Dress #4 -- Simplicity 1598 (1945)

Finished dress #4 of 2014. This number from 1945. I know that because I got pretty excited when I saw a little copyright date! Yea, I got excited :/ Anyway, here is the end result:

I'm not really sure I like the white sleeves. Actually, I hate those kinds of sleeves period, but those white sleeves do look a bit like a raglan sleeve baseball t-shirt. I might change them since I have to bring in the sides under the armpit anyway. While this dress fits in the waist and hips, IT IS HUGE IN THE BUST. I am a 39 inch bust and this is supposedly a 38. I know it's supposed to have a little bit of bagginess to it, but this is ridiculous! It's like the top doesn't match the bottom. If the pattern wasn't still factory folded I would think a larger bodice piece had replaced the original. Fairly easy to fix, though -- especially with those type of sleeves.

Other than the excessively huge bodice, it's a decent pattern if you like 40s styles. I'm leaning toward NOT like mid 1940s styles. I absolutely hate shaping the bodice by gathers. I hate gathers everywhere. I like nice, smooth darts! If I can't fix the bodice, I might just make a waistband and turn it into a skirt!

UPDATE!

I brought the dress in 2 inches under each armpit and it rests nicely now. When I brought the sides in, this also brought in the sleeves, which look so much better! Not floppy anymore!