Well, here’s my review of this OOP pattern from Vogue.  I made the dress, and, quite frankly, it was a fussy piece for a couple of reasons.

First, I was an idiot and did not do a muslin, and, second, the choice of fabric just doesn’t work with this pattern on a shape like mine.  I made it out of chocolate RPL, but the “duh!” moment came when I confirmed through multiple tries, that RPL does not shape well.  Hence the problems with the bust darts, as you’ll see when you look through some of these pictures.

I originally thought of this dress waaaaaaay back in 1990 or something ridiculous like that, because I liked the fringe on the bottom.  I think I did make it up in purple for some singing gig or other, but I didn’t keep the dress.  It was fun walking around the house to take photos, because the fringe really swings around.  It’ll be a great dress for dinner and dancing.  It’ll also be great to wear in dim lighting, so that the bust darts can’t be seen very well.

The neckline sits very high – right at the base of the throat, as you can see below.  It’s a nice change from the usual crew neck on a sheath.  My pearls are not long – only 17 or 18” in length, and there’s no danger of them getting lost inside the neckline.  It’s a true boat neck.  Another positive:  the armscye sits perfectly on this dress. 

OK.  This picture is taken in natural light, and it shows the bust dart problem very very well. 

I also got carried away trimming the hem allowance.  I have no idea what I was thinking (maybe it was the time of night?!), but I did trim 2” off the bottom, and should not have done that.  It’s about 2” too short for my liking.  Y’know what they say:  Over a certain age should not show off their knees.

Oops!  The belt got twisted on this one.  Pictures like this always make me think it’s high time to get off my lazy butt and do a proper 1” gingham pattern fit.  (Ha!  You probably thought I was going to say exercise!) I always shorten the back waist on a garment by 2”, but by the looks of this, 2” is probably not enough….. Never mind that it confirms that pear-shape suspicion in the back of my mind that always seems to get glossed over due to the counterbalance(s) hanging on the front of my upper torso. 

I think the best thing about this dress is the fringe.  Everything else could probably be more esthetically pleasing on a beanpole, or made better by a more fit-conscientious and less lazy seamstress that me. 

Did I say I really like the fringe?