During their trip to Las Vegas, Elvis bought Priscilla new clothes to make her appear older and more mature. He also had her hair styled and makeup put on to suit his preferences, but he didn’t want to watch the process.
“Some can’t have the truth,” she recently explained. “I always had a little bit of makeup. He never wanted to see me getting dressed, he wanted to see the end result.”
Priscilla’s Trip To Graceland
Even though her parents refused to allow her to move in with Elvis, they agreed to let her visit for two weeks as long as three conditions are met: Elvis was asked to pay for a first-class round trip plane ticket, arrange for a chaperone to be with Priscilla at all times, and Priscilla had to write home every day.
He agreed. However, once Priscilla arrived he surprised her by telling her they’d be going to Las Vegas.
Living Like a Rock Star
To keep up the illusion that she was staying in Graceland, Elvis had Priscilla write a postcard for each day they were gone and had his staff mail them out.
While in Vegas, Priscilla found it difficult to keep up with her host’s rockstar lifestyle and started experimenting with illegal substances. She would use them to stay awake and then resort to sleeping pills when she couldn’t fall asleep. It wasn’t enough to please him though.
Christmas In Graceland
Priscilla's next visit to Graceland was the following Christmas. After letting it be known that he planned to marry her, Elvis was able to convince her parents to allow her to finish high school in Memphis so they could be close to each other.
After agreeing that she would live with Elvis’ father and stepmother, Priscilla was enrolled at Immaculate Conception High School. However, she ultimately moved in with Elvis before she graduated.
A Barbie Girl in a Barbie World
Elvis kept shaping Priscilla’s appearance. He had porcelain caps put on her teeth, scolded her poor posture, told her to dye her hair black, style it into a pompadour, and made her dress similarly to himself. He pushed her to have a similar image to his own. It went so far that Priscilla claimed she was, "Elvis’ living doll, to fashion as he pleased."
Elvis would also provide her with substances so that she would have the energy to go to school during the day but also be available to him at night. That was just the beginning of his controlling ways.