I have that pattern, have made it up and I wore the dress until it became shabby.
I used a cotton sateen with a tiny bit of stretch in it which eventually lost its stretch and the dress needed to be taken in at the sides, but by then the fabric was also beginning to fade and it ended up in the bin.
The neckline is big enough not to need a zip, so I just sewed the CB seam closed. It went straight over my head without any problem. As is my wont with a lot of dress patterns I added a couple of inches of flare to all the vertical seams (except CB) tapering to nothing at the waist.
I was pleased with it and might well make it again some day.