Goal: Everyday Wearability

As I've mentioned before recently, I haven't been sewing as much as normal this summer and much of what I've made is for other people, mostly my granddaughter. Which is fine. I love sewing for her, but I do want to sew at least a few more dresses for myself and I have been thinking I will only have time for two or three more this summer. With that in mind, I want to make something that I will definitely wear a lot, so this dress has all my favorites: colorful floral print on a dark background,* not paisley but sort of a paisleyish feel, fitted princess bodice with a low back from one pattern and a plain gathered skirt from another, side zipper, my favorite length, low mid-calf, and of course, pockets!

First the fabric:

Just look at those colors! So many of my favorites in one print.

And the dress:

The pocket picture was badly out of focus and the back picture was overexposed due to the sun literally glaring off my pasty white back so you'll just have to use your imagination on those 'cuz I'm not tryin' again.

I love it. It's exactly what I wanted it to be. I will definitely wear it often for the rest of the summer and maybe into the fall and even early winter as a jumper because I have several long sleeved t-shirts in the right colors to go with it.

*I love lighter prints too but I can never feel entirely comfortable in them because I'm always afraid of spilling something on them or brushing up against something dirty so I feel like I have to be very careful all day. Yes I know, the same things can happen with bright colors. It's not logical; it's psychological.