Dress Up as Elvis This Halloween and New Year

Introduction

On July 18th in 1953, a truck driver named Elvis Presley cut his first song at Sun Records Recording Studio in Memphis Tennessee and with the later arrival of local musicians Scotty Moore and Bill Black recorded some of the earliest and most popular Rock n’ Roll records of all time. Early songs by Elvis such as ‘That’s all right mama’ originally by Arthur Crudup and a cover of Bill Monroe’s ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ and along with later records such as Bill Haley’s ‘Rock Around the Clock’, defined the Rock n’ Roll genre by blending boogie-woogie and blues music. It must be no doubt that Elvis Presley is one of the most influential performers of all time and obviously one of the coolest people to dress up as this Halloween or New Year.

Costume Ideas

If you are looking into dressing up as Elvis there are various online sites from which you can purchase a costume. The majority of the costumes are based around his later years from 1970 and the costumes he wore during this period up until his death in 1977. Most of the costumes consist of white jumpsuits that are often studded with glass jewels, these often come with some sort of belt that often also has attached glass gems. In order to finish off the costume you will need a black wig or perhaps slick back your own hair if it is long enough. Obviously unless you are incredibly lucky you will need to go out and buy some long side burn attachments to complete the facial hair features. Next you will be looking at purchasing some sun glasses to complete the cool look, generally the bigger the glasses the better, and a tint of gold around the rims always works well. Also a hairy chest wig or some sort of inflatable guitar is also appropriate as well as a cheap plastic microphone which can add extra character to the costume.

If you want to dress as other eras of Elvis, then the leather jacket era of the 60’s is always a good look, it first starts with a black leather jacket and trousers and make sure they both fit quite snugly in order to wear them just like Elvis did. Next it is always a good idea to decorate the leather jacket with rhinestones in the shape of a guitar on the back, and leave the top of your jacket slightly undone in order to fit in with the look of Elvis at the time. The hair at this time was quite long with long side burns and the hair long over the fringe. A good example of this eras look is the comeback special in 1968, which reinvented his career at the time, but if you are looking for a more stereotypical hair style you could use the later style that is big and slicked back. If you want to go for the ‘Jailhouse’ look from the film ‘Jailhouse Rock’ released in the 1950’s, then you will need a denim jacket and jeans and a black and white striped shirt. The bottom of the jeans should also be rolled up so that the socks are easily visible, similar to the film. To add extra authenticity add Presley to the left front of the jack and add the numbers 6239 to the right side which comes from Elvis Presley’s jailhouse number in the film.

Whatever you do this Halloween or New Year, the Elvis costume is always a well used favourite at parties, and has to be one of the most easily recognised costume available. But what shouldn’t be forgotten is his impact on popular culture and his genre defining music that will surely be around for as long as music is.