I had thought about using EL wire too. I've made several lightsaber blades, and although I'm no expert, I feel pretty confident in using this stuff. You could get a nice effect with it, but only at night. EL is fairly invisible in daylight.
You could even go cheaper. I think ELWIRECHEAP.COM has some small blinkers with about 1' of wire on it for abot $6. The flash speed can be controlled too.
Just another idea - but I'd much rather have Shackman's lights! But I've got to pay Wes for the boots first!