This is a totally different dress

Hi there! I'm back with a make from My summer project -list.

If you look at the before and after pictures, there isn't a huge difference, is there? But what if I told you that the only seams left from the original dress are the side seams below the pockets? That doesn't make any sense!

The original dress

The pattern is from Burda 6/2013, model 128. The most important change I made was to shorten the shoulder straps significantly. Originally, the dress was meant to be worn over another dress with a higher neck line. At the time that I bought this fabric, they were out of the white cotton that I wanted for the other dress, so I never got around to making it. 

Instead I wore this dress last summer with a tank top underneath, and loved it. It didn't fit properly though, which I this summer decided that bothered me too much. So I made some changes...

Since I had to cut into the shoulder seams, I re-did the finishing on the neck line and arm scythes with my newly found love, self-fabric bias binding. The original shirring at the waist was made by using elastic thread, and it felt uncomfortable, so I re-did it with an elastic band. I was supposed to add pockets to the original dress, but forgot about them and (true sewist-style) never went back and added them. But now that wrong is made right too!

Shortening the shoulder straps shortened the dress considerably. While I fear a serious Marilyn-moment in the middle of the street, my fashion advisers conspired and told me that the length is fine. It might be that they just want me to flash some senior citizens though... I'll never know. 

I was in a romantic mood and added some cotton lace band to the neck line and hem. Reminds me of the old regional dresses we have here in Finland, but I guess that's okay, it being summer and all.

Unfortunately, I don't feel as comfortable in this dress as I did last year. It just felt more relaxed before, so I'm not sure the changes were worth it. I think my biggest issue with this dress is the drape of the fabric. This cotton fabric has too much body which makes the dress poofier than planned. It has been nice to wear during the heat waves this summer though.

Anyone else suffering from re-make frustration? Or bad fabric choices that are impossible to fix?