Why did Elvis stop the two piece suits in 75

I believe a lot of his supposed weight problem was putting clothes on that
1) Did not fit
2) Did nothing to hide the fact that he put on a few pounds with age.
The 2 piece suits he wore during the first tour of 75 made him look a lot slimmer than the skin tight suits with the over sized belt buckles he went with later.

I agree the two piece suits were much more appealling as stage-wear although I much prefer the Vegas 1972 outfits.

Nice pics guys.

Who knows why he stopped wearing the two piece suits. It would have been nice if he had worn them at later dates.

I always considered the '75 two piece suits were actually one piece suits designed to look like two.

I either read or saw on a documentary that he switched to the jumpsuits because it had something to do with all the kicks and lunges, etc., that he did on stage. The one piece suits would move with him more and not rip.

Lisa

By 1975 the one piece jumpsuits weren't holding up... check out his New Year's Eve show in Pontiac, MI.

The two piece idea is something that he could have stuck with had he continued to perform throughout the 70's, 80's and on.
These outfits (not classified as "jumpsuits") really could have brought Elvis into the
modern age and helped to get rid of the "fat man in a jumpsuit" persona that has plagued him since his death.
I guess there was a period of time for the jumpsuit but the two piece idea was much more versatile and contemporary.

Supposed weight gain? In 1976 and 1977 the man was FAT and not because of age.

...but that wasn't all fat either. His colon problem and the bloat caused by some of the drugs he was taking made him appear a lot fatter than he was.

Am I the only one who thinks the two pieces suits sucked? Sorry, I don't like them at all. Looks too casual, nothing that fits the stage IMO.

Am I the only one who thinks the two pieces suits sucked? Sorry, I don't like them at all. Looks too casual, nothing that fits the stage IMO.

Nope, you're not the only one. I don't care for them either.

Too casual, too plain, too ordinary, ........... too common (....for ELVIS, that is...). The jumpsuits were generally much better. I'm glad Elvis didn't wear the two-piece suits very long. It's easy to criticize the jumpsuits from the perspective of 2003, but ........................ come on, it WAS the 70's ......... and they WERE pretty COOL then. I think the jumpsuits are so derided now because of all of the seam bulging impersonators who are wearing them.

If you ever see the jumpsuits in comparison to the two-piece suits in real life ............... the latter do seem rather boring. The jumpsuits are very impressive in reality and I don't think any photos (even some of the best) can ever really convey that. In fact, I've found myself liking some of the jumpsuits after viewing them in person - ones that I never really cared for based solely upon photos.

The 70's Elvis is my favorite era and the jumpsuits are certainly one of the reasons why.


N8
...just a fan....

Last edited by N880EP on Sat May 31, 2003 5:42 pm, edited 3 times in total.

The two-piece suits were too plain and ordinary? Well, I´d like to see you guys walk down to the post office in one of those suits!
Come on - they are hardly every-day wear, are they?! I think he looked great in them.
N8 - I agree! Jumpsuits were cool - and very 70´s - but the way Elvis looked wearing them from ´75 onwards, was not so cool.
Erik: I think Elvis used to keep small guns in his boots! I´ve never heard of any death threat to Elvis in March ´75, but of course it might be true, and if that was the case he could also have worn a bullet-proof west under his jacket (Which he BTW claimed he had under his jumpsuit in College Park in Sept. ´74 - "That is not a paunch - I wear a bullet proof west on stage". Yeah, right!).

Here's the lowdown on the 2 piece suits: Elvis was originally scheduled to play a 2 week stand in Vegas in Jan./Feb. 75. The Hilton honchos postponed the engagement until March to coincide with the completion of a new wing of the hotel. This worked to Elvis' advantage as he had really let himself go in the time off since the Oct. 74 tour/Tahoe engagement. In Jan. 75 Elvis was hospitalized, so it was fortuitous that the engagement had been rescheduled. While recuperating, Elvis managed to drop some weight, but he had been so heavy during this period that, despite the weight loss, he was still quite overweight when the time for the Vegas engagement drew near. In order to help hide his excess weight the 2 piece suits were designed for him to wear for this engagement. On the following April/May tour he continued to use these suits, as he was still quite paunchy. In the time off between this tour and the next (May/June) Elvis managed to drop a good bit of weight (in a mere 3 weeks!) and could wear jumpsuits again without looking ridiculous. 4 new jumpsuits were used on the May/June tour: white with red eagle; white with black eagle; navy with silver eagle; and the indian feather. Although he was still a little thick around the middle, Elvis looked very fit and healthy on this tour. Sadly, he would never look this healthy again. As for why he didn't wear the 2 piece suits when his weight went back up in 76-77, by then he simply didn't care anymore.

I've always found it interesting how much weight Elvis lost toward the end of 1976 yet he still didn't look good. And his eyes looked funny...
I imagine a large part of this could be attributed to:
1. Medication... and lots of it
2. The rediculous side burns
3. Having that moron Larry Geller as his hairdresser - from show to show, Elvis and "Elvis' hair" never looked the same

Elvis fan -
He actually doesn't look bad in those shots - except for the one in the king of spades suit where he's looking right at the camera. He certainly looked a damn site better than he did spring/summer of 76. But you're right, his eyes always looked different to me from 76 on. It's a sickly, weak-eyed kind of look. It's like the substance abuse and ill health are showing in his eyes. And yes the bangs & badly shaped sideburns/hairstyle didn't help!

Its funny that everyone has commented about his eyes. he had recently undergone plastic surgery around his eyes in effort to make him look younger. Everyone has always said his eyes never looked the same.\

Tony