Simplicity 2403

I'm moving in slow motion, as evidenced by the completion date of this dress: October something or other, 2010.

The dress I finished is Simplicity 2403.

I made the reddish one on the top right, without the belt. I had been looking for the perfect fabric for this dress for a while, but nothing tickled my fancy, until I found the most adorable mystery blend fabric at Hancock Fabrics: a dark brown with beige polka dots. I'm a sucker for polka dots. So I bought several yards, and set out to make the dress.

This is how it turned out:

So, it's a bit (lot) tight in the bust. I ought to have made a size bigger. And the sleeve bands are tight as well, but I'd like to think that it's from all the P90X I've been doing. You know, the weight lifting, the 1/4 pull-ups, the punching and flexing I do as I admire my guns...

But seriously: look how happy I am in this dress.

And here's a close-up so you can get a better view of the fabric. Cute, no?

My take on the pattern: it's a nice design. I would love my version a lot more if only I had lengthened it by about 2 inches (as it is, I have a hard time sitting down without indecency), and if I had made it one size bigger. Honestly, it's like I have no idea what I'm doing half the time when I'm sewing. You'd think I'd learn from one project and apply that knowledge to the next, but that doesn't seem to be in my make-up.