We remember when rock was young: 66 years ago today, Reginald Kenneth Dwight sashayed out of his mother’s womb in a cloud of glitter, feathers and sequins.
Though he’s deemed himself too old to dress “as flamboyantly as I used to,” we’re glad to take that yellow-brick road down memory lane and revisit Elton John‘s greatest fashion “hits” in honor of his birthday.
Check out Queerty’s retrospective of the Rocket Man’s signature style.
Sir Elton took this rather subtle pantsuit and embellished it with a statement shoulder — the statement being “Saturday night’s all right for gagging.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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Sir Elton’s style could often be described as “eccentric,” but this Donald Duck costume was the work of a quack. Note the absence of his signature glasses, meaning he probably got dressed blind. At least, let’s hope that was the reasoning.
With all these feathers, Sir Elton looks like he’s about to fly away…and here we thought the peacock was a flightless bird.
Sir Elton’s mum must have been so proud when her little boy took first place at the science fair for his human molecule costume.
Here he is giving Julie Newmar/Eartha Kitt/Michelle Pfeiffer/Anne Hathaway a run for their money as Honky Catwoman.
Sir Elton decided to pair this patriotic mohawk with one of Bea Arthur’s Golden Girls evening gowns for a mash-up of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Miami, You’ve Got Style” — America’s quintessential tunes.
Who says you can’t wear a quilted lamé sofa cover as a jacket? It’s really an everyday look.
He’s no tiny dancer. Little known fact: these are the actual size of Sir Elton’s feet, making him quite popular with the gentlemen — and a few ladies.
Sir Elton’s battles with drugs and booze have been well-publicized so you can bet he was more than a little buzzed in this bee costume.
For his 50th birthday, Sir Elton made an entrance fit for a queen, er, king, serving Louis XIV eleganza complete with a 15-foot feather train and a 3-foot powdered wig. It’s unlikely he’ll repeat this outfit for his 66th, since he now only wears it on laundry day.
Shane
He looks as ridiculous as Lady Gaga. Now I understand why they’re friends. They’re both immature bullies who like to dress like it’s Halloween 365 days of the year. Eeeeck.
Stache1
I remember watching him in concert wearing that duck outfit.
Wilberforce
I saw him in concert also, in a ridiculous getup. Long gone are the days when he was writing beautiful ballads and playing in a jean jacket. That was his best work, imo. When he turned pop, around the time of Don’t Shoot Me, we all cried.
Yiannis
He was one of the greatest singers-songwriters in the 70’s and in the 80’s and he was one of the first out musicians (in an interview in “Rolling Stone” in the mid 70’s at the commercial peek of his career). Being out hurt him commercially, at least on the short run. For all that he was, I’m willing to forgive all his extreme costume and lifestyle choices. The man is a gay treasure. Period.