I needed a little break from S.W.A.G. projects so I finished up my L’Wren Scott-inspired version of Simplicity 2473! Here are some photos:

In homage to the Headmistress dress, I’m calling this the English Tutor Dress.  Is it a tutor of English or a tutor who is English?  You decide!

Keep your eyes peeled for downloadable patterns for the sleeves, collar, and cuffs so you can make your own.

Here’s the review I posted to Pattern Review:

The Review
I fell in love with the L’Wren Scott Headmistress dress but a $3000 dress is out of the question. When I saw this pattern, I thought it would be a great one to adapt to make a similar dress. The pattern worked out a great, and with a little simple drafting, ta-da! Designer-inspired dress custom made for me! 

Pattern Description: 
Project Runway misses’/miss petite dress with slim or flared skirt.

Pattern Sizing:
4-20. I cut a size 4.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? 
Yes, with the exception of the changes and additions I made. I used the slim skirt variation and drafted a new slimmer sleeve, an asymmetrical contrast collar, and contrast cuff to make it more like the L’Wren Scott dress..

Were the instructions easy to follow? 
Yes, they were very easy to follow. Because the Project Runway patterns have a lot of options, it might be a good idea to go through and highlight which parts are relevant to what you want to make.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? 
I really like the princess seaming – the style lines are very slimming. The midriff piece is also very flattering, especially if you’re like me and don’t have a very defined waist. The fit of this pattern is great- I didn’t need to make any changes for fit.

I especially like all the variations that are included– you could make a lot of different combinations for very different styles. It’s very simple to assemble the basic dress pieces, and then the sleeve, skirt, and collar variations give you lots of cute options.

The downside of all of these options is that they provide individual fabric measurements for each component. But when you add them all together, you end up with a fabric total which is much more than you actually need if you actually lay all the pieces out on a single piece of fabric in an economical way. Essentially, if you follow their fabric amount recommendations, you’ll probably end up overbuying.

Fabric Used:
Black double knit for most of the dress. I think the double knit is rayon, polyester and lycra. White ponte di roma (100% polyester) for the contrast collar and cuffs. The double knit is nice and sort and smooth, but the ponte di roma is not pretty- it looks cheap and strangely “medical.”

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Because I was using a knit I decided to eliminate the vent in he skirt. I’m not fond of vents on knits because they’re not crisp, and because the fabric stretches and the skirt is not that narrow, the vent wasn’t necessary. I also eliminated the neck facing and added an asymmetrical contrast collar, which I drafted. I also drafted a slimmer sleeve with a contrast cuff.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I really want to make up some of the other variations of this dress. I really like the sleeveless version and the collar that comes with the pattern. This pattern is very versatile and quick to make up. I’d definitely recommend it.

Conclusion: 
This is a fun, easy pattern that you can use to achieve a lot of looks. And I got the designer-look dress I wanted for a teeny fraction of the price!