26 Days to Go: Mercura NYC Copycat

Sep 20, 2012 | 24 Comments

Just because summer is technically over as of today doesn’t mean we can’t still channel those summer vibes!  I found these amazing Mercura NYC shades in an issue of Marie Claire a bunch of months back and I knew I had to recreate!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Mercura NYC Copycat

Mercura NYC Copycat

Beachy shades come fall?  Totally bring it.

I began with a pair of plastic Wayfarer-esque shades I picked up at SXSW when I was there in March.  Free shades courtesy of YouTube are now becoming the main component of this copycat!

I popped out the lenses to avoid getting paint on the frames when I begin to change their color…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Plastic Wayfarers

Plastic Wayfarers from SXSW!!

…gathered my sealife beads…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Beach Scene Beads

Beach Scene Beads! (I found all these guys on eBay!)

…and started crafting!

To match the metallic nature of the original shades, I grabbed some Krylon Brushed Metallic Spray Paint in Caramel Latté and sprayed the starfish, the tiny dolphins, and the glasses frames themselves!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Stars & Dolphins

Stars & Dolphins

I wanted to give the shades some color texture, so I sprayed the shell beads with Krylon’s Metallic Spray Paint in Copper Metallic just to adjust the metallic color palette.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Krylon Paint Party

Krylon Paint Party!!

With my beads all sprayed…

New Dress A Day - DIY - All Painted!

All Painted!

…I let them dry and thought about placement on the frames.

New Dress A Day - DIY - All Dry!

All Dry!

I popped the lenses back in the glasses…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Lens Poppin!

Lens Poppin!

…grabbed my E6000 glue…

New Dress A Day - DIY - E6000

E6000 Time!

…and started to affix beads to the frames!  I took some creative liberties with these.  Aside from painting the frames gold instead of painting them black, I didn’t want to completely cover all the open space on the frames.  I thought for my taste and style, keeping the bead-work solely at the top of the shades would work best.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Glue Down!

Glue Down!

I added my starfish, dolphins, and shells, let the frames dry, and then took them for a test drive!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Finished Sunnies!

Finished Sunnies!

I LOVE these glasses!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - BW Shades

BW Shades!

Chic without going overboard, no pun intended :)

New Dress A Day - DIY - After Glasses

Beachy shades!

With a little bit of spray paint, some plastic shades, and cheap plastic beads, I have a fun pair of sunnies that rival the $425 inspiration pair!

Happy Weekend Friends!

In all · Copy Cat
  • Anthea

    So fun! =) Just might try this before summer hits over here in Manila.

    Nice dress =) is that one up-cycled too?

    • newdressaday

      Agreed!! The dress wasn’t upcycled, but I scored it for $2 at a garage sale. It fit like a glove without any sewing necessary!

  • Fahriye Tuğba S

    so cute, i like it :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=714924743 Kelly Cary Davis

    I like yours with the decorations just across the top better than the original

  • http://www.shanniloves.blogspot.com/ ShanniLoves…

    yours are so much better than the others.

    • newdressaday

      Thanks Shanni!! They’re a little more my speed…I don’t think I could get away wearing the originals!!

  • AmyLynn98

    Yep, those rock!

  • http://foryourtastebudsonly.blogspot.com/ Roxanne

    I was hoping you wouldn’t do all the way around… Those look great! Now go sun-tanning!

    • newdressaday

      Seriously! I need a little natural sun…have been taking Vitamin D supplements to assist with my lack of sun getting :)

  • Keenzi

    As usual, better than the original! (P.S. Hope you saw my reply this morning that my comment yesterday was in no way referencing your slip showing!) : )

    • newdressaday

      Ha totally Miss K :) xo

  • http://twitter.com/MunchTalks Jasanna

    Cute!! I love these! They *are* so much better than the original. :)

  • shylomicorizon

    Wow! And just think of the possibilities! Since you see so much sun I’ll bet you can make some Holiday ones too, Christmas beads will be easy to find!

    • newdressaday

      Holiday shades, here we come!!!

  • Sarah_H.

    Like everyone else, I am so glad you kept the action at the top only. But it got me thinking about other “theme” glasses. How about ones with a fall theme, or dogs, or horses, or sewing paraphernalia? Possibly to cutsy, but I can’t help thinkin’.

    • newdressaday

      I’m obsessed with these “theme” glasses too…there will definitely be more to come!!

  • Judy B

    Very cute! The originals are a bit TOO much–kind of Lady Gaga-ish. I love Lady Gaga, but I wouldn’t want to dress like her on an every-day basis! Your copycats, OTOH, could be worn by a ‘normal’ person without looking bizarre.

    • newdressaday

      Yes!! I love me some Gaga but I cannot pull that look off. Halloween, that’s a different story, but I can wear these all the time :)

  • Christie

    oh my goodness, how cute. I would love to see someone walking down the street wearing this!

  • Linda

    So pretty!!! I love the final result.

  • Pratima

    How adorable! I LOVE it! :)

  • Tori Benick

    I like these even better than the original! Nice work :)

  • LT

    Soooooo much better than the original.

  • Lovestosew

    I think I like your’s better than the designer pair. You should do a pair of your rubber flip flops. I see you wear them often, in your pics. I think they need some umph…