Welcome to the 1940s dress!
Wartime fabric restrictions during WWII meant long, full skirts were out. The “tailored” look was very popular, and, as I mentioned last week, the main fullness to be found was in the sleeves and shoulders. I absolutely adore the look of these sleeves, which are gathered, but don’t require additional gathering at the bottom into a band. Squared and sweetheart necklines on dirndl-style dresses were popular with both girls and women for informal wear. This was inspired by a dress from the 1942 Sears catalog I saw here: https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1942-Sears-Spring-Summer-Catalog/0001 Fashion trends are cyclical though, so try doing a search for McCall’s 4082 from the 1990s to see something with a very similar shape.
Don’t forget, you can still join the MeWe group and share your creations or just enjoy the eye candy of what what others have posted! There are so many beautiful dresses on a variety of dolls and I’ve been really enjoying everyone’s creativity so far!
Wren*Feathers 
this is such a great series— THANKYOU very much for offering it–know it took hours of work
I love it when you show the picture that inspired your creation! I love how close your dress is to the original mom’s dress (I notice the little girl’s neckline is different, so we can adapt it depending on the style we want : a little girl’s dress or a more mature style). I yet have to start (have to wait for my summer holidays… should be soon!). I really want to give a try to all those pretty patterns! Thank you for this fun SAL!