On a Rescue Mission

I'm still trying to rescue this dress from my last post. Would you believe that I picked the ENTIRE dress apart? It's not as if the fabric was super expensive or that it has to be this particular color...I DON'T DO WADDERS!

One of the reasons I think I wasn't liking it is because the proportion of the center front piece, relative to the side panels, was much too narrow. My making a 1" FBA to the side panels was the problem. I went back and reduced that one inch from the side panels and transferred it to the center front panel. It made a huge difference. At least I think so. I also raised the neckline 1".

I don't feel so much like it's a "skunk stripe." The color is terrible in the photos immediately above this paragraph and simply has to do with the camera. The actual color of the brown is like a Hershey's chocolate bar.  (Had to switch to a different camera because the battery died.)

I added the "faux" cuffs for some additional style. Still needs a hem. I'm still not in love with it but I like it a whole lot better than I did before. It needs a good pressing also. I'm struck by how conservative this dress looks when it's on me. I don't even have any really "skanky" brown shoes to add extra pizzazz. It is comfortable so that's a plus. The solid is ponte de roma and the contrast in a miscellaneous knit from Vogue Fabrics. Here's a close-up of the contrast fabric.

There are very few reviews of this dress on Pattern Review.com but one sewer did touch on the issue of the center panel being out of proportion after altering. I don't know why I didn't check the reviews first! Of course I'll be back later this week with me wearing my "Rescue Mission" dress.