Thousands of costumes from shows at the Paris Opera are up for sale

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From Correspondent Jim Bittermann

PARIS (CNN) -- After the "fat lady" sings, where does she hang her dress?

Thousands of costumes from shows performed by the Paris Opera have been stacking up for years -- all stored in a warehouse that is now bursting at the seams.

No one wanted to throw out the costumes, some hand-sewn and hand-fitted at the Opera's costume workshop. But something had to be done.

VIDEO Tour the opera's warehouse, with CNN's Jim Bittermann. Windows Media 28K 80K     GALLERY Paris Opera House costume gallery

"We need space, we are not a museum," said Hugues Gall, the opera director.

It was decided to give the public a chance to own some of the costumes. After all, the opera house is funded by the taxpayers. So about 10,000 garments are being sold with prices ranging from $3 to $150.

"We sell them for a low price to the French public and back to the taxpayers," Gall said. "The idea is not to earn money for the Paris Opera, it's to give it back to the French taxpayers."

Rack after rack of costumes go on sale this weekend. Thousands of Parisians and tourists are expected to line up to buy them -- for a song.

Costumes that are not sold will be used for rehearsals

The costumes may come with their own history, but they don't come with a money-back guarantee. The stage can be hard on handmade clothes.

"Because of the dust, because of the light, because of the panic on the stage, because of the movement, they are not new and they wear the signs of this life," said one opera worker.

The sale will give many of the costumes a new life. And one costume-maker hopes the buyers learn something about the opera.

"It would be nice if this sale gives the opportunity to people to come and discover a new world," he said.

Not all of the costumes will be sold. Some will be used for rehearsals and repertory productions. Others are being loaned out for commercial expositions and a few special costumes will be displayed in a new opera museum.

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