Vogue 1086 silk/cotton batiste sundress

So when should you stop using a pattern? We all want patterns that fit well, but possibly not a wardrobe full of garments that all look the same.I'm not sure that I'm completely finished with Vogue 1353, but in the interests of variety, I made a dress from a different pattern. Again, however, it's a repeat. This time I used Vogue 1086, which I'd made two versions of previously as posted here and here (the second link has construction photos).  Neither of these dresses are still in my wardrobe, as they were in such high circulation that the fabric eventually wore threadbare.My concern with using this pattern is that I seem to have a low awareness of what looks current, in comparison to what looks terribly old fashioned. I decided to ignore my slight qualms about this issue and just make another version of a garment in which I had previously felt nicely dressed.

Part of the wearing out was due to the fragile nature of the fabric used, and the other part was due to making these dresses in 2011 and constantly wearing them through our 7 month sundress season :)

I found that my silk/cotton batiste dress, self lined, wore out more quickly than the cotton lawn version, although I actually wore the cotton lawn version dress more often, as it was both cooler and more casual.
This time, I used silk/cotton batiste for the outer fabric (Fabric.com, about 2013), and lined the dress with cotton voile. Not only am I very pleased with the way the blue colour shows through the print of the transluscent outer fabric, but I am hoping that the choice of lining fabric improves the longevity of the garment.

The pattern instructions have you sew vertical french seams, and I also chose to sew the horizontal seams in this manner, which is a little fiddly with the gathers, but not impossible due to the fine fabric.

My dress is once again, fully lined, rather than partially, and this time I constructed the lining so that it is separate from the outer garment at the waist seams and shoulder yokes, just attached at the neckline, armsyces and side zipper, as I prefer the appearance of the horizontal seams with fewer layers of fabric.

 I understitched the lining at the neckline, rather than topstitching, in keeping with my luxurious, non casual fabric.

I also used french seams on the lining, and did not interface the waist section at all, as my outer fabric is translucent, and I wanted to preserve the floaty appearance of both fabrics. (You can also see here that I am not terriby vigilant when ironing linings)

Unfortunately, I failed to read my own review of the pattern, and had forgotten that I made a smaller, size 8 bodice on my second version of the dress, so the bodice is a little too big on my current dress, just as it was on my first version. The shoulder slippage this causes is easily managed with lingerie keepers at the shoulders, and the floaty appearance of the dress is in keeping with a slightly oversized look, at least that's my story! It was a rather windy day when we took the photographs, so you can see exactly how floaty the dress can be :)
I wore this dress to the fancy dinner we had for my daughter's 21st birthday, and felt correctly dressed for the occasion, so I'm happy with this project despite a slighty worry that my tendency to use old favourites might make my wardrobe a tad out of date. There is nothing like a few pattern repeats to restore the sewing confidence.