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With his controversial dance moves, Rock n Roll music and of course his outrageous outfits, Elvis was an icon of the 20th Century. The more successful Elvis became, the more ourageous his stage costumes were, and it is now almost impossible to picture the King of Rock n Roll without conjuring images of him in one of his characteristic white jump suits, which are now extremely valuable Elvis collectables.

In the early days Elvis' clothes were conservative suits and it was only really in the later years of his career that he chose to wear the infamous jumpsuits. After becoming bored with the traditional, Elvis wanted more. He called up designer Bill Belew, who was to create the costumes every time Elvis made a public appearance.

The first appearance of one of these creations was in 1970, in one of Elvis' shows in Vegas. For this, Belew had designed what was to become the basis of the future outfits: high Napoleonic collars, flared legs and incricate beadwork. Later, capes, even bigger collars, slash necklines and broad belts were added, as the style evolved and became even more flamboyant.

Some of the best known of Elvis' jumpsuits include:

The American Eagle - featuring an elaborate eagle design beaded in the American colours of red, white and blue

The Peacock - a variety of shades of blue rhinestones, the peacock design spanned all the way from the chest the bottom of the trousers.

The Tiger - possibly one of the more outrageous and 'gaudy' designs, the Tiger suit featured a massive belt which matched the tiger stripes that ran along the trouser seams and collar. Across the chest of the suit was a leaping tiger.

As designer Bill Belew puts it: "You could be daring as a designer and put anything on Elvis and he could make it work. The simplest of outfits that didn't seem particularly remarkable on the rack transformed into something spectacular when Elvis put them on. He was that beautiful and had powerful a presence. As a wardrobe designer Bob Mackie had a perfect muse and a perfect canvas in Cher. I got to have that in Elvis." [1]

[1] Elvis.com (March 2, 2007). Graceland Opens New Exhibit Elvis Jumpsuits: All Access. http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/news/graceland_junpsuit_exhibit.shtml

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Richard Nottingdon is a music fan who particularly writes about legends in music; from Elvis Presley to Madonna. He has a wide selection of Elvis collectables.

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