Construction Details:

This was my first time making/wearing a corset and dealing with a large hoopskirt. I made a crinoline that goes over the hoop as well.
The skirts were probably the easiest, although most fabric intensive, parts of the costume. The bodice was a huge pain, as I drafted it to be five panels so it could do that star hem. The poofy part of the sleeves were also a pain, as I have never done any slashing before. (They ended up being about eight layers of fabric.)
I hope to put some more work into the shoulders (the pattern I was riffing on wanted me to use elastic, which became not as practical due to the aforementioned eight layers) to keep them staying up a little higher, and the wig, which I would like to style a bit better and maybe continue adding hair to make it thicker.
I might also add more sparkly things.

Personal Thoughts:

I was five when The Little Mermaid came out, and have always loved Ariel, but don't do pink or seashell tops, so my options were limited. Then I started going to Disneyland and found out they were sticking her in a teal dress in the park and a lot of the merchandise, and decided I would make that version. I picked my favorite elements of her pink dress and the wedding dress for the overall design. From there, I just wanted to do something pretty, hence the silk and sequins.
Christa took some amazing photos in the aquarium (no photoshop here; the Georgia Aquarium really is this awesome) and I had a huge blast wearing it. I only wish I'd gotten more photos with my pipe/snarfblatt, because I had to fight for that sucker on ebay.

Styling Notes

Added some wefts from another Fire Red wig for extra thickness, then used a little backcombing, hairspray, and a blowdryer (plus a couple bobby pins) to get the bangs looking right. They've actually held up very well.

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