Fabric vs Silicone

[AmbrGlows]

I'm almost certain that my tax refund will be enough for me to get a silicone tail made but I want to make sure it's really going to make a difference in the gigs I get.

I have a fabric tail that I made myself and I've started a second. My concern is that while these tails are great for general swimming I don't know if people would want to hire a mermaid for their party if who doesn't have a professionally made realistic tail.

What are your thoughts? Is a fabric tail good enough or should I spend the money on a silicone tail?

[Mermaid Kassandra]

I know different mermaids who perform with fabric tails and I've never heard of complains from children of their family (I always see all of them really happy and satisfied from their experience), also find on YouTube some videos of the Weeke Watchee mermaids: not long ago all their shows were performed with fabric tails but believe me I've never seen a fabric tail looking so realistic with them!





I don't think that a tail can really make the difference... But, as someone said here, "the mermaid makes the tail" you only need to bring to them the magic of a real mermaid ;)





Anyway you should consider also what you think: do you think that a fabric tail will be enough or you really need a silicone one because you think that there is no other way to perform professionally than having a silicone one?





Moreover I perform in a Fusion Silicone Tail where only the fluke, dorsal and fins are made of silicone the rest is fused together with spandex and children don't have difficulties to believe I'm a real mermaid.


More there are also sequined tails that look really fishy like and they're a bomb! ;)
In addition they're super durable and you won't need to be afraid of sitting on rocks or anywhere you think the tail will be damaged and they're cheaper than silicone ;)





My company is making one and I'm totally mad about it!

If fabric isn't the right choose for you there are lots of alternatives to silicone (I really recommend you the sequined one you won't regret it believe me! )

[Mermaid Fenicia]

All of my tails are made with stretch velvet and kids love them as they feel very soft, dry and wet ;)

[AmbrGlows]

All of my tails are made with stretch velvet and kids love them as they feel very soft, dry and wet ;)
I've thought about making myself a selkie tail using brown stretch velvet for the body & brown spandex over my monofin.

[deepblue]

Don't forget that there are plenty of pro mers who use fabric tails. The one I always think of is Marina Medusirena the Fire Eating Mermaid.

https://www.facebook.com/FireEatingMermaid.Marina
http://www.medusirena.com/



I've thought about making myself a selkie tail using brown stretch velvet for the body & brown spandex over my monofin.

Me, too! Only with a darker shade, or possibly dark grey with black spots like a lot harbor seals you see off of Scotland. :)

[Sherielle]

Hannah Fraser doesn't wear a silicone tail either

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Yes Hannah Fraser's tail are all sequined tails ave they are wonderful piece of art!
And more they look absolutely fishy both in person and in videos or photos!

[Miyu]

My tail is printed spandex, and it's been a hit thus far! I'm also working on a stretch velvet tail, and a faux-suede tail (it's not stretchy, I have to insert panels of stretch fabric to make it swimmable) that I plan on doing some light sequin work on.

There's a lot to be said for a sequinned neoprene tail :)

[AmbrGlows]

I know Hannah & Kariel both have neoprene sequin tails but I don't have a sewing machine that will work on those materials and I don't have the time to hand sew a tail either.

I think the allure of the silicone tails is that they are more realistic in look and touch than fabric tails. I'd love to do events in my area donating most of anything I make to local children's charities and I feel my fabric tail isn't good enough for such events. I think this is mostly because my monofin/fluke are so small compared to my body.

[MermaidMimi]

All of my tails are made with stretch velvet and kids love them as they feel very soft, dry and wet ;)
Cool! I have never seen a mermaid before with a velvet tail! I bet you feel like a seal. :D Very elegant.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

AmbrGlows if you want my company "Mer-tails" sells sequined tails with a special silicone fluke.

We are realizing one of this magnificent tail right now and we posted some sneak peek on our Facebook page go and have a look if you want

www.facebook.com/mermaidkassandra

it will take us only three months to built it and it is cheaper than a silicone tail more at the touch it really feels like a real fish and is completely customizable in shape, size, colors and whatever you can imagine.

And there is so much more to say about it!

If you want and you're interested we can talk about it through mail

MermaidKassandra@gmail.com

[Seraphina Suds]

That sounds amazing, Kassandra!

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Thank you very much indeed Seraphina Suds!



I'll say to the entire community here everything I'm working on since this summer and the "tail making" is one of this endless project.

But I promise I'll tell everything as soon as the Facebook page is ready (we already started taking orders and we need permissions from costumers to publish all the pictures and we also would like someone to write some reviews but it's really hard to manage!).



Thank you again!!

[Seraphina Suds]

I can't wait to see how it turns out!

[AmbrGlows]

AmbrGlows if you want my company "Mer-tails" sells sequined tails with a special silicone fluke.

We are realizing one of this magnificent tail right now and we posted some sneak peek on our Facebook page go and have a look if you want

www.facebook.com/mermaidkassandra

it will take us only three months to built it and it is cheaper than a silicone tail more at the touch it really feels like a real fish and is completely customizable in shape, size, colors and whatever you can imagine.

And there is so much more to say about it!

If you want and you're interested we can talk about it through mail

MermaidKassandra@gmail.com
Thank you. It is something to consider. Cost wise though it may be about that same after shipping & customs and all that is added into the cost.

[Mermaid Kassandra]

I think that maybe the total amount can be quite less than the price of a full silicone tail (so excluding shipping and customs ;) )

Therefore it should still be less than a full silicone tail.

[MermaidBonnie]

Honestly I think silicone is becoming the new standard. I have sequined tails but the problem for the client is that they shed. Aquariums are so volatile they do not want loose sequins in there so they want silicone bc it's safe (no latex ones bc of chemical leaks). I still get clients who hire me in my sequined tail but I'm thankful I have options with my silicone one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mermaid Kassandra]

Mermaid Bonnie I know what you're talking about!
In fact before deciding to offer sequined tails to the public me and my friend experimented a lot to avoid sequins shed from the tail.
Fortunately for us it seems we have a solution for this problem and so we decided to put custom made sequined tails for sale ;)

As for the standard I think it goes in this way because there are lots a tail maker offering silicone tails of almost any price but there is no one (then us the Mer-tails company) that sells them.

You perfectly know that isn't exactly a cake walk to make a sequined tail, plus materials are expensive, it's time demanding (it takes ages to sew more than 8000 sequins one by one), it request particular skills to make it and so on and so forth...

So a silicone tail is easier to have (I'm not saying that everyone buy a silicone tail because can't make a sequined tail for any reason I just explain some of the many reasons why people don't choose a sequined tail instead of a silicone one).

I don't know if I expressed very well what I mean do you can get the point of my thoughts.


Thank you mers I love talking with you about this things ;)