A man wearing lipstick, a wig and a silk jacket stole an undisclosed amount of money Saturday night from the Fashion Bug in Ellicott City's Chatham Mall, Howard County police said.

The man opened his brown leather purse, pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and demanded money from the clerk. A companion opened his overcoat, revealing a shotgun, police said.

Police suspect that the same cross-dresser robbed Sally's Beauty Supply in the 8600 block of Liberty Road about two hours earlier.

The cross-dressing bandit fits the description of a man wanted in the October robbery of Tower Federal Credit Union on Snowden River Parkway. In that crime, Howard police said a man wearing a wig, lipstick and a blue-and-white sweat suit was alone.

The man was described as a black man in his late 20s to early 30s and weighing about 200 pounds.

Pub Date: 11/24/98