In this article you'll find lots of great tips and ideas on how you can create your own mermaid costume for your next fancy dress party. Whether it's a sexy siren dress for yourself or a cute little mermaid costume for your little daughter. Whether you can sew or you're a glue gun expert, there's something for all skill levels. Just have a read through and get some inspiration. Enjoy.
Personality:
Before you start making a mermaid costume, why not take a minute and think about what kind of mermaid you want to be?
Mermaids come in many kinds. Some turn into humans with legs when out of the water. Some need magic to do this and some mermaids that can perform magic themselves. Some are kind and some are evil sea witches. There's the enchanting siren luring sailors to their doom and the nice mermaid showing the local fisherman the best fishing grounds. Or there's the scary mermaid pulling everyone into the deep who dares to swim in their waters.
The point of dressing up is to become someone different, to take on the role of another character. The more familiar you are with this character, the more fun it will be. Once you decide on the personality of your mermaid, picking the right accessories and make-up will be much easier.
I recommend having a look at mermaid costumes or mermaid pictures as well. You might get some more inspiration for your own mermaid outfit.
The Fabric:
For the material you should decide on colors like blue, green, blue-green or purple as well as turquoise, browns and flashes of gold. Shimmery, shiny fabric like silk or satin always looks beautiful and "fishy". Sequined material gives the impression of scales.
The Top:
For this you can use a two-piece or one-piece bathing suit although even a short tank top can look very nice. You can decorate your top with seashells, a fishing net or other oceanic treasures. I trust your judgment in not gluing fresh seafood on yourself, but rather find some good imitations in a deco shop or a dollar store. It's great if your bra is already glittery or sequined but you can also cut out seashell or starfish shaped patterns from the fabric you use and sew them onto your cups. Or, if you're up for a little more work you can embellish it yourself with sequins, or rhinestones. If you dare you can also buy two fake seashells and make your own bra with some string.
The Tail:
The most important and most challenging part of making your mermaid costume is the tail. Here are some ideas: The easiest way would probably be to start with a straight skirt and add some extra fabric on either side at the bottom to create the shape of tail fins.
Another design is to make a tail extension that hangs down from the back of your skirt. It is a good idea to add a sleeve or loop at the and of the tail, which you can slip your wrist through when walking. This way the tail will not drag across the floor and no one will step on it.
A third idea I found, and which might be particularly good for children, is to have a broad skirt like a tutu and sew a tail shaped pattern on top of it. The skirt will be the the water or a rock, so you need to choose the appropriate material.
Even if you have no sewing experience at all you can make a short skirt yourself by wrapping the fabric of your choice tightly around your thighs and tucking the end into the back. With a basting stitch (simply Google basting stitch and you will know how it's done) sew another piece of (tail shaped) material to the top of your skirt and down to your knees letting it hang down on the ground.
It's not hard and you will find many ways to improve this garment. Once you have the basic shape it's all about adding detail like you did with the top. You can glue and stitch sequins on it or sew on more fins on the back and the sides. If you're good at sewing you can experiment with gathering stitches to create some kind of tail texture.
The Make-Up:
This again depends on your type of mermaid.
I would suggest light make up, a pale skin tone, watery colors. It's a nice idea to glue some sequins on your cheeks to mimic scales or put on some glitter give a wet effect. If you want to go more costumey, you can also paint a starfish on your cheek. Silver, grey, dark blue and green are again the colors of choice for eye shadow. And did you know there is mood nail polish? It changes color depending on your body temperature as long as you wear it. I think that might be a very mermaid thing to do. Another great idea is wearing contacts. Something bright that gives you a mystical look.
The Hair:
Long hair is a must of course. If yours is short, you might want to consider a wig. It doesn't have to be red, unless you want to be Disney's Little Mermaid Ariel. Any color will do, even turquoise, green or blue.
Have you thought about dread locks to mimic salt encrusted hair?
Accessories:
Depending on your type of mermaid you could carry a scepter, a wand or even a trident. Or how about a conch shell or a treasure chest instead of a purse? Hawaiian leis are a great addition and ocean themed accessories like a seashell hair clip with matching bracelets and earrings or a seashell-covered tiara. A simple pearl necklace also happens to be an oceanic accessory. Additionally you could get fake seaweed at the pet store and tangle it up in your hair. You can decorate sandals with seashells but if you're inside and you think it's save, the mermaid thing to do is, of course, to walk barefoot.
I hope this helped a little and at least you have some idea what you want to do with your mermaid costume now. I wish you tons of fun working on it. Remember you will look fantastic when it's done!
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