Mother of the groom Joan Borkow (pictured center) found the right stuff in Oak Bluffs, as did her niece.

Luckily, the Vineyard offers an array of fashion choices at all price points. For a custom outfit, mothers can choose among designers like Stina Sayre, Chrysal Parrot, and Lorraine Parish, any of whom might also have a ready-made dress available. Midnight Farm has an array of hard-to-find designer outfits that exquisitely achieve casual elegance.

At the other end of the spectrum, a recent visit to Martha’s Closet consignment shop turned up several summer cocktail frocks that may already have been mother-of-the-bride dresses. Co-owner Janice Gulland pointed out a wedding gown itself and said they always have a selection of prom dresses that might work.

Mother-of-the-groom Joan Borkow didn’t think twice about where to shop for an outfit for her son’s wedding. “I bought my dress exactly where I knew I would buy it from the moment Matthew and Leslie got engaged — right here in OB at Laughing Bear. My niece Ruthie got her dress there too.”

Why Laughing Bear? “Beautiful things and the perfect sales people. Even if you’re of a certain age and a certain weight they have lots of elegant choices,” she said. “And if you’re 17 and a perfect size six like my niece there are an equal number of wonderful dresses to choose from.”

Elaine Miller shopped far and wide but bought her dress in Vineyard Haven.

She did not shop alone. “I was quietly accompanied into the dressing room by a fish that my grandson Tanner had caught on the Skipper that morning,” Ms. Borkow said. “I kept the fish cold with boxes of frozen spinach from Reliable Market. I guess this all adds up to a true Island shopping experience.”

She finally settled on a long black silk dress with a cut silk velvet jacket. “A few days before the wedding I realized that there might be a bit of an October chill so I went right back to Laughing Bear and added a black velvet shawl.”

When Elaine Miller’s daughter Stephanie Wondolowski planned a September afternoon wedding at South Beach followed by a reception at Farm Neck Golf Club, the mother-of-the-bride needed a dress that worked at both locations.

Ms. Miller went online and ordered about 20 dresses from Saks, Bloomingdales and other department stores. “I had my husband sit down with a cocktail and I tried each one on,” she said. “They all went back because I either looked like I was going to a New Year’s Eve party in New York or like my mother — middle-aged frumpy.”

Then she went shopping in Boston and still had no luck, but a visit to Outrageous in Vineyard Haven saved the day. “Nancy helped me find the perfect outfit — Island perfect outfit.” It was a skirt, tank top, and a “difficult to describe sheer top that went over my head, had no sleeves, and fell midway down the skirt,” Ms. Miller said. “The skirt was an olive silk swing skirt that ended just above the ankles. The tank top was a soft beige and acted as a base to take the gorgeous top.”

With Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish as the entertainment at the reception, the outfit had to be good for dancing too. “The combination was quite wonderful and the colors for a September wedding were just great.”