Welcome to Fall in the northern hemispheres! It's feeling more like summer around here, as we're back to 80 degree days. But the leaves are changing colors, so it's a perfect time to share one of my favorite autumn dresses. I think of it as an "autumn dress" both because of the color palette and the longer hemline and sleeves to ease into the cooler months. The design and fabric choice is also perfect to bridge the business casual/business professional dresscodes I often flip between at work. One of my bosses said that the plaid looked just like one of his favorite suits!

This dress was finished in the Spring of 2015. I wasn't sewing much at the time, so this is a mommy-made garment. Mom and I had a pretty sweet deal at that time. I picked out the fabrics and patterns, provided encouragement, and presented myself for fittings, and she did all the sewing and cutting and finishing. She wasn't too happy that I made her put an invisible zipper in this, but she did a great job!


The pattern is the now discontinued Leann Marshall for Simplicity 1755 . The purchase of the pattern was largely inspired by Dixie DIY. I totally copied (or instructed Mom to copy) her idea to cut the front on the fold. What a relief to avoid matching the plaid.

A few construction notes:

• The bodice is lined, but not the skirt. I tend to wear a full length slip with this dress. 
• We skipped the waistband/belt/bow bit. Aside from the waistband riding lower than I like to have my waistline, I thought a bow would be too twee for workwear. I always wear it with this thin leather belt. 
• The plaid is a suiting fabric from Field's Fabrics. I can't remember the fiber content, but I think it has some wool in it. The eggplant for the sleeves and collar is a wool suiting from The French Seam. 
• Those pockets hidden inside the pleats are fantastic. We enlarged them a little bit so I can easily fit my phone. 

Overall, I'm very happy with this dress. The fabric choice emphasizes the professional appearance of the collar and the silhouette is very classic, but the raglan sleeve and pockets jazz it up. The muted colors look much nicer, in my opinion, than the brights used on the pattern envelope. And a proper suiting fabric elevates this over some versions I've seen made with quilting cottons. We made up another version in a navy blue suiting that I'll get around to sharing someday.