Has everyone seen this dress, from the PatternReview Vintage Sewing contest?

Isn't it lovely? Shinta did such a great job — and she calls herself a beginner! Which just goes to show you: if you love a dress enough and take your time, even a beginner can make something exquisite. Don't settle for a ho-hum project; choose something that takes your breath away, then just concentrate. Slow and steady makes the dress.

Here's the original pattern envelope, just so you can see exactly how well Shinta realized the ideal:

I think that even if this is the only dress Shinta ever makes, she can call herself a seamstress for the rest of her life. Seamstress First Class, even!

Check out this stunner from Dorothea's Closet on eBay. I love the way the straps attach to the bust.

I know the weather is about to change soon (it's been unseasonably warm here in Chicago these last two weeks) as I have had one last gasp of mooning over summer dresses, especially sundresses.

This is completely unreasonable, as I am not a sundress person. Dresses, yes, sundresses, no. I think the last sundress I was completely happy with was a cherry-print number with a ruffled hem and spaghetti straps. (It also had an elastic-smocked bodice, because I was ten.)

This dress might convert me to sundress-person mode — especially the one made up in a border print. I'd love to try this in stripes, too! Or gingham. Or (it goes without saying) polka dots.

If you want to get a jump on next summer, you could do worse than buying this pattern. In fact, I think looking at this might be nearly as effective as those lightboxes in treating seasonal affective disorder.