It is not secret that I love all things retro. So when I spotted The Snacky Seamstress‘ Nora Shirtdress pattern on a tester’s feed, I immediately knew I had to have it. It wasn’t quite released yet when I first saw it, so I eagerly waited a few days and purchased it as soon as it came out. I had some fabric on hand that I knew would be perfect for it.

I printed the pattern out and taped it together as soon as it was in my hands. As I was using fabric from my stash, I wanted to make sure I had enough of it before starting to cut so I didn’t run into a disaster. According to the pattern instructions, I didn’t have the exact recommended yardage, but the width of my fabric was bigger than the width listed on the pattern, so I was hoping it would make up for the length shortage and thankfully it did!

I got started as soon as I could (work gets in the way of sewing time a bit more now), and it was definitely love at first stitch. After connecting the back bodice to the yoke I was already completely sold on the details of the dress!

I have never done a lapped zipper before, so I was nervous about it. Turns out, there was nothing to be nervous about – I went slowly and carefully through the directions and it turned out pretty well. I did make a careless mistake of getting some excess fabric stuck in the top-stitching so that was a bit annoying to unpick, but that was my own fault and nothing negative about the pattern itself.

I won’t lie and say I did a perfect job on this one. Despite my skills, there were a couple of tricky corners that didn’t come out as perfectly as I had hoped (but I just consider that a reason to try and try again until I master it!). I am very happy with how it came out, but there are quite a few wonky seams here and there but they are probably not things a non-sewist would ever notice.

Now, time for the reveal:

Do you ever put something on and just feel totally and completely yourself? That’s what happened when I tried this completed dress on for the first time.

I had so much fun taking the pictures for this one. I felt like a happy-go-lucky version of Betty Draper (the dress design reminds me so much of some of her early Mad Men costumes). I paired it with my pearls and heels to further add to the Betty Draper look, but I will likely wear this dress more casually most of the time with flats and a cardigan.

In a departure from what I usually do, I tried to take pictures of the dress from all angles to show off the various details, although I of course got a number of pictures in my signature hand on the hips pose as well while also having some fun with it, and getting some little outtakes in as well.

The Nora Shirtdress is definitely a win in my book, and I am already looking forward to making another one. I will be on the lookout for the next perfect fabric for it!