Advance 8171

I googled this pattern online, but nothing else came up. I guess it hasn't made its way to the internet yet. From what I read here, it probably is from the late 50's. It's Advance American Designer by Mr. John Couturier Boutique (lol) 8171. I made view 2 (center) because I did not like the matronly fan in the back.

The fabric is a black synthetic silk shantung look. I bought it at JoAnn's quite a while ago. I meant to use it for a one sleeve dress that I wanted to copy out of Vogue. Fortunately, I am over that idea, and decided to use the fabric for this.

1. I haven't used an Advance pattern for a while, so I had forgotten how brief the instructions are. I think I ended up reading them several times. They were confusingly short.

2. While I made a 12 (32-25-34), I fit the whole thing on my dummy. This worked perfectly for the last dress, which I only tried on when it was done and it fit perfectly. This was not true this time. I did not anticipate that the back cutouts went so low, so when you put it on, it's impossible to wear even a strapless bra. From the ribs down, it fit like a sausage casing and then at the top it gaped like four inches.

3. If you are petite, I would shorten the bodice somewhere, although there are no lines on the pattern for that.

4. In the end, I took in the bust about 2 inches on each side under the pleats, and folded down the neckline another inch or two and tacked it down. The bodice fits weirdly and looks awkward. Note the lack of close-ups.

While somewhat matronly, it's not a terrible dress. I guess it could be for a party- a cocktail party. The waist is really tight, so I would have to drink liquor and not eat- there's no give!