Sandhya Garg — The Occasion Guides
Mother's Day: What to Wear, and What to Buy Her
For Her · For You · 12 Pieces · XS–3XL
Quick Answer
Two different people read this page. If you're the one being celebrated: choose something you can be hugged in, sit through a long lunch in, and be photographed in — colour rather than pale neutrals, and nothing you'd have to keep adjusting. If you're buying her a gift: the real obstacle isn't taste, it's that you don't know her size and can't ask without spoiling it. The answer is clothing that doesn't depend on a size — one-size kimonos, wrap dresses, tie waists and adjustable straps — or a gift card, which is not a cop-out.
Mother's Day advice tends to be written as though one person were both the giver and the receiver. Two entirely separate problems get mashed into one page, and neither is properly answered.
I'm a Project Runway designer, and I've spent a decade watching people try to buy clothes for someone else. Here are both halves, honestly.
A one-size kimono, a wrap you tie yourself, and a dress with pockets. All three are easy to give, and easy to be hugged in.
If You're the One Being Celebrated
Mother's Day is a long lunch, usually indoors and outdoors in the same afternoon, with a lot of photographs and — if there are small children — a lot of being climbed on. Three things follow:
Colour, not neutrals
You will be in more photographs than on any other ordinary day of the year. Saturated colour photographs beautifully in May daylight; beige and pale blush wash out.
Nothing you have to hold
No strapless, nothing that rides up when you sit, nothing that needs adjusting when you pick someone up. A tie or a wrap lets you loosen it after lunch.
A layer, and pockets
May weather changes between the restaurant and the garden. And pockets matter on a day spent holding somebody else's things.
Which shade of any colour suits you takes thirty seconds at a window — the method is in the colour test.
If You're Buying Her Something
Here's the thing nobody says out loud: clothes lose to candles and flowers every May because you don't know her size and you can't ask. Guessing risks a gift that says the wrong thing about how you see her, which is a worse outcome than a candle. So the honest advice is to buy something where size barely applies.
| If you don't know her size | Buy this |
|---|---|
| Safest of all | A one-size kimono. It fits XS to XL, it's worn open, and it's the piece most likely to be reached for repeatedly. |
| Nearly as safe | A wrap dress or a tie waist. She sets the fit herself, so one size either way still works. |
| If you know roughly | Something with adjustable straps or an A-line cut — both forgive a size in either direction where a fitted dress doesn't. |
| If you have no idea | A gift card, and say so plainly in the card: you wanted her to choose. That isn't a lesser gift — it's the one that gets worn. |
| Either way | Check the returns policy before you buy, and keep the receipt in the box. Ours is on the returns page; shipping is from Scottsdale within 1–3 days. |
Clothes lose to candles every Mother's Day for one reason: you can't ask her size without spoiling it. Buy something where size barely applies.
Twelve Pieces · XS to 3XL · Verified In Stock
Easy to Give, Easy to Wear
Size Barely Applies — The Safe Gifts
For the Lunch — Colour, Comfort, Pockets
If It's a Bigger Occasion
All in XS · S · M · L · XL · XXL · XXXL where stocked · Size chart · Easy returns · Free US shipping over $250
Mother's Day Questions, Answered
What should I wear to Mother's Day lunch?
Something in colour that you can sit, eat and be hugged in. A midi dress with sleeves or a wrap works best — nothing strapless, nothing that rides up when you sit, and ideally something with pockets. May weather is unreliable, so bring a layer you'd happily be photographed in.
How do I buy clothes as a gift when I don't know her size?
Choose something where size barely applies: a one-size kimono, a wrap dress, a tie waist or adjustable straps. All of them fit across a range rather than at a point. Check the returns policy before you buy and keep the receipt in the box — and if you truly have no idea, a gift card is the version she'll actually wear.
When is Mother's Day?
In the United States, the second Sunday in May. It falls on different dates elsewhere — the UK and Ireland mark Mothering Sunday in March — so check before ordering if you're sending a gift abroad.
What colours are best for Mother's Day photographs?
Saturated ones. May daylight is bright and slightly cool, which drains pale blush, beige and cream — they read as a flat shape in photographs. Rose, cobalt, emerald and marigold hold their colour. More in the colour test.
What's a good gift for a mother-in-law?
The same rule, more so — you almost certainly don't know her size and definitely can't ask. A one-size kimono or an accessory sidesteps the question entirely, and hand embroidery reads as considered without being presumptuous about her taste.
Do these come in plus sizes?
Yes. Most styles run XS to XXXL, graded individually rather than scaled up, and made to measure is available — which is itself a lovely gift if you have her measurements.
Before You Buy for Her
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Keep Reading
Her Colours
The 30-Second Colour Test
Useful before buying for someone else.
The Other Big Day
Mother of the Bride
Who chooses first, and why.
Wearing It
Wear the Good One on a Tuesday
Don't save the gift for later.
Keeping It
Garment Care
Worth slipping into the box.
About the Writer
Sandhya Garg is a Project Runway Season 13 designer who won two challenges on the show and presented her collection at Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week. She studied womenswear at London College of Fashion and worked at Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Liberty London, and Alice Temperley — featured in Marie Claire, Elle, Cosmopolitan and Vogue online, in sizes XS–3XL.
Project Runway · Vogue · Marie Claire · XS–3XL
Buy something she can't get the size wrong on.
Sandhya Garg is a Los Angeles boutique creating limited-edition artisanal dresses in original hand-drawn prints, hand embroidery and heritage textiles. Sizes XS–3XL, shipped from Scottsdale within 1–3 days.
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