- Delores Weaver in 1957
It goes without saying (though I’ll say it here because I have to start this blog post somehow) that Elvis Presley had a considerable influence on music, fashion, hair styles, interior design, and — well, I could go on, but you get the idea.
And when his hit movie Jailhouse Rock came out in 1957, at least one Memphis woman was so bedazzled by the jailhouse fashions that she designed a rather special shirt for her daughter, as shown here. An accompanying news clipping from the old Press-Scimitar explains:
JAILHOUSE BLOUSE
Delores Weaver, 10, wears prison stripes to be like Elvis. A fifth-grade student at Colonial School, Delores designed her blouse, even down to the prison number from Elvis’ prison garb in his new picture, “Jailhouse Rock.” Her mother, Mrs. G.M. Weaver, carried out the idea with needle and thread. She can rock and roll, too.”
I’m not sure that sending your child to school dressed like a prisoner is the best way to motivate a youngster, but what do I know?
What I would like to know is: Where are you today, Delores Weaver?
And what happened to that shirt?
PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS LIBRARIES