Tuesday, June 19, 2012

A mermaid's tale

Bear with me, because this is a long story...

I was probably about 12 or 13 years-old when I got a book called "La sirena perdida" (The lost mermaid).  It was not a book you read from begining to end, but a book in which you get to choose your own adventure by taking decisions and turning to a specific page to continue the story. 

Book "La sirena perdida"
Anyway, I got to meet a mermaid named Tana, and she and I spent a lot of adventures together, some ending better than others, but all of them exciting.  I was frustrated that nowhere in the book was an ending in which I got a tail and ended up living in the ocean with her.  I wanted to be a mermaid. My mom sewed for me a pair of wool tights, so I got my own rustic mermaid tail, and I always put it on while reading the book.  We did not have then, or now, a culture of mermaids for little girls in Spain, so there was nowhere I could acquire bedsheets, or accesories to transform my room into a mermaid cave.  Oh well... I had my imagination, right?

A few weeks ago, I don't even know what I was doing, I ended up in YouTube, watching videos of people swimming in mermaid tails (I assumed they were neoprene or some kind of latex).  I was completely mesmerized by them, and I was like "Oh my gosh, you can buy those tails?!".  It did not took me long to find the maker's website, and my goodness, what an amazing work.  But I was completely crushed when I looked at the prices.  "Well", I thought, "maybe some day, when I am rich..."

But then it ocurred to me that maybe some other people sold mermaid tails too, so I found this website with a list of vendors.  I visited them all, but only one got my attention as potential customer: MagicTail.  The tails came in a variety of colors and sizes, were affordable, and you could actually swim with them because a monofin was included.  I loved the fact that the fabric was printed as if it had scales.  I wondered if I would find YouTube videos of these tails in action or reviews, so there I went.  And yes, I found them.  Everybody that had one seemed very happy with it, so after several days of consideration, I decided to gift myself one for the good grades I got in my lab tech course.

Two weeks later the tail has arrived, and I am in awe!  Here are some pics of it:

It came with matching top and bikini bottom

Detail of the fluke
Detail of the waist
Isn't the fabric amazing?
I could not wait to open it, and yes, even try it on!  The top does not fit me (I was not expecting it to); even though it's an XL, it said in the website "up to C cup".  The bikini bottom fits like a glove and does not move.  The tail is swimsuit-like fabric (maybe lycra?), and it is very soft.  The monofin is on the fluke, covered by a protector so it does not rip the fabric.  The monofin fits snuggly, but I could adjust it to my feet without trouble.  There is no risk of it loosing the gripe while swimming.  And it's very floppy!  The tail is stretchy, and goes up to my waist perfectly, and as it says in the commercial "it fits like a second skin".  The tail is hot while wearing it on land, but I guess that will be OK in water.  I will not be able to try it in the water until next month, but I'll let you know as soon as I do.  I am so looking forward to it!

Regarding the MagicTail website, it's very easy to open an account and place an order, and you can choose to have the page translated into English from German.  I paid with PayPal, so no troubles there. It took them a week to ship my tail, and they sent me an e-mail when they did.  I got the tail one week later, in perfect condition, excellently packaged and protected. 
When perusing the page for colors, I found a gold and orange tail called "H2O", which I found out was for fans of an Australian TV series that features 3 mermaids (which I have never seen).  Researching tails, I found that the tails used in the show cost 20K each.  For people with not a lot of money to spare I think MagicTails are great, specially after seeing the prices of silicone and latex tails, which are not affordable to most people. 
These tails are a good investment for anyone loving mermaids, small or grown-up, and I would recommend them to anyone looking to buy a mermaid tail.  Maybe I should buy now an H2O locket, which are gorgeous too?

In any case, I should go and read again "La sirena perdida".  Now with a real mermaid tail to put on!!

2 comments:

Rachel said...

Ahhh I used to love the Choose your own adventure books as a kid, saw one about a mermaid though.

I can't believe you've got a mermaid tail, that is so cool! I hope you have fun trying it out. :-)

Kaleidoskopic Romance said...

Hey Rachel!
Weren't those books fun? I wonder if they are still being printed, I would love to buy some more...
I know that the editorial that printed my book does not exist anymore. I searched for the books, but they are only available through private purchase between collectors :(

Thanks, I still cannot believe it :D
I wonder what will people say at the beach. Spaniards are not keen on doing things like going to swim on a tail in public...