by Kenneth Grahame is one of those classics that you know even if you've never read the book. Disney's animated retelling, which is honestly one of their truest-to-the-original-source-material retellings ever, is largely responsible that. But this classic children's tale, created by Grahame originally for his own children's bedtime stories (very similar to A. A. Milne and the residents of Hundred Acre Wood), is a rollicking look at British upper society and life on the idyllic Thames all told through the lives of several anthropomorphized animals. For this Book Style, I wanted to draw in as many of the main characters as possible, while still creating a wearable outfit appropriate for an afternoon on the Thames. I started with a "Willow Willow" faux wrap dress and a blazer reminiscent of the boating stripe blazers worn by old school rowing teams. A pair of "Thames" booties keep the outfit from being too casual, but the chunky heels won't prove problematic on a river bank or country road. The accessories and jewelry mostly all reference a main character in the story:
Toad: Toad brooch made from a real page of the book and handcuff earrings for his inevitable imprisonment.
Ratty: That adorable rat/mouse ring. (Incidentally, the character of Ratty is actually a water vole... "The More You Know!")
Mole: The little, wooden mole brooch.
Badger: The Badger tote bag.
Weasels: The weasel skull necklace.The only item that isn't character specific is the bracelet set which is made of rolled pages of the actual book. And I topped everything off with Butter London's "British Racing Green" nail lacquer because Toad and motorcars cause a lot of problems.
