Sometimes you want a halter dress. Sometimes you want a cute little cap sleeve. Or strapless. Or one shoulder. Or open back. Or any one of the other billion types of strap and back combinations women's' dresses come in. I could buy 87 dresses (take that Katherine Heigl), or I could have one that does them all.  As much as I love the idea of a closet that's just full of cute dresses, the practical side of me was all about having one dress that could take on nearly any form I needed.

I picked up Simplicity pattern 1154, breaking from my normal aversion to that brand (despite the name, their patterns tend to not be simple and are often missing key instructions or have print errors). It was easy to follow, so I'd say this is the kind of project even a beginner

I used the pattern initially, though subsequent versions of the dress have had modifications made to give different coverage and hemlines (helloooo stylish asymmetrical skirts!). I love this dress because it's only six pieces, and the first time I made it it took me a grand 4 hours from the moment I laid out the fabric to begin cutting it to being able to try it on. This style of dress is made from jersey fabric to give it flattering and functional stretch (makes the wrapping of the straps way easier), with the added bonus of being wrinkle resistant. It's great for traveling, because you can chuck it in your bag without worrying about how you're going to iron it when you get to where you're going.