Top question on Shop Girls – now five years running: Where to buy a mother of the bride dress. It’s amazing how this one purchase can be so daunting. And it’s a drag how few places there are to suggest. I find myself listing the same handful of Twin Cities boutiques so often (dugo, Arafina, Monique Lhuillier…), it seems impossible the listeners don’t know them by heart. Late last year, when Mall of America prom dress retailer Glitz! opened Get Social, with mid-range to upscale special occasion apparel especially for MOBs, it seemed a slam dunk.

Get Social has closed. “It did pretty well, but not enough for a 3,000-square-foot store,” owner MaryAnne London says. A selection of bridesmaid and mother’s lines can now be found at Glitz! (makes sense, although I wonder how many MOBS will want to try on gowns next to packs of squealing high school seniors).

Prom comes around once a year, but weddings happen all the time. So why is Glitz! a success and Get Social didn’t measure up? Moms are probably pickier, tougher to fit, and less likely to browse beyond the department stores. But clearly, they get dressed up for their kids’ weddings, and they care very much about the end result. So mothers, what do you want? Speak up!