Top three lessons learned while sewing this dress (Anne Adams 4710-A in vintage semi-sheer black cotton with textured stripes and a full Bemberg lining):

1) Horizontal stripes can be your friend, if used wisely, but they’re a bitch to match across seams and zippers, so plan accordingly (hence the vertical stripes on the side insets and back).
2) Black dresses are, in my opinion, a bit boring but they hide many sins – from poor diet and exercise habits to super-sloppy hand stitching.
3) Every garment, like most people, goes through an ugly phase. Keep working on it and you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised. 

Oh, and I’m going to need more lint rollers.

Another lesson, black is tough to photograph. You can sort of see that the fabric is a bit sheer along the hemline in this pic.

I tried matching stripes between the front and side inset pieces and had moderate success.

Each stripe is actually a long thin fold in the fabric. I have no idea how they made it and have never seen anything like it.

Anne Adams is a mail-order only pattern company. This dress pattern is from 1966, I think.