Manolo the Columnist
Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post.
Dear Manolo,
In a few weeks I’m supposed to be a bridesmaid in a dressy evening wedding, wearing a flowy, knee-length black dress. Because I am 27 weeks pregnant and a bit wobbly when walking, I need to wear something either flat or very low and stable. Strappy would be best for my swollen feet. Also, because the shoes probably won’t fit after I give birth I don’t want to spend too much.
Michelle
Manolo says, the Manolo has such sympathy for the pregnant ladies, especially those who must take part in the fancy dress ritual which undoubtedly involves much standing and perhaps even the out-of-control bridezilla who is worried that you will go into labor during the cake cutting.
“If you start to feel contractions, can’t you just squeeze it back until at least the first dance is over?”
It is the sincere belief of the Manolo that the pregnant ladies should not be obliged to participate in the weddings parties, indeed, it is the belief of the Manolo that the pregnant ladies should not even be obliged to walk. They should be carried from place to place on the palanquin, like Cleopatra.
Here is the Mari from the Circa from the Joan and David; perfect for what you rquire.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Pregnant women shouldn’t have to do anything!
May 18th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Pregnant women, should we have to do something, should also be allowed to park in the handicap spaces. The other day someone parked too close to my car for my big belly and I had to crawl in through the back in order to get in. Not amusing.
Well, maybe a little amusing.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Not amusing.
Well, maybe a little amusing.
One of Erma Bombeck’s stories involves her getting stuck trying to get into her car when she was eight-months pregnant (this was in the days before tilting steering wheels). Apparently, everyone around her found it VERY amusing.
As for this wedding, it would be amusing for the guests to watch a stressed-out Bridezilla go up against some pregnancy hormones. The resulting clash would be better than television.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
… the shoes will fit after the birth so get good ones! Really you will gain at least a size. The bones spread too.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
My sympathies, dear. I was pregnant with my last daughter when my brother & his wife got married, and I was a bridesmaid (I guess not technically, though). Oh my gawd. Wearing a semi-fitted gown, walking down a carpeted aisle in brand new uncomfortable heels at 4 months pregnant, not allowed to drink anything (per the wedding insultant, also known as Frau Ratchett), and having to stand up for what seemed a very long time. Then, not able to dance and having to watch the calories at the reception…..definitely not amusing.
May 18th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
The lady with child should merely be allowed to stand and glow- but the real world, alas.. I have however noticed that a number of places now have pregnant lady parking spaces near to the door.
I agree with the Deborah, the rest of the wedding party and the wedding insultant (adore that!) tend to try to make sure you don’t have any fun.. to hell with all of them! Just prepare your stock line for those rude, horrid people that seem to think because you are pregnant they have the right to “pat the belly” at such occasions.. personally that was my pet preggers peeve. If I don’t know you- why in the hell do you think you have the right to do that??? And even if I do know you.. really!
Having had to do the same thing- I agree Bridezilla vs the preggers hormones, no contest. And as other astute responders have mentioned, you may well get some wear out of them later. The feets, they tend to never be the same size again. Having been a 5 1/2 my entire adult life, I ended up with a rather huge number of shoes (according to the husband) that were then half a size too small!! AYYYYYY!!
But then again, it gave the excuse to go forth and shop for many superfantastic shoes in the size 6 ;)
And many congratulations to the Michelle!! The baby already has the superfantastic Mamma- all will be brilliant! Best of luck-
May 18th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Ayyyyyy! What are the super-fantastic-mothers-to-be-with-size-11-feet to do? It’s hard enough to find cute, stylish shoes. Once one ventures into the 12+ territory, it’s all orthopedic…
May 18th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
My sympathies to Michelle! I had to attend the wedding of my boss’ daughter during the swampy depths of a NYC summer when I was 7 months pregnant. Let’s just say I’ve had dental visits that were more enjoyable. No drinking (because of my swollen belly) no dancing (because of my swollen feet) no gossip (see: no drinking), no cute outfit (see: swollen belly) and, to really cap off the evening, I ended up driving my drunken coworkers home as I was the only one sober. I bet those cute sandals would’ve made the evening bearable!
May 18th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
haha. Pregnancy as a handicap…interesting take on it.
May 18th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Jess - it’s not writ in stone. I have size 10W, and they did swell a bit towards the end, but they’ve shrunk back now and I can wear my old shoes. I am also a bit flat-footed, and I’ve heard some of the spread has to do with regular-arched people getting flatter, so your mileage may vary. Good luck and congratulations!
May 19th, 2007 at 9:54 am
You can add new and nursing mothers to the list too! Years ago I remember my former sister-in-law was a matron of honor just one month after having her first baby. Seeing her squeeze the girls into that gown was really something.
May 20th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Thanks for the comments and sympathy, all! The Manolo’s shoe’s would have been perfect… though the wedding was this weekend and the response this past Friday, so I’d ended up with different ones…and black patent leather flip flops that I wore for much of the night! Actually, it was not at all a bad experience. We all wore black dresses of our own choosing, so I wore a very comfortable and cute maternity dress. I stood for about 3/4 of the ceremony (total length of ceremony 1/2 an hour), but the bride — definitely not a bridezilla — had a chair up by the chuppah for me just in case I wanted to sit down… and I ended up taking advantage of it, getting much smiles congrats from wedding attendees afterwards for doing so. I couldn’t drink, but ate a ton and got lots of attention, and had a blast… but I was definitely swollen and exhausted by the end of the very long day.
May 20th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Michelle — buy the shoes now anyway! They’re fabulous, you deserve them, why not?
May 21st, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Oh! Belly pats. My favorite strategy when receiving unwanted belly patting was to pat the offendor’s belly right back. Men in particular would get all wide-eyed and say, “What are you DOING?” And I’d say, “Same thing as you. Do you like it?”
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:36 am
These shoes are great. But whenever I’ve been pregnant–whether the weather’s warm or not—my feet swell like water balloons. In sandals like these, my puffy pregnant feet would feel and look like rising bread dough trapped in a stack of bangle bracelets…