I first thought of this costume on 2nd November 2008. I wanted something that combined scary, sexy, big and original; mermaids and pirates immediately came to mind. I therefore created this homemade Mermaid Optical Illusion costume.
My upper body was that of a mermaid, and my lower half was that of a pirate. For the pirate body, I got a friend to put on an old shirt and made a duct-tape mould of his torso, which was then stuffed to give the pirate his shape. A dummy hand and a hook were used to make it look as if he was holding up the chest, which was made from a Styrofoam cooler, paper maché and paint. I cut a U-shaped hole, large enough for it to sit around my hips, and an old belt was used to keep it in place. An old backpack was used to keep “Jack the pirate” close to my back all night.
It actually took longer to find all the pieces needed to assemble the costume than to actually put it all together, which took approximately 12 hours over the course of a week.
This costume was a big hit at all of the parties I went to, and even won some prizes!
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Fantastic! I am a personal carer and work with a severely disabled female in Australia. I have been scouring the net for ideas and would love to use this one for her in her wheelchair if you wouldn’t mind??I know she would love it.
BRAVO to all you amazing people with minds so full of imagination.
I would buy it.
Wonderful idea, I’m close to you too! Sell it!
I would like to buy the costume, how much is it?
I would buy this costume also. If you decide to make more and sell, please let me know.
how did you make it, tell me the materials please
This is a wonderful idea and the execution is great. My husband & I are doing an Under the Sea Halloween theme this year. We go all out decorating the whole garage, and I make our costumes to go with the theme. I planned on just being a Mermaid (he’s probably gonna be a Land Shark) but now, I want to come up with something as clever as this! Maybe I’ll do an Octopus instead of the pirate?
Hi Just wondering how easy it is to sit down in this costume? I am going to a party and would love to make this costume but we are having a sit down meal so I need to be able to sit fairly comfortably.
Where did you find the mermaid tail?? And can you elaborate a little about how u attached the tail,and got it to look like it was part of you sitting…..thanks.
This is one of my favorite costumes yet. I’m sure finding a bikini top in KY, in October will be a challenge-lol.