CAN OLD PEOPLE WEAR LEOPARD PRINT?

Why Not?

I began to love leopard print as a young person. It’s kinda surprising because I was a shy kid not wanting to stick out from the crowd back then. I’m pretty sure, however, there has always been a little wild child inside me fighting to get out.

In 1960 when my dad said we were leaving steel mill country, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, for a small, rural town situated in the middle of Ohio cornfields, I was really nervous. On my first day of school, trying to be brave, I dug through one of the moving boxes to find my cool cat, leopard printed Keds. I don’t know what got into me. I don’t think my new cowboy, boot- wearing classmates were impressed with those shoes like I hoped, but at least they didn’t scare off my future husband.

Amazingly, he even stuck with me as my inner child grew more self-confident, wearing my knee- length leopard coat all around town. When we graduated from Upper Sandusky High School in 1964, my husband enlisted in the Army; and I went on to college — with my security coat in tow. My future hubby and I had decided we should date other people during those days so I got the courage to say yes when a college guy asked me out. Oh boy, did I pick a doozie for my first date.

I don’t remember much about the night itself EXCEPT for the cringe moment when the “what a doozie” guy looked over at me in my leopard coat and said, “Oh, I see you like wild things. You know they call my fraternity ‘ Snakes.’ “ — OMG I leaped out of his car faster than a real leopard.

Finally by the time I reached middle age, I had become more self-assured. I loved being a teacher and prom advisor. It was always fun decorating our whole school building for the Jr. - Sr. prom, but there was a lot of pressure on me because Upper Sandusky High School had initiated the very first all-night prom in the nation. It was such big news it was featured in Look magazine on September 14, 1948. I certainly didn’t want to tarnish the tradition in the 1980’s. But — booking bands was really difficult in a small, rural town in the middle of Ohio cornfields.

You can imagine what happened to my leopard loving inner-self when I saw a guy with long, frazzled hair like Alice Cooper, big gold earrings AND tight leopard pants walking up to the school’s front door one day. Honestly, I started having heart palpitations. I was sure I had found the perfect band for our big night. I didn’t even have to interview him — after all, the wild thing was wearing leopard.

There was a problem. Shortly after the dance started, I noticed most of the prom-goers had left the gym and were standing around out in the courtyard. Ah oh!

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“They’re way too loud.”

“Oh, I thought it was suppose to hurt your ears,” I said in a sarcastic tone. “ I’ll tell them to turn it down.”

The kids and I went back into the gym, and I yelled to my leopard idol, “You need to turn it down.”

And he said, “Lady, you don’t just turn down a band like this.” Then he shouted at the kids, “But what would you country hicks know.”

Oh dear! That little girl inside me had grown into a fighter by then.

So the principal and I decided to pay the band extra to leave early before the cowboy boot-wearing students turned the night into some type of big game hunting event.

Here it is nearly forty years later, and I love leopard print — a symbol of strength, confidence and non-conformity — even more. Last weekend Al E. Cat and I had fun being uncaged, promoting Rally in the Alley, our community theatre’s membership drive. It was around the same time an offended person asked “what was wrong with me” after one of my FB posts. I chuckled to myself.

Photo Credit: Daisy Wright

You see, one thing I’ve learned as I’ve aged is — even if you’ve lost some teeth and some muscle in old age, you don’t have to silence your roar because someone else thinks there’s something wrong with you.

You can “wear leopard” at any age.

Be. fierce. Be. An. Individual. Be. Different.

It’ll Be OK.

~~~

“Embrace the weirdness they said. So I hugged a cactus. Turns out, life’s weird, but also painful.” ~ punsaboutpuns