Tim Curry's Rocky Horror Corset Cost Just $4 at a Glasgow Market Stall

Tim Curry passed away this week at age 80, and fans are remembering the actor behind some of film and TV’s most beloved characters. But one story keeps coming up in remembrances, and it’s about the outfit that defined a generation of midnight moviegoers. His Dr. Frank-N-Furter costume fromThe Rocky Horror Picture Showstarted as a secondhand corset purchased for just three pounds, about four dollars, from a market barrow in Glasgow.

Costume designer Sue Blane spotted the piece and knew it was something special. Curry initially expected to wear a lab coat for the role, but Blane had other plans. She paired the corset with fishnets and custom-made platform heels, and the rest is history. Curry had actually worn the same corset, back-to-front, in a 1973 stage production of“The Maids”before it hit the silver screen. He always maintained the look wasn’t drag, telling NPR’s Terry Gross,“It’s just what people wear in Transylvania.”

The costume has been copied, parodied, and celebrated for fifty years. Luke Evans even took on the role in a Broadway revival this year. It’s proof that you don’t need a huge budget to create something unforgettable. Sometimes you just need a good eye and a little bit of Scottish market luck. What’s the best bargain find you’ve ever turned into something special? Drop your story in the comments below.