This story was originally published August 15, 2016.
After years and years (and years) of flower crowns, the music-festival world was due for a new hair accessory du jour. And someone in Australia delivered with the prettiest, dreamiest, mermaid-iest creations we've seen this side of a Disney movie. As Cosmopolitan reports, Chelsea Shiels, a 27 year-old Melbourne-based florist, has quietly been making pearl, seashell, and gemstone-bedazzled crowns for the past few years, before introducing them on Etsy last fall. In the past six weeks, she finally started posting her increasingly elaborate wares to Instagram. "I was scared of people's opinions," she said. "I thought people would think it was dumb to put shells on your head." Um, no. With the rise of everything mermaid (fitness classes, tights, blankets and even hair color), the people have spoken and we’re all fully on board. While Shiels’ initial offerings consisted of minimal, single-tier scallop-shell headbands, more recent designs make beautiful use of crystals, gemstones, gold chains, and beads.
After years and years (and years) of flower crowns, the music-festival world was due for a new hair accessory du jour. And someone in Australia delivered with the prettiest, dreamiest, mermaid-iest creations we've seen this side of a Disney movie. As Cosmopolitan reports, Chelsea Shiels, a 27 year-old Melbourne-based florist, has quietly been making pearl, seashell, and gemstone-bedazzled crowns for the past few years, before introducing them on Etsy last fall. In the past six weeks, she finally started posting her increasingly elaborate wares to Instagram. "I was scared of people's opinions," she said. "I thought people would think it was dumb to put shells on your head." Um, no. With the rise of everything mermaid (fitness classes, tights, blankets and even hair color), the people have spoken and we’re all fully on board. While Shiels’ initial offerings consisted of minimal, single-tier scallop-shell headbands, more recent designs make beautiful use of crystals, gemstones, gold chains, and beads.
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While Shiels certainly isn't the first person to think of this, she is the first to capitalize on it. Currently, her shop is completely sold out of the bespoke creations. Yesterday, the designer offered fellow mermaid wannabes a ray of light, saying, “Hello beautiful soul's [sic] shops pretty much sold out of one of a kind mermaid crowns BUT I will be posting heaps more on THURSDAY and MONDAY.. Then two drops a week from there on in! So excited and greatful [sic] for @instagram posting me this morning, thank you.”
The announcement is a siren song for those of us looking to adopt that mermaid state of mind. We can’t think of a more beautiful way to get your head in the game.