thousands of dollars-worth of garments which were smoke-damaged in a fire last weekend.

The Front Street boutique is holding a three day clearance sale of thousands of women's clothes starting on Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Shed Number Six, Hamilton.

Bargain-hunters will be able to cash in on the shop's misfortune by picking up clothes, handbags and shoes for 60 percent off the normal price.

The store will remain closed for industrial cleaning. It will reopen in February when a new shipment of clothes from top designers around the world arrives on the Island.

Staff will be kept on to help prepare for the re-opening while the store undergoes industrial cleaning.

The shop was smoke-logged in the early hours of Saturday when a freezer in next-door Bermuda Wine and Spirits caught fire.

Cecile is in negotiations with its insurers, BF&M, about recovering the cost of the damaged clothes.

When asked if the store could take legal action against Bermuda Wine and Spirits, a Cecile spokeswoman would only say: "Cecile is still in discussions with its insurers.'' Cecile manager/buyer Julia Hamshere said earlier this week it was a tragedy the clothes were damaged in the run-up to Christmas.

She said yesterday: "We do not wish to compromise Cecile's high standards and so we are removing all damaged stock -- clothing, handgbags, shoes -- from the store so that we can clean the store and start again.''