Only wearing the full Gold Lamé suit a handful of times, including in the cover art for the album “50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong,” this suit remains one of the most well-known early outfits to our golden boy.
A Suit Made of Gold (Lamé)
It is without question Elvis had a style all his own. He was never one to fit into a mold and look like anyone else, or sound for that matter. That’s one of the many reasons Elvis has stayed relevant all these years.
When he took to the stage, it was unlikely that anyone would be able to look away. It was Elvis after all… And he wanted to keep it that way with his fashion choices. One of Elvis’s most iconic outfits HAS to be his Gold Lamé suit.
Colonel Tom Parker went to Nudie Cohn, of Nudie’s Tailors in North Hollywood, to create this ensemble for Elvis. Being known for creating over-the-top costumes for Hank Snow, it seemed Nudie was up to the task.
Lamé is a complex fabric in which thin ribbons of metallic material are wrapped around a fabric yarn making it difficult for Elvis to trust its stability during his very mobile performances. It was said after a performance in this suit jacket, gold specs would be found all over the stage. No surprise that Elvis left a little sparkle everywhere he went!
The enitre suit cost $2,500 and consisted of a jacket, pants, shoes (yes, gold shoes), necktie, and belt.
Elvis: The Golden Boy
Elvis only wore the full suit a few times before retiring the pants, gold tie, and ruffled shirt, and replacing it with black pants and a black button-down top during his tour in 1957. This ensemble has been fashioned into Barbie dolls and showcased around the world in early-stage photos of Elvis.
Though the full suit is definitely something, it was not quite Elvis. Once Elvis took his style into consideration and added black undertones to compliment that gold jacket, it became a part of his legacy.
The suit is remarkable, but without Elvis, it would simply be an overly expensive gold suit. Because of Elvis, it is memorable.
If you’d like to see this suit for yourself, stop over at Graceland where it is on display.
Until we meet again,
TCB and TCE,
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