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| Eleanor von Boetticher with son Theo and husband Timothy. (Debra Brash, Victoria Times Colonist) |
Elvis lives. Thirty years after the death of Elvis Presley, there are so many tribute artists crooning Viva Las Vegas and Suspicious Minds that costume designer Eleanor von Boetticher finds herself up to her elbows in studs, stones, nailheads and big ol’ belt buckles Wise men say only fools rush in, so it took Ms. von Boetticher seven years to develop a sideline in Elvis jumpsuits before going into it fulltime.
The costumes can take anywhere from 30 to 85 hours to complete and cost up to $2,800. For Ms. von Boetticher, who has sewn costumes for films like X-3: The Last Stand, Catwoman and I, Robot, it was a case of now or never after her son was born.
“I’m so lucky to have a business I can run from home,” says Ms. von Boetticher, 39, who runs Pro Elvis Jumpsuits from her home studio in Nanaimo, B.C. She graduated from Dalhousie with a Masters in Political Science followed by a certificate in costume studies in the mid-90s.“I can get a lot done in the evenings when my boy is asleep or daytime when he’s napping. I have the freedom to fit things in here and there.”