This story will contain information about some of Elvis’ belts. As you all know almost every jumpsuit had an original designed belt. There would have been no problem if Elvis had stuck to the combination “original suit – original belt” but he liked to change every now and then. Many times different combinations were tried and maintained. This lead to a lot of confusion, which I would like to try to sort out as far as possible. This is not an overview of every single belt Elvis ever used. Maybe I get round that another time. I sincerely hope you will all like this reading.

Have fun

Leroy

Belts.

Most suits Elvis wore on stage during the period 1969 – 1977 had original custom-made belts. It first started out with karate type belts. In 1970 came the first macramé and beaded belts and finally in 1971 the first custom leather belts. However, there is a 1969 picture with a private leather belt during a show.

When Elvis was, well into his first Las Vegas performances he must have got tired of the karate type of belts and started to try out different other types. One of his favourites came from his personal wardrobe; the “Metal Concho Belt”. You probably recognize this belt from the rehearsal scenes from “Elvis -That’s The Way It Is”. This belt was not custom made for Elvis but could be bought at the local stores. This type of belt was quite popular in those days.

Elvis would wear this belt on both the “Black Cossack Two-piece” and the “White Cossack Two-piece” in 1969.

During the same 1969 Las Vegas engagement Elvis once wore another leather belt from his private wardrobe. He had two versions of this one. A white version and a red version. Again, the red version is probably best known from the stage rehearsals in “Elvis -That’s The Way It Is”.

You can see the white version on the pictures below.

By 1970 the first jumpsuits came, mostly with a macramé belt done in white or a contrasting colour. Sometimes he would wear a belt of a certain suit with another suit. I’m not sure in all cases if this is because Elvis made a deliberate choice or that it might be one of his aides making a mistake. Therefore it’s also very hard to determine which macramé belt belongs to which suit.

It was during the last week of his August/September season in 1970 that Elvis started to experiment with other combinations of belts and scarves. He got on with it during his first tour in September 1970. Some suits became more famous with a belt that was not the original one. Perfect example is the 1970 “Fringe Suit” in combination with a green scarf and the “Green Macramé Belt”. A rare combination is the same suit with a light blue scarf and the “Light Blue Macramé Belt”. There are also speculations about this suit in combination with a red scarf and a “Red Macramé Belt”. I will not deny the possibility but I haven’t seen pictures yet. The “Green Macramé Belt” originally belonged to a jumpsuit called “Thin Green Leaf” which was often used during the January/February season of 1970 and on one of the Houston Astrodome concerts.

Then we have the “Chain Suit” which Elvis continue to wear during the September 1970 tour. He wore it with a “Red Macramé Belt” and a “Brown Macramé Belt”. In both cases with a red scarf.

The “Red Macramé Belt” would also feature on the 1970 “Metal Eye Suit”.

During the November 1970 tour, a jumpsuit called “Lace Suit” was introduced. On this suit, an “old” belt was used. It was the same macramé belt that was used on the 1970 “White Cossack Top Jumpsuit” which Elvis used during his January/February 1970 engagement in Las Vegas and during some of the Houston concerts. In August 1972, this same belt would make a comeback in Las Vegas, this time in combination with a two-piece suit and a very colourful shirt.

Another combination that became more popular than the original one was the 1970 “Nail Swirl Suit” with red scarf and “Red Macramé Belt”. Pictures of this became popular because they featured on two album sleeves; “I Got Lucky” and “Love Letters from Elvis” both released in 1971. However, the original belt for the “Nail Swirl Suit” was a “White Macramé Belt”. Somehow Elvis seemed to prefer the red one. Probably because it matched better with the red scarf.

As said before the “Red Macramé Belt” was also used on the 1970 “Metal Eye”. Personally I like this combination more than with the original belt. It gives the suit more balls. This “Red Macramé Belt” would make a comeback during the August/September 1972 engagement, in combination with several two-pieces.

At the end of the year 1970, a new routine would start with the introduction of the “Gold Attendance Belt”. Elvis received this belt in 1969 for breaking all attendance records. The belt was stored for a while but at the end of 1970 Elvis developed the habit of wearing it during private meetings such as the wedding party of George Klein. Elvis also wore the “Gold Attendance Belt” on meeting President Nixon on December 21^st, 1970.

During his January/February 1971 Las Vegas engagement the “Gold Attendance Belt” made its stage debut. He even went as far as wearing this unusual belt on the 1970 “Concho’s Suit” during a Lake Tahoe performance in July 1971. A most remarkable combination. He wore the “Gold Attendance Belt” on so many suits throughout 1971 and 1972 that one might wonder if for some of these suits ever an original belt was designed. However, before that Elvis did send the belt away to do some rework and add some stones to it. Below you will find several live pictures where Elvis is using the “Gold Attendance Belt” during 1971 and finally an invoice on which you can see what had to be done on the belt before it could carry away Elvis’ satisfaction.

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Some of the suits on the above picture collection did have an original designed belt. These were used just one time and discarded or, in some cases, never used at all. I will review some of the original belts in a later part

In 1971 the “Cisco Kid” style was introduced and most of the times Elvis would wear the “Gold Attendance Belt” on these outfits. Some of the jumpsuit versions of the “Cisco Kids” seemed to have an original belt. Elvis is photographed with such a belt at least during one show. It’s also possible that this belt was not originally designed for any stage suit but that it belonged to Elvis’ private wardrobe.

There were also a few macramé belts during 1971. For some reason he liked them. One of the 1971 suits with an originally designed macramé belt was the “Indian Stone”. This suit is best known for featuring on the two 1972 album sleeves; “Elvis Now” and “Elvis Sings Hits from His Movies – Vol. 1”.

Elvis would use this belt on stage (both during his January/February engagement and his August/September engagement of 1971) and in private moments backstage. It was also used during his January/February 1972 Las Vegas engagement and in August/September of the same year, mostly on several two-piece outfits.

On September 6^th, 1971 during the closing night, Elvis introduced the first jumpsuit that would set the standard until 1973. Complete with matching belt and cape. It was the “Black Fireworks”. The belt was a thin leather belt with several star shapes. This belt was only used on this suit and only during this night and several occasions during Elvis November 1971 tour.

Several jumpsuits that were introduced during Elvis’ November 1971 tour would make it through 1972 including most of the belts. Some of the belts would achieve the status as being favourite by Elvis. Of course the “Gold Attendance Belt” which was used on the 1971 “Black Matador”. Another favourite would be the belt of the 1971 “White Fireworks”. Elvis would not only wear it on the original suit both in 1971 and 1972 but also on the 1972 “Blue Nail” (although this suit had an original belt), the 1972 “Wheat Suit” and the 1972 “Aztec Star”. This last suit also had an original designed belt, which was never used on tour.

Another belt finding its way to more than one jumpsuit is the “Lion Head Belt”, originally designed for the 1971 “White Matador”. This combination was used during the November tour in 1971 and the April tour in 1972. In June 1972, the “Eyelet Suit” made its debut but Elvis wasn’t satisfied with the original designed belt. The original belt was the so-called “Red Russian Eagle” but Elvis found it too cheap looking, too plastic. Therefore, he decided to use the “Lion Head Belt” instead.

A belt that did not gain much fame although it has been used frequently is the “Double Lion Head Belt” which was first used during Elvis’ January/February 1972 Las Vegas engagement. It doesn’t belong to any particularly jumpsuit; it has been used on two-pieces only. Halfway the eighties a re-issue on the 1970 album “On Stage” was released with on the back not the usual 1970 picture but a 1972 Las Vegas picture where Elvis can be seen wearing a shirt and pants and the “Double Lion Head Belt”.

The August/September 1972 season in Las Vegas was a strange season wardrobe wise. Elvis first started out wearing all kinds of two-pieces with the strangest shirt and belt combination. A lot has been documented but a greater part isn’t. Therefore, it’s very hard to make out an accurate summation of this period.

During the June tour of 1972, a very flamboyant belt was introduced together with one of his most beautiful jumpsuits. The jumpsuit was named “Lucky Suit” (nicknamed the “Dale Evans Suit”) and the belt was the huge “Mirror Belt”. This belt was originally designed for the “Lucky Suit” and when hit by the stage lights it gave magnificent lightning effects. But unfortunately, Elvis used it one once or twice on stage. Wearing this belt Elvis encountered two problems; using his guitar during the opening numbers would damage the belt because being made of glass it was very fragile. And the belt would damage the backside of his guitar. So after entering the stage Elvis would act as if he takes the guitar from Charlie Hodge and return the instrument immediately and sing the two opening numbers with only the mike stand to hold which must have gave him a naked feeling. But Elvis liked the “Lucky Suit” so a solution had to be found. And Elvis found one in the shape of a thin blue macramé belt. It was an “oldie” for Elvis used this macramé belt already in 1971, in combination with the very rare “Knot Suit”. Unfortunately there are no clear pictures of this combination; only a few video captures. The “Lucky Suit” re-entered the stage on closing night on September 4^th, 1972 with the above-mentioned “Thin Blue Macramé Belt”. By 1973, a third belt was made for this suit. This time a blue leather belt which matched this suit perfectly. Looking at this belt, you might conclude it’s the original designed belt….. Of all three belts the “Thin Blue Macramé Belt” was Elvis’ favourite.

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A strange event happened in 1974. On one of his new “Phoenix” suits Elvis appeared with a light blue version of the “Lucky Belt”. This makes you wonder if there might be a “Light Blue Lucky Suit” as well. I will get back to that subject when we reach 1974.

While I’m rambling on, I almost forgot two important suit-and-belt combinations. The first is what I call a mystery belt. A white belt with black triangle shapes and gold on it. I never saw this belt up close, only on two pictures; one stage shot on a very long distance and a backstage shot where Elvis is posing with the members of The Stamps. Both pictures are from the January/February 1972 Las Vegas engagement. Until this day no one knows where this belt came from and what happened to it. Elvis is wearing it on the 1972 “Black Butterfly” and I have to say this combination is not one of my favourites colour wise. The combination “Black Butterfly” and “Gold Attendance Belt” is far better.

Although the famous 1972 “Blue Nail” was mostly worn with the belt of the “White Fireworks”, this suit had an original belt, which was also a white one. Below you see the original combination and a reproduction of the original belt buckle.

A few months ago a picture of the 1972 “Adonis” surfaced while it was on display at the Hard Rock Café in Orlando. At first I thought it was a replica but after contacting Robert “Butch” Polston I found out it was the real McCoy. The suit was used in the 1979 Hollywood movie “Elvis” with Kurt Russell and it was never returned afterwards, as so many of Elvis’ personal belongings…

The belt is a fake, as Butch and another gentleman made that belt. The deal was, they would be allowed to view the suit, inside and out, if they would provide a belt for it. However, they were only allowed about 5 hours to produce the belt. So, they went to a store there in Los Angeles, found a bunch of odd and end studs, and designed this belt. They took it to the gentleman that had possession of the suit there in Los Angeles, and he gave Butch and the other gentleman (who worked for Butch at the time) 45 minutes to examine the suit thoroughly. Butch can attest that this suit is the real deal.

In fact, Butch tried to tell them about his making the belt for that “Adonis” suit, and that the person running the Los Angeles office would vouch for this, but they wouldn't believe it. He merely asked them to take that cruddy belt off display, as he was ashamed of it, and told them he would give them a gold 25th Anniversary belt to display on the garment. He guessed they thought Butch was trying to pull something.

During the November tour of 1972, a few new suits were introduced. One of them was the “Thunderbird”. Everybody knows this suit from the April- and June/July tour of 1973 where Elvis frequently wore this suit with the original “Thunderbird Belt”. But when Elvis started to use this suit in 1972, he didn’t wear the original belt. This could mean that the belt was not provided yet. It’s also possible the original designed belt was already there but Elvis preferred to use another one.

The belt Elvis used was a gift to Elvis from his actor friend Jack Lord, who played the lead role in the detective series “Hawaii Five-O”, during a vacation Elvis took on the Hawaiian Island in May 1972. To honour his friend and as a token of appreciation Elvis wore the belt on the “Thunderbird” during the November tour that would eventually bring him to Hawaii.

The “Jack Lord Belt” would be the base of yet another belt that would be provided for a suit, which is another mystery. This suit will be reviewed later on.

Just before the last show, someone told Elvis that a five-year-old boy named Robbie Barnes is attending the show dressed in a tiny jumpsuit. During the show Elvis asked to turn the spotlight on the boy. At the end of the concert, Elvis gives him the cape of his "Thunderbird" suit, which can be regarded as one of the heaviest and most expensive. In the background, J.D. Sumner can be heard mumbling: "Elvis, give the boy your belt to!” And Elvis did.

Another suit that made its debut during the November 1972 tour was the already mentioned “Aztec Star” (better known as the “Tiffany Suit”). An original belt was designed but probably not used. At least Elvis was never photographed with it, unless someone is sitting on top of a stack of pictures. During the November tour, Elvis used two different belt. We have already seen the “White Fireworks Belt” and the “Gold Attendance Belt”. Below you will see a picture of the “Aztec Star” on display at Graceland with the original “Aztec Star Belt”.

During the same tour (or probably the Las Vegas engagement in August/September), another jumpsuit was introduced on which at least two different belts were used. It was the rare “Saturn Suit” (aka “Planet Suit”). Most pictures we know were taken in Long Beach, California on November 15^th, 1972, where Elvis used the “Gold Attendance Belt”. But there is a picture of this suit while it was used during Elvis January/February 1973 engagement in Las Vegas with another belt that seems to be originally designed for the “Saturn Suit”. Although the quality is very bad, I will include it anyway.

We have already seen a picture of this suit with the “Gold Attendance Belt”.

And we’re not done yet with the 1972 suit/belt combinations. We have already seen the 1972 “Wheat Suit” in combination with the 1972 “White Fireworks Belt”. This suit made a comeback in Las Vegas in January/February 1973, this time with the original designed belt. You can find these pictures on several Internet sites mostly dated as August/September 1973. But a close look reveals Elvis is wearing a combination of necklaces he only wore during the January/February season of that year. Unfortunately, I have not been able to track down the original belt so we have to do it with pictures of a very questionable quality.

The belts Elvis used kept causing confusion. In January 1973, Elvis arrived on Hawaii for his upcoming television special “Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite”. Elvis was welcomed by long time friend and fellow actor Jack Lord who gave him a belt during the summer of the previous year. Elvis hadn’t forgotten this and promptly gave Jack a belt and cape in return. Not just a belt and cape but his new custom-made jumpsuit for his upcoming special; the “Bald Headed Eagle”. The people surrounding Elvis were gasping for air and Joe Esposito immediately phoned to the main land to obtain a new cape and belt. Around the clock working paid off and just before the rehearsal show, both items were replaced.

Towards the end of the Satellite Show Elvis took of his belt and tossed it into the audience. The same happened with the cape at the very end of the show.

When Elvis started his January/February 1973 engagement in Las Vegas yet another belt was made but with a difference. Below you see a reproduction of both belt buckles. The left one represent the belt Elvis gave to Jack Lord upon arriving and the belt used during both Aloha Shows. The right one represents the belt Elvis used through the rest of 1973 and a part of 1974.

On opening night on January 26^th, a new suit would be introduced. The very heavy decorated “Pharaoh”, complete with matching belt. This original designed belt was only used during this engagement. It was a beautiful designed belt with a coin on the buckle with a scene of Moses holding his magic stick above his head. Unfortunately, Elvis decided to use another belt while touring the nation. Mostly he would use the belt from the 1973 “Fire Suit”. One time Elvis even used the belt from the 1973 “Nail Studded Suit”. That was in Pittsburgh, Ohio on June 26^th.

As I mentioned before the “Jack Lord Belt” seems to be an inspiration for another belt in a different colour. We’re talking about the belt of the “Light Blue Teal Suit” which is probably a 1973 design. Until this day no pictures of Elvis wearing this suit has surfaced. One thing is for sure; Elvis never wore it on tour. If this suit was ever used it must have been during Elvis’ January/February 1973 Las Vegas engagement. Below you will find a picture of the suit on display at Graceland and a reproduction of the belt buckle. You can see the resemblance with the “Jack Lord Belt”.

From here, we will make a giant jump to the spring of 1974.

A couple of new suits were introduced and Elvis would use all of them without the original designed belt, probably because the original suits were not available yet.

First, we see the 1974 “Blue Swirl” with a belt that was originally designed for the 1973 “Blue Starburst”. The 1974 “Peacock” made its debut in combination with the belt of the 1973 “White Spanish Flower”. The 1974 “American Eagle” was used with the third “Aloha Belt”. The last combination is a source for confusion. The “Turquoise Phoenix” with an unknown belt that resembled the belt of the 1972 “Lucky Suit” only done in light blue.

When Elvis started the June/July tour of 1974, all the above suits were combined with the original designed belts.

During the June/July tour of 1974 Elvis started to use a jumpsuit named “Egyptian” (better known as “Inca Gold Leaf”). The belt of this suit has caused a lot of confusion because it has been used on another suit frequently and then (with another buckle) back on the original suit. I will try to unravel the knot.

At first, the “Egyptian Belt” was used on the original suit throughout the year 1974. Then both the suit and the belt were not seen for a while. During the summer the “Egyptian Belt” was used again, this time on a suit named “White Egyptian Bird”. This suit was used back to back with its counterpart the “Blue Egyptian Bird”. On September 6^th, 1976, Elvis entered the stage in Huntsville, Alabama to start his afternoon concert wearing the 1975 “White Egyptian Bird” with the 1974 “Egyptian Belt”. After the first couple of songs, the copper Indian Head of the buckle came loose. Elvis took it off, toyed with it for a while and then gave it to someone in the audience.

In October 1976, Elvis had lost some weight and some “old” suits had been let out so it was possible for Elvis to use them again. One of them was the 1974 “Egyptian”. But the belt buckle had lost its Indian Head so a solution had to be found. Elvis used the original belt again but with the buckle of the 1974 “Chinese Dragon”. He would do so during the October and the November tour of 1976. In December, Elvis wore the same combination of suit/belt but with yet another buckle; this time the one that belonged to the 1975 “Chief”.

Another 1974 suit that made a re-entry was the “Blue Swirl” (better known as the “Blue Rainbow”). In 1974, Elvis would use the original belt and buckle but this time it was different. Elvis used a belt with horizontal stripes and another buckle. For many years people believed this was a new designed belt but this is far from the truth. In fact, this belt is also an “oldie” because it belonged to the white two-piece Elvis used during his first 1975 Las Vegas engagement and the tour that followed. Elvis used several dark blue two-pieces in that specific period and they all had a belt to go with but for some reason Elvis didn’t use them. Probably because he wasn’t going to take off his jacket.

During one of his Lake Tahoe seasons in 1974 (some say May, I say October) a suit named “Arabian” was introduced. This suit became more famous under the name “Ace of Spades”. In 1974, Elvis used the original designed belt. This suit would also make a comeback in the fall of 1976 with another belt. Elvis would use the belt from the 1975 “V-neck”. This is one of the few belts without chains. This is one of the suits that were also used in 1977 and Elvis would alter between the original “Arabian Belt” and the “V-Neck Belt”.

During the May/June tour of 1975 one of Elvis’ most beautiful jumpsuits made its entrance; the “Chief” (better known as “Indian Feather”). Elvis would wear this suit frequently throughout 1975, that fall of 1976 and some of the first appearances in 1977. In 1975, Elvis would only use the original designed “Chief Belt”. But when this suit made a comeback in the fall of 1976, another belt was used. This belt was based on the old one with just a few differences on the belt itself and the buckle. This second belt was also used in Las Vegas in December 1975 on the “White Egyptian Bird”.

Two very flashy jumpsuits were introduced at Elvis’ July tour of 1975. The 1975 “Eskimo Totem Pole” and the 1975 “Chicken Bone”. Both with a belt that was regarded as being the original one for years. However when you focus upon the pattern on both belts you will see that it matches the pattern on two of Elvis’ navy blue two-pieces. So Elvis introduced both new jumpsuits with a non-original belt. The original designed belt of the “Eskimo Totem Pole” was not used until Elvis August 1975 season in Las Vegas and again in December of the same year. The same goes for the original belt of the “Chicken Bone” which was again used in 1976. All 1975 two-pieces were designed with a matching belt but Elvis refused to wear them because he felt he was carrying too much weight and wasn’t going to take off the jackets of these suits….

The last combinations are the 1975 “Phoenix” suits. Probably everybody knows by now the original designs were based upon the idea of a zebra. This is still visible in the belts. Elvis had several variations of these outfits and all of them had its own original designed belt. But sometime Elvis altered them, which causes a lot of confusion. For instance, Elvis would wear the “Navy Blue Jumpsuit with Silver Phoenix” often with the belt of the “White Jumpsuit with Black Phoenix” and the other way around. During my conversation with Gene Doucette he told me, he also designed a “Black Jumpsuit with Silver Phoenix”. It’s not known if Elvis ever used the suit but he certainly used the matching belt. To make things more complicated Elvis also altered the belt buckles as if he knew one day some idiot would try to untie these knots….

As for the belt on the above pictures I can only speculate. Sometimes Elvis did indeed altered the belts with different suits and even different buckles. It also seems like some of the suits had a second belt. Any useful information on this last topic is more than welcome. This concludes this story for now but off course I keep all options open for an update.

The last thing I would like to add is a piece of information that will probably surprise a lot of people. When Bill Belew started to design the first jumpsuits at the end of 1969 he did not count on the fact Elvis would be using stage belts. Even when Gene Doucette took over in 1971 the designers still hoped Elvis would let go of the belts one day. And Elvis tried too. During a lot of performance between June 1972 and June/July 1973 Elvis performed a short part of some shows without a belt. When Gene designed the 1973 “Aloha Bald Headed Eagle” he did put some eagle patterns around the waistline of the suit to persuade Elvis to let go of the belt. Elvis finally did but only at the end of the show when he tossed the belt into the audience.

Below a collection of pictures without the usual belt.

…..for now…..