Elton John believes he is now too old to dress "flamboyantly".

The 60-year-old singer - who is a byword for outrageous costumes - claims his days of being a "fashion victim" are behind him.

Elton - who attended his own Oscar night AIDS fund raiser in Los Angeles on Sunday in an understated black suit - told US TV chat show host Larry King: "I could not wear some of my giant chicken outfits to the Oscar party - first because I would not fit in them any more, and secondly because I am 61 next month and I do not dress as flamboyantly as I used to.

"As you get older you change the way you think, the way you dress. I always liked to dress a little differently from other people but I am nowhere near the fashion victim I was a long time ago."

But the 'Are You Ready For Love' singer insists his dress sense will never become dull.

He said: "I may have been wearing a black suit to the Oscar party but I still had a nice silver tie and sparkly shirt."

Elton sported perhaps his most famous outfit to his 50th birthday when he donned a 3ft Louis XV-style powdered wig topped by a silver ship shooting real smoke from its cannons, a 15ft feather train and tight white breeches.