Vancouver mom sells mermaid tails ready for swimming

Inspired by her daughters' love of mermais, Vancouver mom Monika Naumann launched a website to sell custom-made mermaid tails fit for swimming in. (3-fins.com)

It's a scientific fact that you won't find actual mermaids captivating besotted captains on the seas -- but that doesn't mean you can't become one yourself.

A Vancouver mom has taken her daughters' love of mermaids and turned it into a business, producing custom-made mermaid tails you can actually take into the pool for a swim, according to the Huffington Post.

Monika Naumann sells "tailor made, durable and 100 per cent functional mermaid tails" at her website 3-fins.com. Inspired by her daughters' love of mermaids, she opened the online store in January.

3-fins sells mermaid tails made out of bathing suit material, with flippers forming a fin at the end, to complete the visual of the legendary sea sirens. Each fin takes about three days to make, and costs $250 plus shipping.

The fins come in a variety of colours with the option of solid shades or shimmering, striped versions.

Speaking with MSNBC's Today, Naumann says that her mermaid tails can appeal to adults as well as kids who want to play Ariel or King Triton. "They help you get a great workout and can have you swimming faster than you can imagine in the ocean," she said.

Naumann told Today that anyone comfortable swimming in regular gear should be able to adjust to the tail that binds both legs after a bit of practice, but still advises against children younger than the age of seven from attempting it.

If Naumann's gleaming tails don't fit your sense of underwater fashion, Australian website Oceanika sells eco-friendly Mer-Fins made with recycled rubber. The site promises that the fins "will give you the speed and agility of any fish in the ocean," and although a gills-like breathing apparatus isn't included, it also sells swimsuits in a matching blue-green scaled design.

Would you buy a mermaid tail to use for swimming? Are you fascinated by mermaids, either now or when you were younger? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.


(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)