The Boy on the Bridge-Inspired Look

Yesterday I reviewed the book The Boy on the Bridge by Natalie Standiford.  Something that I really enjoyed from this book (and from Russian culture, in general) was Alyosha's nesting dolls.  He painted a nesting doll to look like Laura and I thought that was just adorable.  And let's be honest, a nesting doll outfit would be much cuter than an outfit with a giant coat for the cold Russian weather.

Nesting dolls are pretty iconic--they're very recognizable and pretty standard in their look, so I decided to design an outfit for this book based off of nesting dolls.  So, as a reminder, here are some typical nesting dolls:

 

One thing you tend to notice on most nesting dolls is that they have a floral design and a shawl.  So keeping that in mind, plus the fact that Laura liked to look good for Alyosha in the book, here is my outfit:

Ok, so let me explain what I've done:

• The dress (AX Paris Floral Belted Skater Dress for around $33) is floral and feminine.  The floral pattern really draws you in more than the black background, and that's exactly what I wanted.
• I chose a complimentary-colored shawl that could be worn around the shoulders.  I didn't want to choose a shawl to be worn around the head since that is not very common, so this was a nice compromise.  I picked cashmere in this particular shawl since poor Laura is cold in most of the book and deserves some soft fabric--this is a Semon Cashmere Lacy Shawl and retails around $390.
• The black sandals (Steve madden Daisey, $70) are sweet but definitely don't take attention away from the dress.
• I grew up in the 80s and remember my mom always having silver and gold hoop earrings.  So I chose some gold hoops as the staple earrings for this look.  They're Kenneth Jay Lane hoops and retail for $53.

So what do you think?  Do you see the connection to the nesting dolls?

I'll be back Monday with a new book review!  Have a safe and cold weekend!