring the jewelry back after the party.

Mom and I went out to lunch to celebrate our successful day of shopping. She mentioned that we will have to tell my sisters about the selection of dresses for special occasions at the consignments stores.