OMG! Ihavethisdress!!! And - I LOVE IT! You are so right - it its the perfect cut for an IT - it somehow manages to create the illusion of narrower shoulders while at the same time putting the emphasis on one or two of our best body parts - shoulders and arms. Inspite of that, I do still feel like a linebacker - but sister, there ain't no piece of clothing out there that's going to make our shoulders and arms look dainty and small. Just a fact of life.
So, I've worn this dress twice in the past 7 or 8 days - both times dressed down - once with sneakers and a long scarf - and once with a long shirt-tailed flannel shirt and black ankle booties. Both times I felt fab - and got lots of compliments! Next time I wear it will be to a Christmas party for our local animal rescue foundation - I'll probably wear some type of dressy heel with it and some blingy jewelry. Later in December I'm also planning to wear it to a friends b-day party and I'm thinking that I'm going to try the Spanx faux leather leggings with it.
Obviously, I think it's a keeper. It looks great on you - you just need to play with the styling and come up with some renditions that feel like you!
Also - we currently have 2 cats who's mom was a Highland Lynx - and their markings are similar to your babies. They have the huge fluffy tails - Lulu's is 18" long - and you can tell that they are not too many generations removed from being "wild-cat" status. They climb, they hunt - anything with fur on it really gets them going (and I'm talking about fake fur) - they howl and growl and carry it around the condo - things like mittens with fur lining. A jacket with a fur hood. An old furry scarf that I used to wear. They love that kind of stuff! They also can jump straight up into the air and land on the top of a door that is standing open and then balance themselves on top of the door. They are crazy funny - and so loving and sweet. We had fostered them, along with their 5 siblings and their momma (yes there were 7 kittens in her litter!) - and decided we just had to keep a couple of them because we couldn't stand to give them all up! (First time - well, actually, 2nd time, we've "failed" at fostering and ended up keeping foster kitten(s). Hey - it happens!