Back in February I went to LondonEdge at Olympia with a load of my blogger gals and had a whale of a time!

Whilst there I had a lovely chat with the fabulous Alison from Silly Old Sea Dog and she told us all about how she was looking at progressing her business, whilst taking it in a slightly different direction by using companies to sell her products from.

Now, whilst this was a fantastic move for her, I was a little worried as I had seen a dress on her stand that day, and I had simply fallen in love with it.

I asked Alison about the dress, and whilst she wouldn’t be selling them direct, she could get one made in her factory. Well….it would have been rude to refuse such an offer, wouldn’t it?

I duly placed and order for a dress and matching head wrap and Alison was kind enough to tell me that it would take several weeks due to having to put the orders through a new factory in Scotland, that she was just starting to work with on production.

The production is literally just starting at the new factory in Scotland. This dress will be one of the first to be made, and my dress is the very first custom order ever made! What a special dress it is indeed!

The SOSD site sells dresses from size 6 to 24 currently, however if you email them they are able to produce sizes up to a 28. Ideal for us bigger ladies who like quirky prints and patterns.

I had placed an order for a size 26, as I had bought a previous dress in this size and knew it was a perfect  fit. So, what was it about this particular dress that I had fallen in love with?

It was the print. It was so cute and different from anything I have ever worn (or bought) that It just made me smile. I had a feeling that if I got this dress, I would feel so very happy in it, that it would be a perfect addition to my wardrobe.

Now, at 42, I am probably a little bit old for brightly printed cartoon mermaids, but I genuinely don’t care! I love it and that is all that matters!

So, sitting back to wait for the arrival it seems only prudent to start looking for matching accessories!

Well, again Alison came in very handy here, as she had several sites to recommend that had sea based accessories. Off I went….

As you know, On a previous post I mentioned my love for the SkinnyDip Seashell bag. This will be a perfect match for the dress, and will also be a fabulous addition to an outfit that I am planning for a Vintage ball that is happening in December.

£30.00

I have to get this bag in my life! It is still totally sold out, but I am currently hunting one down…

So… now to accessories! And there are SO many out there at the moment. Both sea themed, and also mermaids in general.

Alison was again instrumental in pointing me in the direction of a couple of companies, as was the lovely Sarah over at Plus Size and Proud and I have unearthed a whole range of wonderfulness! I just need to start saving now so I can get them all!

The first company that I have been looking at is DollyCool on Etsy. She has some amazing items including these really cute Octopus earrings and matching necklace which I think are so adorable.

Based in Manchester, all of her items are lovingly handmade, not mass produced. She illustrates, sews and finishes each and every item herself, and uses sustainable fabrics. Well, you really can’t get much better than that, can you?

Well, actually you can! Her products are amazingly priced! You can get yourself something cute from around £5.40, and the most expensive item is just £22. Well, that’s hardly going to break the bank!

The cute little Octopus character is just so charming! He has such a cute little face, that I find him very hard to resist! I do think he will look gorgeous with any outfit, but especially with my marvellous mermaid.

A couple of her other amazing items are  these beautiful necklaces, the Swallow and the Mermaid – These remind me very much of the “American traditional” style of tattooing, one that I am quite a fan of. They both are classy, yet quirky.

The colours on all of DollyCool’s work are amazing. They really compliment each other, and I know that they are going to stand out when wearing them.

This seahorse is particularly sweet. The muted teal/green that she is painted with really makes her unusual. She will compliment any outfit, and earn herself lots of comments. I am sure that this will be in my treasure trove of accessories very shortly!

Dollycool doesn’t just do sea themed items. She has some seriously cute cupcake items, cactus and even donut cats! Hair bows and wraps in funky vintage patterns also feature quite strongly, so there is something for everyone.

£6.52

The next company I was directed to by Sarah was Cherry Loco – A company based in Glasgow, who currently have an amazing array of goodies, in a range called Beneath The Reef

Now, I have never seen jewellery quite like this. Tentacles, Coral, Scales and even Orca’s are all featured, in a great choice of colours. I know that these will be a perfect match for the dress I plan to wear to the ball, but will also work with my SOSD dress.

My favourite has to be a toss up between the Coral Reef Necklace and Earrings and the Mermaid Shell Necklace.

Although I am quite partial to the Tentacle necklace and the Seahorse too! They really are all just too lovely and I am struggling to choose which one I actually want!

£35.00

All of these products come in a variety of colours – from Black to Pink to Aqua. I know I will struggle to choose which colour I want!

For handmade jewellery, the prices are amazing. The range starts at £14 and goes up to £35 for the really intricate pieces. Even then, I think it is cheap at half the price!

Cherry Loco has a vast array of designs, not just under the sea themed. I am quite taken with the Unicorn range, and also a couple of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” Products.

I don’t think it will be too long, before I am putting items in my shopping cart!

The last company I am going to feature is also on Etsy. Ilovecrafty is a company based in Bristol who make beautiful lasercut and handcrafted items. My favourites have to be the “I’m really a mermaid” range, however there is just so much beautiful stuff on the site, it is hard to choose!

I think the Opal shell necklace and Earring set would be a perfect addition to my dress. They do come in other colours and effects, but this one happens to be my favourite. As my dress is predominantly blue, I think the pop of pink would really suit it.

If I had to chose a second favourite, it would be this Starfish ring and mirror effect Shell earrings. I love the reflective effect of the earrings and I think it would make them stand out more than normal. The ring is just so cute. I don’t tend to wear rings much, apart from a couple of treasured pieces, so this costume jewellery would be a break from the norm.

I was very taken with these two necklaces also. I think it is really different to have the shape of the whole mermaid as the necklace, which is then engraved. Any of these really would work well with my dress and I hope to eventually get a selection of them so I can mix and match.

Some of her other wonderful items that caught my eye is these three. For some reason, flamingoes, pineapples and tropical plants are motifs rife in the pin up world, and these are just so cute. I especially love the chains that make up the legs of the flamingo! A very novel idea indeed.

£18.30

Because of the outfit I am purchasing, my choices here are of course sea related. I literally could have spent hours looking at all the other wonderful offerings from all of these sellers!

There are so many wonderful things out there at the moment, that I am hoping as it is my birthday in 3 weeks, I may just be lucky enough to get a few of these!

What are your favourite pieces? Do you have a favourite seller that has mermaid goodies? Let me know!

Till next time
Tx

*****Thanks to DollyCool, Cherry Loco and Ilovecrafty for the use of their photographs*****

*****All prices are correct at time of publishing*****