Enchantment Under the Sea – Dress

Enchantment Under the Sea costume complete!

After reviewing some of the different dress designs that I had pinned on my Pinterest board I selected a general style that I thought a) would flatter me, b) would be easy enough to make c) would be reasonably “1950s” feeling, and d) would allow me some ways of inputting the “under the sea” theme into the costume as well. I sort of shifted my idea from an octopus wearing a prom dress, to something a bit more elegant and slightly less costume-y, while still being much more costume-y than I’m sure a lot of other guests will strive for.

Enchantment Under the Sea – Necklace

Necklace for my Enchantment under the Sea costume – dangling clear blue beads on a silver chain

When I was collecting my pin-board for my Enchantment Under the Sea costume, I came across a necklace that I really liked for the concept. Although it doesn’t necessarily say “1950s” I thought it had a watery look to it that appealed to me for the overall costume theme.

Keep reading below and I’ll share how I made it!

Enchantment Under the Sea – Hat

The cocktail hat or fascinator for my “Enchantment Under the Sea” costume.

You’re never fully dressed without a … hat!

I looked at hats from the 1950s and saw they were as diverse as hats today (albeit probably more commonly worn than today..) I opted for a small fascinator/cocktail hat, since it was a “prom” dress costume after all. (Other common options were wide-brimmed hats which seemed less workable). I wanted the hat to look like a nautilus shell curled up, accented with things like starfish, netting, etc..

Enchantment Under the Sea – Gloves

Finished gloves or “hand – fins” for my costume – one shown face up, the other face down.

One of the hardest parts about this costume was the “gloves”. In the costume sketch, I really liked the look – but when I came to drafting the pattern, it got a lot harder to translate that basic sketch into something I could work from.

I wanted a fin-like glove, similar to Miss Tess’s sheer glove (below, from Pinterest) but I wanted my fingers to be free so I wouldn’t have to take the glove off and on in order to sip my drink, nibble on the delicious food I’m anticipating, or to do anything to help out with the party.

Enchantment under the Sea – Ear-Fins

Completed ear fins for my Enchantment Under the Sea costume.

One of the elements I wanted for my Enchantment Under the Sea costume was ear-fins. I saw a few variations on Pinterest (some using wire, some using foam, some using paper) and decided to do mine in wire and fabric, since then I could match them to other elements on the costume which would also be fabric-based.