LONDON, Dec 1 (AFP) - Londoners were rushing on Friday -- World AIDS Day -- to buy shoes, shirts and stage costumes belonging to flamboyant British pop star Elton John, who has put part of his legendary wardrobe on sale to raise money to help fight the disease.

Billed as "Out of the closet III", the sale, the third time the singer has put parts of enormous clothes collection on sale, began Wednesday in a morning event reserved for VIPs and Elton's numerous friends.

They shelled out 100,000 pounds (150,000 dollars, 165,000 euros) in just four hours.

The star is disposing of around 15,000 items of clothing and accessories for his AIDS Foundation in the third such sale of its kind.

On Friday morning buyers -- this time ordinary members of the public -- were still snapping up the star's cast-offs.

Many faced a half-hour wait in Bond Street, a chic shopping district of London, before being able to get into the shop where the sale was taking place.

As they waited, they were able to take in the message of a large black and white poster in the window, telling them that the musician's AIDS Foundation had already helped five million people, and reminding them that nobody had yet been cured of the disease.

In the queue was Gareth, a marketing specialist in his forties, who attended the previous sale of the singer's clothes in 1997.

"I've been a fan for 12 years," he said. "Some of these things are impossible to wear even at a party, but there are also brand new shirts here. He's never worn them and they're 10 times cheaper than in a boutique".

Inside, clothes on offer ranged from an extravagant 25,000 pound stage costume worn by the singer during his 1986 world tour, to a 20 pound football shirt -- soccer being one of the star's passions.

Items with designer labels were on offer for an average of 200 pounds.

"I'm not really a fan of Elton John, but I do like his clothes," said another buyer, after splashing out 200 pounds.

"I'm going on holiday tomorrow to the Far East," he added. "I can pretend I'm a millionaire with all my Versace gear".

Gareth, meanwhile, paid out 475 pounds for a pair of cowboy boots that Elton John wore on stage while on tour in the 1990s while promoting his album "The One".

But Gareth had no intention of wearing them. "It's more a collector's item", he explained.

The shoes in the sale -- all size 42 -- have sold fast. One pair of moccasins, however, remained buyerless. They were decorated with a penis made of red leather. Very rock'n'roll, but not that easy to wear.

001201
AF001243

Copyright © AFP or Agence France-Presse, 2000 - All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission..  http://www.afp.com/