 princesswizard |
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Posts: 139
03/21/10 12:14:39 |
Ladies, have you made your own swimming tops? I am going to try to make mine. I want what Hannah Fraser wears, which looks like cups that just stick on each breast with rhinestones on it...I wonder what material and adhesive is used......any ideas or other ideas? |
| princessrina |
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#1 |
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Posts: 33
03/21/10 13:07:24 |
I have 2 plastic shell tops that I picked up at a discount store in the party section (usually they're with the Hawaiian Luau things) I've worn them to the pool before and they stayed on fairly well. I had to readjust the ties, the one in the middle connecting the 2 shells was way too big for my taste.
As for making your own, I guess you'd want to look into 'pasties'- usually they just cover your essential bits, but you can get bigger ones on Etsy (and other places I'm sure, but I can't think of any off the top of my head) Or perhaps you could cast your own latex ones, like in the mermaid episode of Charmed? That way they'll fit and look the way you want.
For adhesive, I'm tempted to say Spirit Gum. It's a theatrical adhesive that is usually used to glue prosthetics to skin (I have a bottle for my elf ears) It's not water based, and it requires a special remover (although I find you can usually just yank them off- not sure if you'd want to do that on your sensitive bits though!) It may be worth looking into. I can't think of any other glues, but I'm sure there's something else out there.
Hope this helped! |
| Winged Mermaid |
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#2 |
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Posts: 876
03/26/10 12:59:47 |
I have a plastic shell top. It's currently tied with elastic but that needs to be changed as the under water current can make the shells stretch the elastic. So tip: Don't use elastic unless you can secure it well and not have it stretch too much on you. I've heard of people decorating strapless bras although I'm not sure how that handles in the water. Right now I'm experimenting with some net I got from Michael's a year or so ago trying to make a top that will be secure enough that you can swim around and not have to worry about.
I've heard that the pasties work well with spirit gum, although I've heard it takes tubes and tubes of the stuff for every use. Maybe not practical for frequent use but for special gigs or shoots it would look good.
I looked into making a shell bra myself as everyone who has the real shell bras charge about $50, but drilling your own shells is tricky.. if you don't do it just right it breaks the whole thing. There's a special tool for it I believe, and I've also heard that a diamond tipped drill bit works wonders- but if you're not doing a lot of shells it wouldn't really be practical.
As for Hannah, I'm unsure of how she does that. I know that in videos and in some pictures you can see a fishing line or several connecting the shells she has on. Not sure how well any of her tops would work for bigger breasted girls - after all, she's gorgeous but is proportional to her body and being a model her body is very thin. Other pictures the lines are not there but it could be that the photographers edited them out after. Also it could be she sometimes uses adhesive during more professional shoots or when she is dry for most of the shoot. |
| princessrina |
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#3 |
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Posts: 33
03/27/10 11:02:21 |
Since I'm here, I may as well keep talking! 
Winged Mermaid, I would love to see your shell tops, if you decide to make any. Heck, if you found a way to cut costs (read: make less profit than other places) you could sell them online, and I'm sure you'd get a fair amount of business.
I'm personally interested in a starfish-shaped top, but I have no idea where to start. REAL starfish are out of the question. I know that FoxMoon -had- a starfish top at one point but it seems you can't currently order it. It's also out of my price range. Does anyone have any ideas about a do-it-yourself 'starfish-substitute'? |
| princesswizard |
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#4 |
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Posts: 139
04/02/10 07:14:13 |
Thanks fellow mer-ladies! I will keep you abreast of my progress and post pics! If I see any starfish I will let you know too! |
| malinghi |
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#5 |
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Posts: 262
04/02/10 11:39:54 |
I'm pretty sure you can make fake starfish that are flexible out of rubber or silicone, probably though molding. I don't really know much about molding, but this might make a good practice project for anyone learning to work with silicone. Here's a company that makes kits for people interested in molding with silicone:
http://www.smooth-on.com/ |
| green52 |
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#6 |
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Posts: 37
04/11/10 14:52:30 |
You know how they make stick-on type bras that give women support in strapless dresses? Could something like that be cut into a shape and then painted or something? Just brainstorming. |
| Winged Mermaid |
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#7 |
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Posts: 876
04/15/10 19:47:47 |
I've owned such a bra- the original brand is actually Nubra, which I invested the money in. They're good for support in strapless dresses and whatnot where you have material to hold it on, but the adhesive is not strong enough to wear alone, I'm afraid. You also have to be careful in taking care of the adhesive by cleaning your skin before you wear it and cleaning the actual bra every time after wear with mild hand soap and then air drying it- therefore I have a feeling that the chemicals in a pool would ruin the adhesive. :/ Good idea in theory though!
green52 wrote:
You know how they make stick-on type bras that give women support in strapless dresses? Could something like that be cut into a shape and then painted or something? Just brainstorming. |
| bluemermaid |
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#8 |
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Posts: 228
04/20/10 08:36:35 |
I have a real shell top that Mike VanDaal made me. I also use regular swim suit tops, although I think I need to work on customizing them a bit more. I also have an ariel top that Mike made me out of latex. |
| GundamWarrior |
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#9 |
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Posts: 120
04/20/10 09:35:34 |
I had a friend of mine commission a merman vest for me that is swimmable but saddly I have not had the chance to test it out due to the factor my parents misplaced my tails during their recent move back to the US.
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| Winged Mermaid |
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#10 |
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Posts: 876
04/20/10 11:07:50 |
Wow- that looks awesome! Let us know if it works out, and pictures if/when you can, please!
As for the real starfish, if anyone is still interested in finding some, they sell real starfish of several sizes at Michaels, along with big shells that can be used for tops. Fairly cheap too!
GundamWarrior wrote:
I had a friend of mine commission a merman vest for me that is swimmable but saddly I have not had the chance to test it out due to the factor my parents misplaced my tails during their recent move back to the US.
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Would have been nice.
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