Cherished clothes to go under the hammer

WHEN Audrey Watson went to a nightclub, she packed four different outfits into the boot of her car.

Audrey loved fashion and standing out from the crowd – and people loved to see her clothes. "I went out most weekends and people would say to me: 'We love to see you coming... what have you got in the boot?'"

Audrey didn't disappoint. A self-confessed shopaholic and fashion addict, she amassed hundreds of clothes, shoes, bags and wigs, most of which she only turned out in once.

"I never wore the same thing to the same place twice," says Audrey, now aged 85. "I'd go shopping and buy bags of clothes, then come home and have to hide them under the settee!"

A love of clothes is something she passed on to her daughter Helen, 55, who lives at Barmby on the Marsh in East Yorkshire.

Together they have catalogued Audrey's entire wardrobe – more than 1,000 items – ahead of an auction at Tennants in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, in May.

Selling her collection has been an agonising decision for Audrey; so much of her past is tied up with the clothes that once filled every room in her home and are now stored in 25 suitcases ready for the sale.

She said: "I have to let them go. I would like them to be bought by someone who will love wearing them and values them as much as me."

Helen added: "Over the years, the clothes have become such a burden to mum to look after."

Each item has been lovingly cared for. Many have been rarely worn, some still have their labels on. "A lot of the stuff I bought, I never got to wear; I just never had the time," confesses Audrey, who despite having four children, retained her petite figure that featured a 20-inch waist.

The clothes are mostly from the late 1960s and early 1970s. There are baby doll mini dresses with matching frilly knickers, play-suits and trouser-suits in an array of lurid psychedelic colours and over-sized prints – all style trademarks of the era.

Audrey also has a selection of evening dresses that she wore to country club dances with her late husband Ron. There are dozens of platform shoes and boots too.

Audrey admits she loved to stand out from the crowd. "I liked things that were unusual; things that people didn't have."

Audrey in 1972

Among the more unique pieces was a tunic made from fine gold chains which Audrey wore over black trousers and a black blouse.

When Helen was a teenager, she and Audrey would shop in London. A favourite haunt was Mr Freedom, a boutique on King's Road, frequented by the likes of Elton John, David Bowie, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood.

Audrey also bought some pieces by top designer Ossie Clarke, featuring Celia Birtwell prints, which she sold some time ago privately.

Helen recalls her mum cutting a dash on the school run. "My friends used to say: 'I wish my mum was like your mum'. She drove a green Ford Capri and would pick me up from school. She would arrive, with a portable record player in the footwell, with the window wound down and drive around the playground as other kids waited for the bus."

Many of Audrey's best buys came from the high street. Favourite shopping haunts included C&A, Miss Impact, Dolly Dolly, Bus Stop and Chelsea Girl.

Audrey in 1971 in hotpants and platform boots with husband Ron 

Sarah White, of Tennants, said the collection would be part of a sale day featuring other clothes, costume jewellery, ceramics and furniture from the period. Some of Audrey's outfits along with other sale items will be on display a week before in the new exhibition floors in the auction house's £8 million extension.

Sarah said she expected Audrey's clothes to be bought by personal buyers, collectors and owners of vintage clothing shops. She added: "It is an unusual collection. It's been very well stored and features all the iconic pieces from the period; there are lots of new fabrics, prints, bright colours, mini skirts, tunics and long trousers. It's fantastic to see that from one wardrobe."

Helen and Audrey have no idea how much the auction will raise, but the chic octogenarian knows what she will spend the proceeds on... and it's not a shopping spree at the designer outlet.

Audrey said: "I'll have a new shower."

* The auction will take place on Saturday, May 9. The exhibition, The Fashion Revolution, opens on Saturday, May 2. For more details, contact Tennants Auctioneers, Leyburn, North Yorkshire (tennants.co.uk). See more of the collection by visiting the Audrey's Wardrobe page on Facebook.