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Priscilla: A Vintage Fashion Lover’s Dream

JasmineHoward
Black and white image of Elvis Presley and Priscilla with Lisa Marie, February 1968

Jasmine Howard

Priscilla (2023) is a film that truly deserves an Oscar for best costume. Stacey Battat’s costume design embodies everything vintage fashion lovers dream of.

From the cutesy 1950s schoolgirl image, through to the bold It girl looks of the 1960s, and eventually ending with the stylish mum looks of the 1970s, the costume design gives absolutely everything and more.

Living In My Head Rent Free

As a fashion student obsessed with the 1950s to 1970s, when I heard about the release of Priscilla, I just knew I had to see it.

Naturally, I was filled with apprehension as I entered the cinema. What if the costumes don’t live up to expectations and I leave feeling severely disappointed? Or what if the plot is terrible — I’m looking at you, Elvis (2022)?

Luckily, the film exceeded my expectations and secured a firm spot in my top three favourite films of all time (Priscilla, Grease, and Last Night in Soho, in case anyone was wondering — yes, there’s a theme here.)

I can safely say that I have not stopped thinking about the costumes since.

Let’s Start At The Very Beginning

At the start of the film we see a very young Priscilla just before she meets the man himself, Elvis.

Here, Priscilla truly looks her juvenile 14 years of age, perhaps even younger, and her outfit conveys this innocence. Whilst sitting in a café with a soft drink, Priscilla wears a cutesy cardigan with a shirt and long circle skirt.

Throughout these early scenes, we mostly see Priscilla at school or wearing her school uniform. This schoolgirl imagery encourages the audience to view Elvis as predatory. From the start we are reminded that this film is about Priscilla as a victim, not Elvis as a hero.

A Nice Day For A White Wedding

One of the more stylised outfits in the film is Priscilla’s wedding dress. Designed by Chanel, the costume was inspired by the real thing, but was not an exact copy. Whilst the dress silhouette and much of the styling are the same, some modern elements typical of Chanel were added.

The style of the dress mirrors the babydoll nightdresses we see Priscilla wear on various nights with Elvis. Could this be yet another reference to innocence? Throughout the film, so many of her outfits have a childlike aesthetic, reminiscent of Lolita. This could all be a deliberate choice to emphasise Priscilla as the victim in an age-gap relationship with an incredibly famous star.

Swinging Sixties

When I tell you I screamed when I saw this dress, I mean it.

It is the most epitomised 1960s dress of the film and the hair, makeup and accessories only amplify it. After seeing the film, I just could not get this dress out of my head. So, I decided to make it. With a little bit of trial and error, I managed to produce a dress that is as close to Priscilla’s as I could make it.

Image courtesy of Jasmine Howard.

The main thing I noticed when recreating this dress was its intricacy and detail. The dress may appear simple at first glance, but the neckline in particular has many layers. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent pleating organza to make it as accurate as possible!

https://twitter.com/RollingStone/status/1720489441150615879

This dress perfectly embodies the 1960s without drawing attention to the fact it’s a costume. Despite the big hair and heavy eyeliner, the look still evokes a sense of innocence, perhaps due to the white and floral motifs. We mustn’t forget that in the mid-1960s, Priscilla was only in her early 20s whilst Elvis was ten years older.

Oscar Worthy?

All in all, Priscilla is an outstanding film with costumes that would make any vintage fashion fan weak at the knees. I would even go as far as to say that Stacey Battat deserves an Oscar for her attention to detail, historical accuracy and the beauty of the finished result.

Naturally, the 1960s daisy dress is my favourite outfit from the film — what was yours?

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Featured image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. This image is in the public domain.

I'm a Fashion Design and Communications Graduate who currently works as a Students Union President. I run the Pop Babble podcast and I am an Entertainment Editor here at Empoword. My career goal is to be a fashion historian/journalist!

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