Refashion 4: Ruffled Collar Shirt from Mens Tuxedo Shirt

I thrifted this shirt specifically so I could reuse the pintucked section on the refashioned shirt! All the glory with none of the pain, right? Having all those pintucks really limited my choice of shirt patterns to use, though -- no waist darts because they would interfere with that coveted pintucking. I settled on Simplicity 4179 with a single side bust dart, but knew I would probably not have enough fabric left for the peter pan collar. So I put together the 4179 bodice with my ever-loved Simplicity 4077 neckline and collar. It was really easy to do just by lining up center front and shoulder seams between the two patterns. I've had ruffled collars on the brain since Spring 2007 and thought it was now or never, so I used some excess fabric from the original long sleeves and threw the ruffle on top of the collar. Here is the end result:
Some Editor's Notes on the experience:

1. I love the fit of this Simplicity 4179 bodice! Of the Big 4, Simplicity really nails the fit for me more often than any other. I have decided not to review Simplicity 4179 on patternreview.com because I made modifications for style, not for fit, and this being a shirt refashion really rendered the instructions null and void. But I like this pattern so much I think I will end up sewing it again with the peter pan collar, and I'll write my review then.
   
2. There's an optional peplum at the bottom of the shirt that looks cute and I didn't have enough fabric to add it, but the length of the finished shirt is probably just right for my proportions as it is.
3. I had a few "make it work" moments during this refashion, from how funky the plackets were attached (different technique on each side of the shirt, from what I could tell) and what that meant for how I would sew the new collar to the shirt, to that dreaded Simplicity 4077 collar and a few other complications thrown in for good measure. I just kept going, and the whole thing came together nicely.

If you look at the shirt closely, you can see some definitely improvised choices that didn't turn out quite as close to perfection as I beat myself up for in my sewing sometimes, but you know what? I forgot about most of them just two days after finishing the garment, and the shirt still looks pretty good and feels great on. (Well, the collar is a little constricting but that's more the 100+ degree heat than anything else. Ask me again in November.) So what's not to love about this refashioning thing?