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Jumpsuits
One of Elvis Presley's most appealing
aspects of his career on stage is, without a doubt, the one related to his
clothing worn live. In this section we present each one of the clothes worn
on stage chronologically (1969-1977), as well as its acessories, history,
which known concert dates when Elvis wore them, etc. Click on the photos
to access detailed information, as well as photo galleries, whenever photos
are available.
1969-1970 - In the beginning the jumpsuits/costumes were simple in
design. As the years went by, the simple became spectacular. In the early
days there would be duplicates of the simple in design jumpsuits.
1969:
54 Photos
Black Herringbone |
54 Photos
Black Herringbone |
1 Photo
Navy Blue Herringbone |
54 Photos
White Herringbone |
2 Photos
Black Short
Two-Piece & Chest Pockets |
18 Photos
White Short
Two-Piece
& Chest Pockets |
8 Photos
Black
Two-Piece |
1970:
61 Photos
White Cossack |
0 Photos
Black Brocade & Gold Trim |
1 Photo
Black Brocade & Red Trim |
58 Photos
White Brocade & Silver Trim |
0 Photos
White Brocade & Orange Trim |
55 Photos
Blue
Brocade |
38 Photos
White Brocade & Green Trim |
168 Photos
White Fringe & Multi Col. Beads |
132 Photos
White Concha |
White Chain
|
White Red Ladder
|
White
Metal Eye
|
White
Plain
|
168 Photos
White Fringe & Col.Beads |
White
Nail/Apache
|
White
Lace / Rib
|
White Wing & Long Fringes |
1971
- This year saw simple nail designs of the Cisco Kid jumpsuits make
way to what would become the established design mainly due to the talents of
Gene Doucette. Gene had taken over from Bill Belew in the
design stakes and it was his flair that saw the jumpsuit morph from plain
and simple jumpsuit to the spectacular they became from late 1971 onwards.
1971:
White Wing & Short Fringes |
Square
Nail |
Tassel
Star |
Knot |
Mint |
Light Blue Cobweb Two-Piece |
White Cisco Kid 2-Piece BlackYokes |
Black Cisco Kid 2-Piece Red Yokes |
Lilac Cisco Kid 2-Piece Blue Yokes |
Turquoise Concho |
White Cisco Kid Black Yokes |
Black Cisco Kid Light Blue Yokes |
Black Cisco Kid Green Yokes |
Black Cisco Kid Red Yokes |
Black Fireworks |
White Fireworks |
White Matador |
Black Matador |
White Spectrum |
White
Nail/Apache |
1972
- This year sees the jumpsuit finally reach its splendid peak. The design
seems to have settled on a recognisable format that Elvis seemed happy with.
The patterns and themes changed after 1972, but the suits' basic style would
stay the same until 1976. There were variations with the puff sleeves in the
Black Aztec, Dark Blue Gypsy and Egyptian Bird designs
of 1975, but the jumpsuit essentially remained the same, as the 1976
Flame jumpsuit shows.
1972:
White Pyramid |
Red Matador |
Blue Nail |
Black Butterfly |
Blue Fireworks |
Adonis |
Light Blue Wheat |
Eyelet |
Blue
Swirl |
White 3 Piece Black Pockets |
White 2 Piece Lace Pockets |
White 3 Pc Turquoise Concho |
White 3 Pc Green Pockets |
White 3 Piece Blue Pockets |
White 3 Piece Red Pockets |
LightBlue 3Piece Spa.Flower |
Thunderbird
|
Black
Conquistador |
Aztec Star |
Saturn |
Black Fireworks |
White Fireworks |
White Matador |
Black Matador |
White Spectrum |
1973
- This year probably saw the most elaborate jumpsuits in the form of stones
and nails, such as the Arabian (also known as the Memphis
suit), Black Spanish Flowers and, of course, the Aloha. It
could be argued that 1973 saw the jumpsuit become a work of art rather than
a stage outfit. The designs had taken on beautiful detail and with many
jumpsuits taken on a theme.
1973:
Aloha |
Pharaoh |
Orange Sunburst |
Blue
Rain |
Light Blue Teal |
Red Flower |
Snowflake |
Nail Studded |
White Span. Flower |
Black Span. Flower |
Black Span. Flower 2 |
Blue Sunburst |
Acqua Blue Vine |
Lava |
Arabian |
Light Blue Wheat |
Blue
Swirl |
Thunderbird |
1974
- Gene Doucette had changed styles and moved to embroidery designs
very probably at Elvis' request due to the weight of previous jumpsuits.
There were subtle changes to the designs of 1974. For instance, the sleeves
were free from patterns or design, again probably at Elvis's request due to
stones or nails scratching guitars etc. The designs of 1974 are of two
extremes: the Dragon and the Mad Tiger are quite flashy, where
as the three Phoenix designs seem to be simpler and understated in
comparison.
1974:
Amber Gold Vine |
Nail Mirrored |
White Conquistador |
Multicolored Rain |
Blue Rainbow |
Peacock |
American Eagle |
Turquoise Phoenix |
Inca Gold Leaf |
Leather Two-Piece |
Leather Sequin |
Leather NativeFlower |
Leather Emperor |
Leather Vine Glass |
Mad Tiger |
Dragon |
King of Spades |
Mexican Sundial |
Aloha |
Orange Sunburst |
Red
Flower |
White Span Flower |
Black Span. Flower |
Black Span. Flower 2 |
Blue Sunburst |
Lava |
Arabian |
1975
- There is debate as to whether Elvis should have switched over to two piece
suits by 1975. Looking at the frequency of new suits by 1975, only 8 new
jumpsuits and 7 Two Piece Suit designs, as opposed to 1973, with a
peak of 17 new jumpsuits. It could be argued that Elvis tried the two piece
and decided he didn't like them! 1975 followed the same design pattern of
1974, in that the designs were embroidery with fine detail, the Indian
Chief (also know as Indian Feather) being a fine example.
1975:
White & Black Fringe |
White Blue Ornaments |
Dark Blue Light Orna. |
Dark Blue Red Ornam. |
Dark Blue Leaf Orn. |
Dark Blue Blue Orna. |
Dark Blue Flame Orna. |
White Phoenix |
Indian Chief |
Red Phoenix |
Black Phoenix |
Dark Blue Gypsy |
Black
Aztec |
Penguin |
V-Neck |
Rainfall |
White Egyptian Bird |
1976
– This was a particularly uninspired year, there was only one new jumpsuit
made in the form of the Flame. Although the jumpsuit was extremely
flashy in design, it was only worn twice. Most of 1976 saw Elvis wear the
Egyptian Birds (also known as Bicentennial).
1976:
Blue Egyptian Bird |
Flame |
Blue Rainbow |
Inca Gold Leaf |
King of Spades |
White Phoenix |
Indian
Chief |
Red Phoenix |
Black Phoenix |
Black
Aztec |
V-Neck |
Rainfall |
White Egyptian Bird |
1977
- This year made 1976 look inspired. There was a suit designed for Elvis,
however it wasn’t completed in time for Elvis to have worn it on stage.
Elvis mainly switched between three jumpsuits in 1977, namely the Indian
Chief from 1975, the King of Spades from 1974 and, of course, the
Mexican Sundial, also from 1974.
1977:
King of Spades |
Mexican Sundial |
Indian
Chief |
V-Neck |
Rainfall |
White Egyptian Bird |
Last
Unworn |
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