For the month of June, I wanted to let myself explore a central theme or aesthetic that would help keep the ball rolling on my creativity. “Mermaid” was a very easy choice for this month because of the summer season and the fact that I went to the beach- the most well-known place for mermaids. With everything going on in my life, I am grateful that I didn’t have to try very hard at all to incorporate some mermaidy things into the month.

I did watch a couple of videos on the origins of mermaid mythology, but I was honestly less interested in their history and more interested in the idea of them: the color themes, music, and different archetypes of the typical saltwater mermaid. I liked thinking about freshwater mermaids, arctic mermaids, etc.

In terms of clothing, however, I did lean towards the traditional saltwater mermaid aesthetic with blues and tropical themes, since I spent time in Destin, Florida at the beginning of the month. I compiled some of the outfits into a lookbook to share with you all, and I also wanted to share the songs that I’d listen to if I were a mermaid with a waterproof mp3 player and headphones!

We spent 3 full days out of our vacation on the beach, so I was in a bikini for longer than I ever have been before! But we went out to eat each night, and that was when I pulled together these simple outfits. On this day, my family and I went to a lot of tourist shops to look around before going out to eat at Joe’s Crab Shack.

I wore a bandeau top from the Dollar Tree of all places. It is a multi-use scarf, head covering, etc. but it was trending a few years ago as a tube top and that is when I got it. The fabric features dark tropical leaves and pink flowers. The leggings are from Old Navy, I got them recently with a gift card so if you just look up wide leg leggings on their website they should pop up easily.

The shoes are platform sandals from the brand Blowfish. My mom and I have matching pairs, I think they are from Shoe Carnival many years ago.

“The Precipice” by Jessie Mazin is a new release, and I listened to it on repeat during the drive to Destin. I especially like one of the first verses of the song, “I’m building worlds so real, I feel it in my bones”. In terms of mermaids, I like this verse because of the imagination that mermaids are created from. The tales of sailors coming back from sea and retelling their sightings of half fish- half woman creatures created a world that could very well be real for those who had never gone out to sea. For those who have heard the stories, they are sure to be on the lookout to mark it in their own reality.

I admit that I was also open to the sight of a mermaid when I looked out to the ocean as much as I was open to a dolphin or sea turtle sighting!

On this day, I went for another more comfortable outfit after a full day baking under the sun and being exfoliated by the sand. The sequined flower tank top is from Shein and is good quality! The shorts are one of my oldest and most favorite pairs, from Old Navy. The belt is thrifted, but the style is very popular still today so you can find the studded belt at a multitude of stores I’d imagine. For shoes, I went with a comfortable option of platform Converse. The golds and blues of the embroidered flowers on the tank top is what gave me mermaid vibes for this outfit.

“10,000 Emerald Pools” is a classic choice for a mermaid-vibe. The lyrics “Dive down deeper, still / All I need is you/ You’re all I need to breathe” make me think of the sirens that lure sailors into the water with their song. Emerald pools instead of a blue color crystal bring me back to being a freshwater trait, since I associate green with algae, lily pads, and the abundance of growth around bodies of freshwater as opposed to salt water and I can easily identify my own mermaid persona in this song.

Since I wore mostly bathing suits or pajamas this month, I really only had two outfits to show. So here is Tori’s beach outfit! Mom got her a little bathing set that also had a bucket hat and doggy towel from Pet Smart. She will wear it to the lake soon, or wear her cooling t-shirt and her life jacket when we go kayaking. She doesn’t mind clothes, but the hat she isn’t the biggest fan of lol. You can see Tori in her bucket hat while I was in Florida in a separate post coming soon…

An all-rounder, “Co-Star” by Amaarae is actually a song I discovered while listening to a mermaid-themed playlist! It instantly scratched something in my brain and I added it to my own Spotify playlists right away. I will say, though, that I did not interpret any of the lyrics until later. It is pretty raunchy, so beware lol. All my brain heard was a good beat and something about water and needing air. I still enjoy the song, so it will stay in my mermaid playlist.

That is all I have for today’s post. All three background images for the “outfits” were taken my me! The embellishments are from Pinterest and I used a free background remover to make them into a sort of virtual sticker on Canva.

I wanted to have at least one other post that reflects the theme of the month, and sharing the only times I dressed in presentable clothes seemed like a great way to incorporate something small and simple. June has flown by in a whirlpool (heh) of emotions while working to continue any sort of movement through my body or my brain. I can’t believe it is almost July.

How has your June been? Let me know, and I will see you all soon.