NOTEWORTHY DEATH

Memphis clothier dressed Elvis Presley

MEMPHIS -

Bernard Lansky, the Memphis retailer who helped a young Elvis Presley establish his signature clothing style of pegged pants, twotoned shoes and other flashyduds in the 1950s, has died. He was 85.

Julie Lansky, the clothier’s granddaughter, said he died Thursday at his Memphis home.

Bernard Lansky and his brother Guy started a retail business in Memphis in 1946, with help from a $125 loan from their father, Samuel.

After World War II, the store started selling Army surplus goods on Beale Street. When the supply dried up, they opened a high-fashion men’s store, where Bernard Lansky established his reputation as a natural salesman and storyteller.

Lansky Bros. ended up supplying Presley with the pink and black shirts and other outfits.

“It’s a statement to say that he dressed one of the most influential entertainers of all time,” Julie Lansky said in atelephone interview. “He knew that for any entertainer, they had to look different.”

Even though his style of dress changed over the years - including sparkling jumpsuits - Presley shopped at Lansky Bros. the rest of his life. Presley died at his Memphis residence, Graceland, in 1977.

Lansky picked out the white suit and blue tie that Presley was buried in.

“I put his first suit on him and his last suit on him,” Lansky was fond of saying.

In 1981, Lansky Bros. moved to the Peabody Hotel, a few blocks away from their original Beale Street location.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 10 on 11/16/2012

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