Love at first stitch Lilou dress

I have to be honest and say that I hesitated when Love At First Stitch by Tilly Walnes was first released - I mean, I'm not sure if the whole retro/vintage thing is really me. I actually flipped through it in a bookshop, put it back, went away, looked at it on Amazon, put it on my wish list, looked at it half an hour later to see if the price has gone down.....you get the picture. 

Anyway, after a few days the combined force of the Mimi blouse and a coupon for £5 off in WHSmith tipped me over the edge.

And what did I make first? Mimi blouse?

No, Lilou bodice with Clemence-style skirt.

I chose the Lilou mostly because I already had two metres of cotton. I bought it to make a blouse then realised that the material would be too stiff, even after washing. I had just enough fabric to cut the bodice then use what was left to cut a skirt. It's not quite as wide as the Clemence skirt in the book, which is why I'm calling it Clemence-style :)

I also had to make a full bust adjustment (first time ever!). It's a little loose in the shoulders and waist, if I make another one I'll probably take larger seams and I probably should have done that with this one (my Mum told me to!) but I didn't want to change the pattern totally on the first try.

Ironically I have ended up wearing it like this;

More vintage than ever :) Waist cinched in with a white pleather belt from eBay and short cardigan RTW from Wallis. 

I received a lot of compliments when I went out so I think the outfit is a winner although the dress isn't quite perfect. Here it is without the cardi, I feel more comfortable with the belt to give the waist some shape but it pushes the shoulders up and you can just see a flash of pink bra strap in the photo;

In conclusion, Tilly's book is lovely and the patterns make it a worthwhile purchase for beginners and experienced sewists alike. I do wonder if I'll have to make alterations in the bust pieces for all the dresses, just because they are drafted for a slimmer body type, but the FBA wasn't too much trouble, so I'm hopeful of wearable results on the other patterns.

Anyway, the Mimi blouse will be my next project from the book.