New Look 6722: Surplice Jersey Dress

In between making lots of baby and birthday gifts, I've been trying to figure out what I'd like to make for me. I had planned on jumping right into stuff for fall and winter, but since it's still in the high 90s here and warm weather should stick around for another month or so, I though I'd tackle a knit dress that would be a transition piece from summer to fall. Something that I could pair with flat sandals for summer and tall boots and a sweater for fall. This New Look jersey dress pattern looked like it would be a good option.
I found a poly jersey at Michael Levine that was a nice mix of summer and fall, too - dark brown background with a magenta and purple print that was vaguely tribal. Perfect! I cut it out last weekend and worked on it a little each night for the next few days. Once the bodice was complete, I thought that it might actually be as cute as I was hoping, but once I attached the skirt, I realized that the fit was a bit off. I am still working out my sizing for patterns and I managed to cut this a size too large. Hmph. Instead of being quite snug around the bodice, it was a little loose, which made the skirt larger around my ribcage than I was expecting. Add to that the suggested length for the skirt and it all felt a bit dowdy, especially with sandals.
I really, really didn't want to have another dud on my hands, so I started playing with it, to see what I could do to make it cute. Long story short, I hemmed it to above my knees, paired it with my Whiskey colored riding boots, added some junky jewelry and all of the sudden, it became really cute!

I tend to like the look of loose mini dresses in stores that are paired with funky shoes or boots, but they're always too short or too tight. This dress, on the other hand, gives a similar look but is proportionally more comfortable for me. Even though I still think it looks a bit odd with my flat sandals, I absolutely love it with my boots. LOVE IT! I wore this outfit on Thursday for a 16 hour day and I was incredibly comfortable and felt really confident and current. The look garnered lots of compliments at the office, which is always a nice plus.
I really like how the color of the boots compliments the colors in the dress. I think I'll be rocking this look a few more times before the cooler weather really sets in. :)

As for the boots - yeah, they really are perfect. Like I mentioned, I wore them for a 16 hour day on Thursday and I swear, they were as comfy as my workout shoes. Especially impressive seeing as how it was the first day that I wore them out of the house. I'm sooo getting the Mahogany pair, too. I really am going to live in them this fall and winter. Hehehe.