I’ve never been one who is big on animal prints. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my zebra striped purse and don’t mind a leopard print shoe now and again for a pop of something different. But, I don’t go weak in the knees over an animal print wiggle dress the way I know some people do. It’s never had that effect on me…
Until This Cape. THIS CAPE.
Soft and comforting, lined in a blush satin and roaring in all the right places, this vintage cape converted me to animal prints with the quick flick of a grosgrain ribbon. Although not in my usual style repertoire, I thought no better time to break out of my animal print comfort zone a little than on the eve of a new year (in the Calendar of Me): My Birthday!
I know people have mixed feelings about their birthday. Some cringe when it starts to walk up the path to their front door, hating the idea of leaving behind their youth. I find people are particularly sensitive about those milestone birthdays – the threshold from your 20’s to your 30’s always seems to fill people with dread. But I have a secret:
I freakin’ LOVE my 30’s.
Though I crossed that particular threshold a few birthdays ago now, I hope to share my wisdom with those who may be coming close to the 20’s/30’s barrier with trepidation. You’re 30’s are awesome. I far prefer them to my 20’s (though this statement is often met with shock and awe). Don’t get me wrong, my 20’s were amazing – I’d graduated college, took a huge leap and moved across the world to have an amazing adventure living in New Zealand, and scored a PhD. I started to form who I was in terms of the music I liked, my personal style, and started to build towards the life I wanted. But it was also a period of dating the wrong guy(s), of having endless financial uncertainty (to pay my phone bill or buy food?), and smugly feeling like you knew everything only to be proven wrong. Now, firmly ensconced in my 30’s, I feel very comfortable in my own skin. I finally realized what I wanted in a relationship and went for it. Though financial woes never really go away, I don’t have the day to day stresses and actually earn a paycheck and know my bills will be paid each month with that paycheck (in addition to a new vintage dress or two). And I am very happy and content in the knowledge that I really don’t know anything. And that’s the fun part.
Your 30’s are the time when you really come into your own. Where you are no longer trying to impress anyone else or be someone you’re not. Where you look back and shake your head at 20-year-old you’s naiveté (though you aren’t mad at her for it – she was in her 20’s after all).
So, secure in turning another year older, I’m pretty excited that my birthday has come ’round the mountain again and I plan to greet it in style. Like this lush vintage cape, I’ve been saving this Word from the Bird dress for a special occasion, and tomorrow is definitely it (I clearly have a thing for blue on my birthday, evidenced by last year’s birthday frock). The Mister is taking me to one of my absolute favorite restaurants – Galileo – in addition to awesome Italian food, they make the best martini’s in the city.
So, I plan to slip on my rhinestone studded heels, take the hand of my beloved, and run towards yet another birthday with open arms. Excited to see what ‘one year wiser’ means to me this year…
xoxo
Outfit Details:
Dress: Word from the Bird (similar modern or vintage here, here & here)
Cape: Sophistihat (similar here & here)
Necklace: Vintage (similar)
Belt: Alannah Hill (similar)
Handbag: Olga Berg, Gift from my mister (similar here & here)
Shoes: Pulp (similar here & here)
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