In the NY Times today is a review of Things I’ve Been Silent About by Azar Nafisi. There’s a beautiful photo of the author’s mother in the most gorgeous dress. Who has a pattern for this?
If no one here does, you probably could find one on eBay without much difficulty. It is really pretty and I love 40s (?) style clothes, although I don’t wear them so well. Good luck!
It seems to me that anyone who can sew should be able to cobble something like that together without too much difficulty. You might begin looking at sites which have sewing patterns, like Butterick or Simplicity; you can take elements from different patterns and put them together.
Many women who do tailoring are able to copy dresses. This one does not look too complicated. Just be sure that you have a hardcopy of it now. Check in the yellow pages until you find someone who can do it.
Several years ago I dreamed of being at a formal occasion in a lace ball gown and I remember all of the details of the gown. I’m planning on going to a ball at the end of this month and for a while considered having the dress made as it was in the dream. Lace is so good right now. It might have looked too bridal though unless I had added some bold color to it.
The woman in the photograph is hauntingly beautiful. I would love to wear clothes like that!
It’s an exceedingly simple dress. Drop a few buzzwords like “fitted bodice”, “princess seaming”, “square neckline”, “drop waist” and “cap sleeves” and any seamstress worth her salt will probably sketch almost exactly that dress (well, the sleeves are a little idiosyncratic, but it’ll be close). Go in with a picture and yeah, anyone who can run a sewing machine will be able to reproduce it.
Another option is to check vintage pattern sites. Collecting old vintage patterns is one of my secret addictions, and the internet is chock-full of options. 
If you figure out which pattern number you’re looking for, the owners are often very helpful and might be able to track it down for you as a special order.
I’ve seen similar drop-waisted gowns on those sites before that you could alter to get the look you want… the only catch is that (like with any vintage items) the selection is limited and your size may not be available. However, unlike with clothes, it’s relatively easy to size a pattern up or down to fit your measurements.
A couple of good ones to start you off:
http://www.lanetzliving.net
(one correction to WhyNot’s suggestions - the bodice looks to be fitted using darts at the waist and underarm, so I’d avoid using the word “princess seams” if you’re going to get a seamstress to sew it up for you or if you’re going to search patterns by keyword)
There’s a little smocking going on there at the dropped waist and the neckline…the kind my mom used to do on gingham aprons back in the fifties. But the basic construction looks very simple…any competent dressmake should be able to replicate it.
Wow Mahna Mahna, those pattern sites are great! I’m going to start poking around there…
[hijack]Those sites are addictive! I found the pattern for the prom dress I made in 1978:
http://www.lanetzliving.net/inc/sdetail/75522
I added ruffles and ribbons around the tiers.
Forget the dress!
I’d love to have what’s underneath;)
Please don’t blame me if you suddenly find yourself snatching up patterns for gorgeous formal dresses that you’ll never have any reason to wear, let alone sew up. It’s about the possibility of being able to, should the right occasion come along.
In fact, I just snagged this one while browsing for possible matches for your dress.
(Yes, I’m fully aware I have a problem, but at least it’s still cheaper than say… crack.)