Vegas Elvis impersonators group Halloween costume: The DIY look that has us all shook up!

This is a group costume I've always been excited to do! I'm a longtime fan of Elvis and the campiness of his impersonators. Also, there is something absolutely adorable about a kid dressing up as 'the King'! I wanted to make this DIY really fun and easy to do. You can find the supplies at the dollar store, a local material store, and a thrift shop. Instead of using jumpsuits I used basic pants and dress shirts. I went with Las Vegas-style Elvises for the fun of the bling and bedazzling. Also, the diamonds and rhinestones definitely helped me convince my little ladies to dress up as "this old guy from the fifties" without too much of a fight.

Here's what you'll need:

• White jeans/pants
• Black dress shirt
• Black pants
• Black blazer
• Silver pants
• White T-shirt
• 1 yard of gold material
• 1 yard of white material (I used a white sheet.)
• 1 yard of blue material
• 1 yard of blue tassel
• 1 yard of gold sequin ribbon (3 inches wide)
• 1 yard of silver sequin ribbon (3 inches wide)
• 2 small wooden plaques for belt (I found mine at the dollar store.)
• ½ yard of gold chain for belt
• Misc embellishing jewels
• Velcro for cape
• 4 sheets of rhinestone stickers (I used clear and gold.)
• Glue gun
• Glue sticks
• Sewing machine
• Scissors
• 3 Elvis wigs
• 3 Elvis-style sunglasses

Here's how to do it:

White "Jumpsuit" Elvis

1. Let's begin with our white jumpsuit Elvis outfit. He's famous for his many different versions of the white jumpsuit he wore in his Las Vegas days. But, since white jumpsuits can be difficult to find, I went with white pants and a white dress shirt instead. Once belted and bedazzled, it's hard to tell the difference.

First, let's make those pants flare! Make a cut 12 inches inward on the outer seam of the pant leg of your white pants. This is where the gold material will go to make a bell at the bottom of the pants. I like to make a paper pattern first. Draw and cut out a triangle 14 inches tall and 10 inches wide on a piece of paper. If you don't have paper big enough, just tape a couple of pieces together. Cut out pattern. 

Since we need two of these gold inserts we can fold the material in half. Now place the pattern onto the folded gold material and pin into place. Cut out shapes.

Turn your white pants inside out. Take your gold triangle and pin each side onto the opening slit created earlier. Using a sewing machine, sew up each side, using white thread. Repeat on the other leg. If you don't have a sewing machine you can definitely do this step with some safety pins and a glue gun to hold the fabric in place.

2. Time to embellish our pants! I picked up 4 sheets of rhinestone stickers from the dollar store. Even though they are stickers, use a glue gun to reinforce the strength of the adhesive. Place a dab of hot glue onto the back of the diamond sticker and press firmly onto the outer side of the pant seam. Work your way down the outer leg, placing stickers approximately 1 centimetre apart. I continued downward with smaller stickers on the opening of the bell bottom and around the bottom of the hem of the white part of the pant. Once, you've figured out sticker placement, secure them into place with hot glue.

I added other gold rhinestones onto the front pockets as well. Have fun with this part. Elvis was very over the top, so let your creative OTT flag wave!

3. Let's continue our bedazzling onto the white shirt. I used the diamond stickers on the shoulders as well as some other gold rhinestones. Secure them into place with hot glue. I like to put everything onto the shirt without glue first to make sure I like the pattern. I added rhinestones to the buttons of the shirt and on the collar as well. The more dazzle the better with this costume!

4. Belt it out! Elvis almost always had a very large, jewel encrusted belt on, so this is a great element to add to your costume. I found wooden plaques from the dollar store that work perfectly for the buckle. If the colours don't match your costumes, you can always use a little bit of craft paint to make them match. I created a pattern first with the rhinestones and stickers, then secured them into place once I was happy with my design. I used sequin ribbon for the belt. Measure the ribbon around the waist of the pant and cut it 3 inches larger. I glued two 2-inch pieces of Velcro at the ends to secure my belt together. I secured the buckle to the middle of the belt with hot glue. After your buckle is dry, turn the belt over and add two 7-inch pieces of gold chain with hot glue to either side.

5. Onto the cape! Lay your shirt with the arms stretched out on top of the gold material. Make a cut in the gold fabric along the top right sleeve to the middle top of the collar. Now cut from the middle part of the bottom of the shirt arching up to the sleeve. Remove the shirt. Now fold the cut piece over on top of the other half of fabric. Cut around the rest of the fabric. This will create a symmetrical cape. If you are hesitant to make cuts in your fabric, you can make a pattern out of paper first.

Place the gold piece of fabric face down onto your piece of white fabric and pin into place. Sew around the perimeter leaving a 3 to 4-inch opening through which to pull the fabric through to turn it right side out. Once you've turned it right side out, iron it flat. I used a little hot glue to close up the opening. Lay your shirt onto the cape, gold side facing forward. I secured my cape in place with some Velcro. Hot glue 2-inch pieces of Velcro onto the sleeve ends and another onto the base of the collar. Voila we have a cape! 

Blazer Elvis

1. I've always loved Elvis in a blazer. This Elvis costume is very easy to put together. First, bedazzle the collar of the blazer. I made a pattern with my stickers and then secured them into place with hot glue. Pair this with silver or black pants and a white T-shirt.

Tassel Elvis

1. Tassel time! I added tassel to the back of this version of Elvis instead of a cape. Place the tassel onto the back of a black shirt and pin into place. Secure it with hot glue. Add diamond stickers to the edge of the tassel for some extra bling. Hot glue them into place and then trim the ends of the tassel. 

2. Refer to steps 1 and 2 from the white jumpsuit Elvis DIY for how to make the pants and bedazzled belt. Since I used adult-sized pants I increased the size of the slit which made my insert triangles 16 inches tall and 12 inches wide. Remember: when making Elvis costumes, the more bling the better!

Don't forget to snap a photo of your designs and tag CBC Life on Facebook or Instagram. Happy Halloween!

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Lady Hayes is a designer, photographer and mama, known for her beautiful floral inspired projects and lifestyle. Her love of flowers shines through her couture crafted Flower Crowns and Petal Pop, her line of Floral Confetti with sun dried roses and gold confetti glitter. Stay connected! Visit Hayes over on her Instagram or visit her website to shop and say hi!