Coney Island... Mistakes

Coney Island is known for crazy things. It's daring amusement park, the annual hotdog eating contest that is, debatably, the most American event held, and (a lesser known one), it's annual mermaid parade. Every year, people decked out in head-to-toe glitter and clam walk along Surf Avenue, waving to large crowds and putting on a wonderful show. This year, I had the honor of going to see this parade. The outfits were elaborate and the makeup was incredibly decadent.

Of course, my brother and I had to ride a few things in Luna Park itself! Seeing as we were riding rollercoasters and sweating all day, I could have done with and without a couple of the things I brought and wore. Luckily, I'm going to tell you all my mistakes I made for my trip to Coney Island.

Look at that beautiful park...

Okay, so technically, there were no full body shots taken that day. But imagine along with me. One the worst things you can wear on a sunny day when you're outside for a long time is a shirt with cutouts. ANYWHERE. And of course, I decided to wear a shirt with open shoulders. Don't get me wrong, I love this shirt. It's soft, you don't sweat too much, and it's really cute, but it was probably better suited for a shopping excursion than a trip to Coney Island.

Then there's my shorts. Literally nothing wrong with them! I just bought them from Nordstrom on my trip to Florida (petition to open a Nordstrom in NYC please?) and they are festival/carnival/amusement-park perfection! They're stretchy, which is absolutely wonderful for when you're sitting down and getting up a lot. And they aren't too short. I hate when I feel totally self conscious in a pair of shorts because they constantly feel like they are getting shorter and shorter.

Accessories! Mistake number 2 of mine was wearing a bandana in my hair. When you are riding rollercoasters, hair whipping, you don't want to be worrying about your bandana and whether or not it'll fly off your head. Sure, I have in some bobby pins, but I could still feel it coming loose. Never ever wear hair accessories to the amusement park. And my sunglasses! Oh my lord. If you've ever been to Coney Island, you probably know that there's a ride called Wild River (I believe). You basically ride in a fake log down hills flowing with water and it splashes you in the face. That's really fun until you realize that your sunglasses get terrible water stains and you can't clean them because it just worsens the stains. So yeah. I would definitely suggest wearing non-reflective sunglasses.

And, finally, my last mistake, my makeup. Because I was dressing for the mermaid parade and not for a fun day at Coney Island, I put on a lot of makeup. Specifically, eye makeup. I had an attempted cut-crease thing going on, but really, I just had darker purple/pink shades in the crease with lavender glitter on the lid and a LOT of highlighter. Definitely not something you want getting soaked with water, even with setting spray. Naturally, seeing as it was a hot day, I decided to drag my brother on the one ride with water, only to realize halfway through the line that I was wearing extreme amounts of makeup. Not my brightest moment. I ended up having to cover my face while going down the final and largest hill, totally ruining the whole ride. Do not, under any circumstance, wear large amounts of makeup the Coney Island. I would honestly throw on some waterproof mascara, maybe a lipgloss.

Everything I Wore:

Blue & White Off the Shoulder Top ~ Nordstrom ~ Last Season (not available)

Dark Blue Denim Shorts ~ Nordstrom ~ Click here!

White & Black Tennis Shoes ~ Adidas ~ Click here!

Sunglasses ~ H&M ~ Last Season (not available)

Bandana ~ Madewell ~ Click here!

X.O.X.O.,

Audrey Jo