Sew by You Shirt: wearable muslin

I was not too happy with the white top I made from the Vogue-5-piece-pattern (V2976), a bit too low cut for my taste, plus the breast dart is not placed entirely right.
So here is my wearable muslin for the Shirt from Sew You, made in the same white poly/cotton poplin. I'm really happy with this top.

Pattern Description:
from Wendy Mullin's "Sew U" book, the basic shirt pattern. The first one I made is this: no sleeves, no collar, no vertical darts, added a self-belt, one belt-loop on each side, neck and arm holes bound with self-bias tape.


Pattern Sizing:
S, M, L, XL - I think I used size XL.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
there were only technical drawings in the book for this variation, so it's hard to say.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like the many ways you can vary this pattern into different styles.

Fabric Used:
white poly/cotton poplin. It looks and feels rather utilitarian, and is, I think, the wrong choice of fabric for the style I chose.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
no alterations. Left off the sleeves, the collar, and the vertical darts.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I am definitely going to sew this again. And I would highly recommend both the pattern and the book to any other beginning self-taught sewer.
-- caveat: the book has most instructions needed to assemble the projects. For the shirt, it was ok, though. The one thing the book does not tell you, is how to make beltloops. It just says to add belt loops. Anyway, so I just used my trusted Burda book.

Conclusion:
I'm not soo happy with how this came out. The combination of the rather stiff poly/cotton poplin and the clean lines make this look very much like a hospital work garment. I plan on adding something frilly looking white to the top, between the neck opening and the shoulder (maybe around the neck opening). Let's see what they have at the haberdashery.
-- ok, so I settled for two add-ons:
1) added elastic to both shoulders: sewed it stretched under the shoulder seams, so they are gathered by about an inch
2) added two iron-on roses, white

With both these added, I am really happy with the finished product.