IAMCHAR, thank you for the advise, I definately see what you are saying with the gather at the front. I am planning on sewing another dress like this for my roommate and I will try cutting the top of the skirt in a W shape and see how that goes.
I love your dress for two reasons: 1. It looks absolutely gorgeous and you did an amazing job on it (oops, two reasons in one) and, 2. Dresses with hidden pockets are the greatest thing EVER!!!!!!!
So after spending what felt like an eternity at the mall today I finally found a dress that I liked but that was a little bit too long than what I was looking for. I decided when I got home to sew a shorter dress based on that one. I had no idea how it was going to turn out until it was done but I am pretty happy with the final dress. Other than an apron that I made a pattern up for, this is my first "from scratch" outfit that I didn't use a pattern for. Comments/criticism are welcome. Thanks for looking!!