15 DIY Costume Ideas for Halloween

Machete

Year after year, Danny Trejo takes home the prize for one of the most horrifying human beings on Earth — we even made a whole list about it. To achieve the deranged, tattooed, biker lost in the desert look we recommend a leather vest, fake tattoos covering your arms, pomade for the greasy hair look, and a helpful friend to rub you up with dirt (the more, the better.) Finish it off with a gnarly thick mustache and as many machetes as you can hang on your body. – Daniela Cabrera

Selena

Pay your tribute to “The Queen of Tex-Mex” arriving at the party with a glittery sexy unitard, wavy black hair with bangs, big red lips and defined eyebrows, while holding the mic close to your mouth while moving your hips and singing “Como la flor” as best as you can. – Kari Estrada

Walter Mercado

On the heels of his recent dating site launch, there’s no better time to dress up as our favorite wizard sorceror astrologer. The best thing about the Walter costume is that it can be unisex, since Walter is, you know, a little androgynous himself. (Look at those luscious lips and that glowing, taut skin). The most important part of a Walter costume is an extravagantly detailed cape and/or coat, preferably one that belonged to an old, fabulous cat lady, a European duchess, or Zorro – whatever works. Next, head over to your abuelas jewelry drawer or thrift shop and grab massive rings with gems and stones, which can also double as a crystal ball for your astrology predictions and fortune telling. Make sure to add a jeweled brooch right in the middle of your collar. Pencil in your eyebrows, blush those cheeks, slather Vaseline all over your face to achieve a waxy look, and you’re done! If you’re really trying to get lucky on Halloween, make sure to wish everyone you encounter “Sobre todo, mucho, mucho amor.” Works every time. – Daniela Cabrera

Vampire Suarez

Here is a list of time’s Uruguay’s polarizing Luis Suarez has gone cannibal-style on his opponents:

• In 2010 he bit a player in the Eredivisie, which earned him a 7-match ban.
  In 2013, he bit Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, which earned him a 10-match ban.
  Last summer, he bit Giorgio Chiellini in Uruguay’s third match of 2014’s World Cup.

At this rate, it’s pretty clear he’s a vampire. To achieve Vampire Suarez look, you need a short black wig (assuming you don’t already have short black hair), some vampire fangs, a soccer ball, and, of course, the Suarez jersey. – Andrea Gompf

Delfín Quishpe

Our favorite Andean-techno-folklore performer dropped the best World Cup track of 2014 over the summer, and his commitment to wearing leather chaps makes him a forever winner in our book. To pull this one off, you’ll need to invest in some white chaps — we recommend checking out Etsy — and be prepared to write “DELFIN” on each pant-leg in giant black lettering. Top it off with a faux-tuxedo tees, a black leather vest, and a white cowboy hat, and you’ve got the look. For maximum accuracy, run around screaming “NO PUEDE SERRRRR NOOOOO!” – Andrea Gompf

90s Gloria Trevi

News broke recently that Gloria Trevi is getting her own reality show, which makes it a good time to delve into some nostagic Gloria Trevi looks for Halloween. (Related: it’s never not a good time to delve into nostalgic Gloria Trevi looks). The 90s roquera was one of Mexico’s most popular pop stars when she became embroiled in one of the more sordid and bizarre sex scandals of the Latino entertainment world. For those of you who don’t remember: at the height of her fame, Trevi and her Svengali manager, Sergio Andrade, were accused of running a sex cult; brainwashing, seducing and then sexually abusing teenage girls as young as 13 who came to them to be stars. The investigation resulted in Trevi’s imprisonment in Brazil on charges of kidnapping, rape, and corruption. THEN In a telenovela style plot twist, she became pregnant while incarcerated, even though she was supposedly being kept with a female cellmate and allowed no conjugal visits. DNA tests proved the father was Andrade, who was being held in a different part of the prison, causing rumors of insemination plots, extradition schemes, and other wild theories to ran rampant. HALLOWEEN-LEVEL CREEPINESS. To make this one work, you can hit your local thrift store to find the standard elements of 90s grunge-y fashion: leather vest & belt, choker necklaces, a patchwork print skirt, and leather boots to tie it all together. Last but not least, you must tease your hair to Peg Bundy-esque proportions, so you can run around singing Gloria’s signature song “Pelo Suelto.” – Andrea Gompf

Memo Ochoa

Mexican goalkeeper Memo Ochoa basically broke the internet over the summer after his unreal performance against Brazil in Mexico’s first World Cup match. The man who spawned 1,000 memes is the perfect Halloween costume, because who doesn’t want to spend the night pretending that that luscious curly mane is actually theirs? Dress up like la pared que frenó a Brazil with some goalkeeper gloves, a brick wall t-shirt (get itttt?) and a curly brown wig. – Andrea Gompf

Thalia

Tommy Mottola’s ex wife has a deep dark past as one of the most prolific soap opera stars at Televisa. She played the poor girl turned rich perfectly as María la del Barrio, María Mercedes and Marimar. The trick to this costume is to talk as if you live in a barrio, to look dirty and brave yet beautiful and vulnerable, and to cry A LOT. – Kari Estrada

La Chilindrina

A throwback classic! If you can go back to the days Saturday mornings TV and a cup of Milo, La Chilindrina was part of ‘El Chavo del Ocho’ cast. Besides the high-pitched voice and over-the-top demeanor you need to keep going for the whole night, a pair of Mary Janes, white socks, red cardigan and signature drawn on freckles should do the trick. Now that we think of it, one might say La Chilindrina is the style inspiration of half the girls we see on Tumblr… – Daniela Cabrera

El Chapulin Colorado

One of the most recognizable characters from Mexican television, El Chapulin Colorado was always fighting for the good guys. Throw some yellow shorts over red tights, find yourself a mallet and say things like ‘Mis antenitas de vinyl están detectando la presencia del enemigo.’ – Stefa Alarcon

El Chacal from Don Francisco

If you’re in the mood to be a hating ass hater, El Chacal is the perfect costume. You can spend all night doling out the trumpet equivalent of a “BOOOOOOOOOO” and chanting “FUERA!” to people in lame outfits — all while remaining completely anonymous underneath that face mask. To pull off this outfit on a budget, we recommend fashioning a chacal outfit out of a black pillow case and sheet set, with some DIY silver marker pen decorations. But you’ll have to invest in a real trumpet, because otherwise what’s the point. – Andrea Gompf

Tigresa del Oriente

Getting to the weird (aka best) part of this list comes la Tigresa del Oriente, one helluva Peruvian ma’am that has become a living YouTube legend thanks to her infamous videos. To achieve the look dress yourself as an exotic cat, wear a blonde red wig, get your nails done the way you never have, wear lots of makeup, and dance and sing to funny folk songs. – Kari Estrada

Juan Gabriel

If you wanna look fabulous this Halloween try a Juan Gabriel costume. Any of them. You have a lot to pick from, especially if you look at the fantastic outfits the Mexican singer has been wearing for his concerts in recent years. Completely white ones, super shiny ones, sort of African ones, Mc Donald style ones: there are plenty, just try not to fall off from a stage. – Kari Estrada

A.C. Slater

If you’re looking for a retro option, there’s A.C. Slater, the latino student played by Mario Lopez in the popular eighties series “Saved by the Bell.” The only thing is, having a great amount of acid wash muscle tees will not do the trick: your muscles need to be pretty big and toned or else you’ll look like Screech. – Kari Estrada

Topo Gigio

This little creature may not have been born in Latin America, but it didn’t matter: we still made him one of our icons. With its lazy eyes, shortness of breath, funny head and leg movements, and peculiar shyness, Topo Gigio was one of our favs when we were kids. I don’t really get it now. Still, it will make a pretty nostalgic and quirky outfit, but try not to look like one of Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” characters. – Kari Estrada