Take a peep at what they were wearing

Friday, Oct. 5, 2007 | 8:25 a.m.

What: "Peeping Todd: Select Treasures From the Burlesque Hall of Fame"

When: Noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 6 to 10 tonight as part of First Friday

Through: Dec. 1

Where: Atomic Todd, 1541 S. Commerce St., Suite 100

Admission: Free; 386-8633, atomictodd.com

The way Laura Herbert sees it, the Burlesque Hall of Fame's collection of gowns, pasties and G-strings is vital to our country's story.

"There aren't many true American art forms, and burlesque is one of them," she says. "It's like jazz. They came about in the same era."

A trustee for the Burlesque Hall of Fame, Herbert is one of many fans saving burlesque history and the memory of dancers who toured America back in the day.

The nonprofit organization in Las Vegas hasn't had a permanent home since leaving a ranch in Helendale, Calif. But "Peeping Todd: Select Treasures From the Burlesque Hall of Fame," on display at Atomic Todd, gives a taste of what the museum might look like.

Gypsy Rose Lee's trunk and outfits are featured near a purple sequined gown worn by Tempest Storm, who attended a party Wednesday at the gallery. There are pasties belonging to Dixie Evans and a 17-piece outfit from Rose la Rose, complete with tear-away breast cups and a cigarette holder.

The true stars of the exhibit are the dancers' promotional posters. They're worn, torn, stained and accented by the women, who altered them according to laws and preferences of cities in which they performed. Some added skirts; others painted bikini tops over bare breasts. They added weight, subtracted weight and changed outfits from naughty to nice or vice versa. The fantastically camp 60-by-40 inch posters were matted on hard surfaces and lugged on trains, shipped or driven cross-country.

"I love the fact that they are water-stained," says Todd VonBastiaans, owner of Atomic Todd. "I never really thought about them until I saw them and the way the dancers decorated them. Then they became art pieces as well as historical pieces. The shipping information is still on them. There aren't that many around. Most of them ended up in the trash."

That any of them survived is remarkable. Many of the costumes are in the same battered condition. Adorned with pearls, beads, gems and sequins, they were flung across stages night after night, lugged from city to city, stored in attics and basements and sometimes displayed in harsh environments.

Conservation will be the museum's highest priority, Herbert says.

The collection was started by performer Jennie Lee, who organized a union for dancers. She kept items on her ranch in San Bernardino County, Calif., hoping to someday have a museum and retirement community for dancers.

When Lee died, Dixie Evans took over the collection and displayed it in a barn on the ranch. Dancers would meet once a year at the ranch. Now the reunions and festivities are held in Las Vegas.

Ninety percent of the collection was donated by the dancers. Herbert and her husband moved here last November to oversee the Hall of Fame with Evans. It seems logical to Herbert that history and entertainment buffs travel far and wide to see the items and pay respect to the once notorious art form.

"It falls under so many umbrellas - American history, women's history, entertainment history and fashion history."