Vogue 8555 sleek sheath dress

I can’t believe how long it has taken me to get this dress finished but now I have and here it is

And here’s a view of the back

which is lower than usual – in fact, so the pattern tells me, it’s 5 ¾” below the base of the neck. I like the look but it does mean that you have to be careful to get the fit of the back just right – any gaping will show up.

The pattern I used, Vogue 8555, looks like this

It’s one of those ones with lots of different options. I made the sleeveless version with the narrow skirt and in the shorter length. I really love sheath dresses and I was especially attracted to this particular one because I liked the bodice, which has a sweetheart neckline with pleats at the neck and gathers under the bust.

The fabric is a 100% viscose and I lined it with a lightweight Bemberg rayon. Originally I was going to make this dress with another fabric (a cotton and silk mix). However, once I had made a muslin I decided that it really needed to be made in a fabric that was very soft, so that all the pleats and gathers draped around my bust rather than sticking out (I really don’t need to emphasise my top-heavy figure!). This very drapey viscose turned out to be just right and I really love the colourful, large flower print.

I followed Vogue’s instructions slavishly but if I were to make this dress again, I think I might construct it a bit differently. Vogue have you attach the zipper to both the fabric and the lining together so that the zipper is outside of the lining, which looks like this inside the dress -

I don’t hate it, but it would probably look neater if the zipper was attached to the outer fabric first then enclosed by the lining (which means you have to leave a few inches of the lining unattached to the bodice, the midriff and the skirt at either side of the centre back until after you have inserted the zipper – a bit fiddly but, once you get your head around it, it’s easy enough to do).

Yesterday I wore this dress to a garden party in Cambridge (an English country town), which involved two bus rides and three trains there and back and a lot of walking about and sitting down and plenty of eating and drinking. The dress stood up to the ordeal and received a couple of compliments and a big vote of confidence from my husband – so I definitely recommend this pattern!