Hi! Meagan here with a Selena costume DIY for you!
I remember the first time I saw the Selena movie. I was in El Paso visiting family, and my cousins, mom, and aunts all went to see it at the theater. I was pretty young at the time, I’m thinking somewhere around eight. I remember being so enamored with Selena’s life and the way she was portrayed. It was the first movie I actually cried real tears for. I was obsessed.
After school one day, my mom surprised me with the movie soundtrack! She told me to check the front pocket of my backpack because my teacher had sent something home for her to sign. My first thought was, “Uh-oh!” Being the gullible girl I still am today, I opened it up and saw the CD. It was such a great surprise and a memory I still hold close to my heart to this day.
I’ve always felt inspired by Selena Quintanilla. I love that she lived for her music and followed her dreams. It was so crazy to me that someone could design their own costumes and actually turn them into a reality. I thought the cow print look she designed was the coolest thing ever.
More dress ideas for little girls!
I’m sure I’m not alone in saying my obsession with Selena has never faded, it’s still going strong. One of the many perks of having a daughter is that we get to share our love of awesome inspiring women like Selena. From the first time Ava saw the movie, she too was immediately taken by her too.
Related: Selena Pizza Earrings!
Her favorite part is when Selena learns how to do the washing machine. 🙂
When I was trying to decide what costume to make Ava this year, Selena popped in my head. Ava usually gets a few costumes each Halloween with all the different festivities. So, I usually make her one and I let her pick one out from the store. I ran it by her to see what she thoughts were and she thought it’d be fun! With her on board, I had to figure out which of Selena’s looks to emulate for Ava.
One of my favorite performances to watch is when she performs Si Una Vez at the Astrodome. Literally, I get chills when I watch it. I found this video on YouTube so you can relive the moment too.
https://youtu.be/8k8CiOHcE4Y
I was sold! Purple bell bottom jumpsuit it was! Sounded a little daunting but I had to at least give it a shot. There are so many ways you can make something, either go all out with the details or take the essence of it and go simple. I ended up doing both! One blinged-out ready-for-the stage costume, and modest, novelty version.
Related: 5 Cover Songs in Honor of Selena
For the detailed version, I used a purple mini sequin fabric paired with a slightly brighter poplin to underline it. You guys, the sequins are soooo good. In action, it catches the light so perfectly! For the exposed tummy, it’s much like a bathing suit, but I know it’s the chilly season right now, so your little one can wear a leotard underneath for warmth.
Construction wise – I kinda just winged it. I started off with the Ash Jumpsuit pattern by Petit A Petit and Family. It’s such a fun pattern. I’ve used it in the past and definitely think it’s a staple in any sewist’s pattern arsenal. I removed around 10″ of length from the pants and around 2-3″ of width as well.
To achieve the bell bottoms I basically just made two circle skirts and attached them to the bottom.
For the top, things got a little tricky. It ended up taking on a life of its own. I kind of just cut out a shape I felt would resemble the way the costume fit Selena. It was definitely a trial and error thing. It’s not perfect but I think it turned out really cute!
I attached the pieces to the pants and added a flat front waistband to secure it all together nicely. I spent way more hours than I’d like to admit on this costume. Sometimes crafting and sewing takes that route. Life lessons right?! Always persevere.
After I finished that costume I started on the simpler one below.
Anyone can make this and I think it’d be so fun for your girl’s everyday dress-up bin. Think beyond Halloween!
I painted the top of Selena’s Astrodome outfit on to a shirt. Using an air soluble marker, I measured the halfway point on each shoulder seam and put a mark on it. I then used the top stitching of the neck-band as my second point on each side. Then, I measured 2″ down from the armpit seams and put a mark there as well. Starting from the point where the two seams meet at the bottom hem of the t-shirt, I started to connect a line to the center point mark of the shoulder seam on the opposite side. Then I connected the side seam mark to the top stitching of the neckband. I did the same on the opposite side. Now we have the shape of the top of the jumpsuit.
Insert a piece of cardboard between the layers so the paint doesn’t seep through. After this, I taped off all the areas I didn’t want to be painted. I used a deep purple fabric spray to color the shirt.
After it was dry, I removed the tape. I love the shimmer and sparkle that Selena’s jumpsuit gives off as it moves, so I used purple
glitter fabric paint to give it some extra dimension. To finish it all off, I got purple dimension paint aka puffy paint, and out lined the edges to show that one side overlaps the other.
And then I whipped up some bell bottom leggings to complete the look.
Now, about those iconic bell bottoms. I used this metallic purple fabric from Joann Fabric and Craft Stores and the Oliver + S Playtime Leggings pattern to create them. It was so simple! To help me figure out exactly where to shorten the leggings to add the bell bottom, I got a pair of capri length leggings Ava already has and measured them from the side seams. Then, I checked the finished measurements of the leggings pattern and subtracted the length I needed so they’d be as long as her capri’s. The number was 10″. To do this I just took 10″ off the bottom of the pattern piece. After you have your new shorter pattern piece, cut the piece and construct the leggings according to the pattern instructions. To make the bell bottoms, I used this tutorial for a circle skirt.
If the math part seems daunting, I found this circle skirt measurement calculator to do the math for you. For reference, the measurements I used for Ava were 1.6″ and 11.6″. Once you have your two circles cut out, pin them right sides together to the bottom of the leggings and sew them on. Hem them up and your done!
We of course had to include Selena’s iconic red lips to pull everything together. That was probably Ava’s favorite part about taking these pictures! 😉
I was pleasantly surprised with how cute this one came out! An easy, super simple Selena costume that can be worn all year round for playtime. I had a lot of fun making these looks!
Selena will forever hold a place in my heart. A beautiful, intelligent, and inspiring young lady who lives on eternally through her music, and fans.
We hope you have a safe and happy Halloween. See you next time!
P.S. Look at the Jasmine costume I made for Ava last year!
Keep up with us in the mean time by following us on Instagram and Snapchat @avaslookbook for both.
Please come visit me at my blog, AvasLookbook.com – I have a lot of other projects for you to see!
Aye, I remember excatly where I was when the news hit our small Kansas town… that Selena had been killed… A bunch of us were low-riding that day and pulled into the car wash to polish those rims up when the news came over the only Latino station we could “tune in” to from Kansas City, Kansas…That broadcasted to our small town of Emporia, KS. A group of us, all just 18 year olds… ( it’s hard to believe she’s been gone that long) were just finishing up when they interrupted the tejano musica saying that Selena had been found dead after a standoff with her assistant. We all just looked at each other and thought it was a joke. There was no way she was dead… none of us could believe it… we all raced home to see what we could find out on tv.. which we had a hard time finding information to verify it because she wasn’t that well known enough at that time, she hadn’t crossed over to the “English” market yet… so finally the ONE channel we had was UNIVISION where we finally confirmed that yeah, she was gone… it was surreal to be sure but we also were young and angry that the regular news outlets weren’t reporting it. Why? Omg this IS, this Was… SELENA! Didn’t everyone just love her? We just couldn’t believe that everyone didn’t know of her… that voice, that beauty…why wasn’t EVERYONE grieving for her loss? It was traumatic for us that she had been killed but we couldn’t figure out why no one else cared and I think it was then when it really hit our little group of childhood friends that it really was just the Hispanic community that only knew what a great talent, what a bright, brilliant light…was taken from US..from our culture…our community… the voice of an Angel that the never got to make her mark on those whom she was just getting ready to make them fall in love with her the way we loved her…her crossing over became a different story… I often wonder what more she had to give… she was really something special and it’s so cute to see that your daughter is rocking that look! It’s classic Selena… tell her she looks just like her! Swinging that hair, lol! I loved the “washing machine” part of the movie as well but my favorite part is when Selena ( Jennifer Lopez lol) had to calm the roudy crowd down in Mexico when the fans started to bumrush the stage and she went all quiet for a second….then… “Shhhh….. then started into “Como La Flor” in the slow but steady confidence that was Selena…and commanded the audience, hypnotizing them Into
A hush…..a hush that went out before the rest of the world got to hear an angel sing….. Rest In Peace Selena….I’m really glad to see that your daughter knows her and Selena’s great talent is still being honored, appreciated and celebrated!!! Awesome job mama! Really cool!
Wonderful job!! For the sequin costume , how did u get it over her head and around neck?
Thank you!
Alex