Sensual Homemade Mermaid Costume

Hey guys!

My name is Nichole and I have always dreamed of being a mermaid. Every since I was little I have been fascinated with the idea of these beautiful creatures under the sea. I spent the last few Halloweens searching for a good mermaid costume, but came up empty handed every year. They were all so cheesy and not very sexy at all! I finally decided to try and create one myself.

The top was quite simple to do. I found a good, nude colored strapless bra and sewed a foam seashell onto each cup (purchased on eBay); you know the kind you buy for a luau that comes with a string. The most difficult part was coloring the shells. I used colored pencils. *NOTE: any type of paint or marker ruins these shells! So this took a bit of time and effort. After that was done I hot glued and sewed pearls onto the top and sprayed the whole top with glitter.

Now onto the tail! I went to Wal-Mart and looked for the most suitable mermaid material I could find. I found a sparkly fabric and some matching tulle. Try to find translucent materials to get that fish look. This is where it got difficult. I wrapped the material around my waist and used sewing pins to mark where to cut. At this point there was no way to take the material off without taking out the pins. So here I am hopping around the house in this material and a pajama top! I received many laughs from the family…. I ended up sewing the material while I was wearing it. It’s not a perfect sew, but it works. Thank goodness the material ended up being a bit stretchy once I had it sewed. I then took squares of the tulle and grabbed them from the middle to create the fin shape. Then I ironed them a bit to get them to drape. I hot glued these all around the bottom of the skirt. Believe it or not, I am able to walk in this skirt and even wore heels! Just don’t try to sit on a bar stool that is bar height as you will look like a fish out of water. =)

Overall, the steps were pretty simple, but the execution was not. I believe it took me around 3 to 4 weeks to complete the look. I topped it off with scales on my face and stomach which I created using the tights with the holes all in them. I placed it over my head and patted different colored eye shadow over the holes and viola scales! (This was another great moment for my husband to walk in on ha-ha). Make sure you are very careful when taking the tights off so you do not smudge them. The included pictures were taken in my backyard with a tripod and timer. I had to push the botton, waddle to the log and proceed to pose in a few seconds! They have not been Photoshoped (other than cropping) and were taken with natural lighting.

Thanks for viewing!