Leopard zebra peacock?

I'm not sure what animal this print is supposed to represent but I really love this dress. I'm a bit wary of animal prints usually. Please don't send me hate mail, but there can be something tragically woman-of-a-certain-age-trying-desperately-to-look-sexy about these safari print knits. If I hadn't already been enough afraid of hitting this note, I recently attended a fiftieth birthday party where the dance floor was a sea of poorly fitting, cheap looking, and decidedly unflattering leopard.  I'm fearful of looking like an aging, sad cliche. That said, I do think I look great in this dress. I just won't wear it anywhere there is likely to be a troupe of older women also wearing leopard.

I'm wearing this tonight to the Holiday Hat Show at Fino Fino. I'm hoping to meet the milliner, DeAnna Gibbons, who is supposed to be attending this event tonight. I own two of her hats- this little military cap, and my favorite, this feathered beret. Both of these hats are whimsical but still easily wearable, exactly what I'm always hoping for in my clothing. I even love the label DeAnna uses in her hats- its a printed label that looks like it's pinned into the hat. So cute.

After the hat show Chris and I are headed to a Barbara Stanwyck double feature at the Stanford Theater.  I used to work up the street from this amazing movie theater and I would often go see movies by myself after work. At the time I was dating someone whose idea of a great old movie was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Now I'm married to someone who loves the Stanford Theater as much as I do, and is willing to drive more than a hundred miles to get there. I sure did get lucky!

The coat is a thrift store find. It's black suede with a fur collar. I think it's very fun but the black suede rubs off on your hands if you're not careful (well, actually, even if you are careful) and so at some point in the evening, when you think you are the picture of vintage sophistication, you actually look like a messy child who has been finger painting. I think this problem might go away if I had the coat professionally cleaned. I was waiting to be sure that it was something I would really wear before I put money into cleaning it. This will be it's third outing so I think it's a keeper and deserves to be cared for properly.

Edit (12/06): I just belatedly linked this post to Trending Though The Decades at Silverstyle on the recommendation of a commenter. Great tip. Lots of fun fur.

Chris said the teal gloves "don't make any sense" unless you can see the dress. I don't agree but it's an excuse to post another photo. 

He also said, "A ring on the outside of your gloves? Who does that?"  My answer?  "I do that. That's all you need to know. Who cares who else does it?" He remains unconvinced.