Inspired by: The little mermaid

If you were expecting the movie as inspiration I have to disappoint you. This about the original fairy tale which to me is very interesting and inspiring. I find the mermaid's motivations so powerful and touching that it almost always makes me cry a bit.

Our story begins under the sea in the kingdom of merfolk where these longlived beings play and swim and so on. The king has six daugthers who are taken care by his mother as the king has widowed many years ago.

The youngest of them is strange, thoughtful child yearning to see the wonders beyond the come her fifteenth year. For when a mermaid turns fifteen she is allowed to go up to see the fragrant flowers, birds and even humans.  And after a long wait it's finally her turn.

To adorn her to her trip to the surface her dear grandmother puts a wreath of white lilies on her head (each petal is a half of pearl) and orders eight great oysters to attach themselves to the young princesses tail as a mark of her high rank. 

To show these of on a lolita coordinate I chose a dress that reminds me of the sea. Of course a flower crown was a must to harken the crown in the story. Other than that I added shell themed accessories and pearls to show of her status as a princess of the sea.

During her first visit to the surface she sees a handsome prince having  party aboard a ship. She can not take her eyes of him nor she can leave the ship. And then a shipwreck accures. The prince is thrown to te ocean and the mermaid admiring his beauty saves him carrying him to white sanded shore where he is found by novises of a convent. The mermaid of course swims back to the ocean still unable to forget making her more silent than ever.

Her sisters worried about her condition which is worsening find out where the prince lives and take her to see him. This only makes it worse as she begins to love humans more and more. Finally her curiosity about them wins and she goes to her grandmother asking:

"Can humans live forever?"

"They must die as we do, but their lives a shorter. We live to three hundred years and then turn into the foam on the surface of the sea never missing our loved ones. We have not immortal souls like humans do.When a human dies they go to the glorious air beyond the stars to a place we will never see."

The little mermaid is distraught. Why could she not have an immortal soul? She'd rather give up her hundreds of years and live a day as human just to know what's beyond the stars. But the only way she can have a soul is if a man loves her more than his mother or father and takes her hand in marriage giving her half his soul. But this can never be, says the grand mother as she is a mermaid.

And she goes to the witch. She gets a potion to make her a human but it comes with great pain. Every step she takes is filled with pain which no one will she as she moves with the lightness of a dancer. And if the prince should not love her and take another as his wife, the mermaids heart shall break and she will turn into sea foam. As payment the witch takes her voice, as it is the sweetest in the sea.

And so she becomes a human. Prince finds her and takes her to his palace where she is clad in silk and satin.

The royal favorite by mimielizabetha featuring wall mounted mirrors

I chose dark red velvet as it is a royal colour and added a jeweled headband as reminder of tiara she craves to wear as his bride.

She is the most graceful of the prince's companions soon becoming most dear to him. But he cannot love her as a maiden from the temple lives in his heart. And soon he must marry.

A princess of the neighbouring kingdom is chosen and so he sails taking the mermaid with him. But alas the princess is the maiden from the temple! The prince is overjoyed but the mermaids heart is already breaking. The wedding goes on the mermaid holding the brides veil as they swear their oaths. She dances pain piercing her feet again and again but she cares not for the pain in her heart is greater.

That night her sisters, their hair shaved of come and offer her a knife enchanted by the sea witch. Should she kill the prince, she could return to the sea as a mermaid. If not she will be foam on the surface of the water. But she can not.

She flungs herself to the sea fully expecting to turn into foam. But her kindness is rewarded and a chance to win a soul is given.She is now a daughter of the air and as one has the chance to earn a soul by doing good deeds.

Daughter of air by mimielizabetha featuring anklet jewelry

For a daugther of air I chose a dress with a star print as they hope to find their way to the kingdom beyond stars. She wears a winged necklace as symbol of the soul she is trying to get and a crown to tell about her divine devotion.

For three hundred years she will do good deeds and then the kingdom beyond stars will be open for her.

So this was... different. Do you dear readers like this style or was this way too long? Please share in the comments and do tell if this fairytale inspires you as well.

Mademoiselle Parapluie

PS: If you wish to read the original tale here is an English translation.