Sew Marvelous or Sew Mortifying?

I recently joined a new group blog - Sew Retro. From their site:

Sew Retro is a sewing group for those interested in making vintage or retro style clothing. We're not limiting ourselves to only truly vintage patterns and/or fabric, but embracing retro and vintage styles in all forms.
We will be having various sew-alongs but with quite general inclusive themes (i.e. a Simplicity pattern, a flowered fabric, a 50's pattern, that kind of thing) which members will be able to join in with if they so wish.

I've collected vintage patterns for years, but I've never actually made anything from them because I was worried they would be too complicated and that I'd never manage to get the fit that those garments require. After my most recent vintage garment overhaul, however, I started thinking that maybe it would actually just be easier to make a vintage style dress from scratch. Then, as if by magic, I heard about Sew Retro a couple days later and signed up.

Many people there have been discussing how easy the incredibly fabulous looking Butterick 4790 pattern is to make (it's a reprint of one from 1952). I took the bait and ordered it online, and now I'm just waiting for it to get here.

Easy pattern or not, I often have a hard time choosing suitable fabric for a garment. I never know when to focus on drapability and when to choose cloth that is stiffer and more stable. I also have a rather poor track record where the application of bias tape is concerned, and this dress calls for three packages of the stuff. Hopefully it will come out well, but I suppose if it doesn't it might still make entertaining reading.