Tell your mother to leave the neon green poncho at home when she comes down for Mom’s Weekend.

And that skimpy dress she found in your closet?

Don’t let her wear that, either.

Every one of the moms heading to campus this weekend have the potential to wear something that will embarrass their Illini. Don’t let it happen to you.

But how do you avoid a Mom’s Day meltdown?

“Encourage your mom to look hip and trendy, but don’t tell to her wear the same things you wear,” said Pooja Desai, president of Runway, a fashion RSO. “An 18-year-old girl and a 60-year-old woman have different body types.”

Desai, freshman in LAS, said mothers should dress conservatively but comfortably. A knee-length dress and a cardigan might work.

It’s OK to be creative. Just don’t let your mom try too hard.

“They should wear something where they’re not trying to look young, but look their own age,” Desai said. “If an older woman tries to pull off something very trendy, it usually doesn’t work well.”

Desai said fabrics can be light, as long as they are not transparent. Neutral is good. Neon is not.

“Anything that’s flamboyantly colored – stay away from that,” she said.

Your mom might want to relive her own college days. Don’t let her.

“If it’s really revealing clothes, that’s weird,” said Ashley Lathrop, junior in LAS and employee at Pitaya, 625 E. Green Street. “But as long as it’s not my mom, that’s cool.”

Rebecca Lewis said her mother is coming down next week, after the Mom’s Weekend rush, but said she is not too concerned about the clothing question.

“It’s my mom and she can wear whatever she wants,” said Lewis, freshman in Engineering. “If someone doesn’t like it, that’s their problem.”

In the end, keep your mom’s clothes simple. Keep them comfortable and classy. And if you plan on taking her to the bars, just keep them on her.