Priscilla designer costumes auctioned

</figure> <date></date>IT IS a treasure trove of lace leather glitter and feathersthat evokes a time when clothes truly did make the man woman or insome cases montblanc sport replica the drag queen. <bod></bod>

Today hundreds of costumes and vintage items made and acquiredby Cliff Brunton the veteran designer of stage shows including theLion King and Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert will gounder the hammer at the Lawson's auction house in Annandale.

The collection features pieces made for theatre productions orfancy dress hire: intricate showgirl headpieces heavy velvetElizabethan pantaloons and leather gladiator vests.

But it also includes glamorous evening wear from the 1980s which Brunton's business of 30 years The Costume Design Centre hired out to women who wanted to look like a star for a night. "Alot of those glamorous beaded evening frocks have been worn by alot of well-to-do eastern suburbs ladies " he said.

It was an era of audacious fashion that Brunton is nostalgicfor. "We've become pretty ordinary I think " said the designer who worked in some of Sydney's premier drag venues in the 1970s."We tend to dress down. Style is something only left for the few brillier replica watches replica breguet marines watches whereas a long time back we used to dress for a lot more."

The 61-year-old decided he needed to downsize his business andis moving from his old premises in Chippendale to a smallerbuilding in Marrickville. The move has meant much of the oldcollection has to be sold.

Simon Hill general manager of Lawson's says the collection hasalready received plenty of interest. "The main people interested sofar have been theatre companies and schools which participate ineisteddfods " he said.

He expects prices will range from $5 to $8000 for some of therare vintage items including costumes from a 19th-century Chineseopera decorated with gelatine sequins and monkey fur.

<byline>Josephine Tovey</byline>
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