A single bidder at an auction in Connecticut paid $45,000 US for John Lennon's white suit, which he wore for the Abbey Road album cover, while a brown velvet, fleur-de-lys-embroidered blazer worn by the ex-Beatle in his Imagine music video fetched $18,000. A single bidder at an auction in Connecticut paid $45,000 US for John Lennon's white suit, which he wore for the Abbey Road album cover, while a brown velvet, fleur-de-lys-embroidered blazer worn by the ex-Beatle in his Imagine music video fetched $18,000. (Matthew Vinci/The Hour/Associated Press)A John Lennon fan started the New Year off with a deal, snagging at a Connecticut auction an iconic outfit worn by the slain Beatle: the white, custom-made, two-piece suit from the Abbey Road album cover.

An anonymous bidder successfully bought the tailored, wool-blend, Ted Lapidus suit — famously worn by Lennon as he led his Beatles bandmates across the zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios in 1969 — for $46,000 US at Braswell Galleries' annual New Year's Day auction on Saturday.

The new owner, who entered the winning bid online, triumphed amid a standing-room-only crowd.

A brown velvet, fleur-de-lys-embroidered blazer Lennon wore in the music video for his song Imagine also fetched a tidy price, with a bidder paying $18,000 US.

According to auction house co-owner Gary Braswell, the previous owner of the suit and blazer decided to sell after experiencing economic hardship. Together, the garments had previously sold at auction for $120,000 US in 2005.

Other Lennon memorabilia available at the auction included photos, gold albums and the rusted 1972 Chrysler station wagon that Lennon and wife Yoko Ono drove around Manhattan.

A successful bidder named Hank Gioiella landed the battered, olive green car for $5,500 US.

With files from The Associated Press