In December, I received my first magazine of 2021 from La Maison Victor (January/February edition). I immediately fell for several patterns including the Elle dress. 

The Elle dress is a fitted shirt dress just the way I like them; which highlights the waist. Also, I found its front and back clip design very original compared to what you usually find in patterns right now. It really made me want to prioritize it on my sewing wish list. 

Also, I had just received in the shop some beautiful poplins including the poppy on a violet background (which is my favorite); it was exactly the right combination to make myself a dress with vintage accents. 

The dress pattern is available in the magazine and ranges from size 34 to 56. The most important measurement to consider when choosing your dress size is the waist circumference because this dress is very fitted at that point. 

It will fit measurements between:

• 84 and 140cm for the bust circumference
  
• 66 and 120.5cm for the waist circumference
• 92 and 146cm for the hip circumference

You can also mix sizes (for the top and bottom of the dress) by tracing the pattern, in order to adapt it to your measurements. 

For my part, I cut it in size 34.

The difficulty level of the dress is rated as two in the Maison Victor chart, which corresponds to "requires some effort." I think it could rather be rated 2.5 :-) because it requires quite a bit of technical skill:

• sewing the shaping clips (4 front and 4 back)
• sewing the pockets to the side of the dress
• attaching the sleeve
• attaching the collar (without collar stand)
  
• assembling the facing
• making hems
• creating buttonholes and sewing on buttons.

For my part, I made a few changes to the base pattern.

As for the pattern itself, I lengthened the back darts upwards because it was too loose. It was expected that the back would gape because of my small height of 153cm; I could have made adjustments from the start but I knew I could adjust the back volume in the darts, and in the end it gives a result that I really like.

I also decided to cut the collar and facing from a scrap of white fabric (leftover from a shirt) instead of cutting everything from the same fabric. I thought a small white collar would give a retro chic effect. Plus, the white really matched well with the floral pattern. 

Another change I made compared to the original model is that I didn’t sew the second part of the sleeve that allows for long sleeves. I thought the short sleeves right on the bodice gave my dress a retro vintage charm. So I had to find a finish for the short sleeves; and I chose to finish them with a hidden white 100% cotton bias binding that is available in my shop. It finishes the sleeve nicely and, in addition, this bias finish gives it a bit more structure and support; which also contributes to the retro look. 

Finally, I wanted top-notch finishes, so instead of finishing the inner facing with an overlock stitch, I edged the whole thing with a bias binding. I used the same bias as for the sleeves. 

I chose pearl-shaped buttons from my shop to close my pretty dress and complete the look!

I am really happy with my creation and I know I will wear it with pleasure when it gets a bit warmer.