Research Guides
Drama: Costume Design
Drama resources including production resources, digital collections, image collections, costume resources, plays and monologues.
Finding Books
The following subject headings may be useful when looking for books on clothing and costume design:
1. Costume - refers to clothing of a particular place or period as well as treated as an artistic object or clothing created for the stage, screen, or special events
2. Costume Design - used for clothing and dress design as well as fashion design
3. Clothing & Dress - refers to the utilitarian aspects of clothing, including works on how to dress
4. Clothing - see above note for clothing & dress
5. Fashion - used for style in dress
Search for Books Now
Starting Points
These resources provide broad yet detailed overviews of fashion and costume design across styles and cultures. Entries often point to other helpful resources if you want to dig deeper into a specific topic.
Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion by
Publishing in summer 2010 in print and online, the 10-volume Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion is the first comprehensive reference work to explore all aspects of dress and fashion globally - from pre-history to the present day. Arranged geographically and written by an internationalteam of experts, the Encyclopedia will serve as the go-to source for all issues relating the art and anthropology of costume, dress, and fashion the world over for students, scholars, members of the design and fashion industries, and fashion aficionados for years to come.The Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion brings together for the first time the work of over 600 renowned scholars from every part of the globe. All articles have been specially commissioned and particular effort has been made to commission articles by indigenous scholars with in-depth localknowledge.
Call Number: GT507 .E54 2010ISBN: 9780195377330Publication Date: 2010
Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion by
"Steele, director of the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum, has crafted, with the help of 325 contributors, an authoritative introduction to fashion, the industry, and the issues that hve defined the field. Some 640 articles describe the colorful facets of couture and textiles, from fabrics of chintz, corduroy, and feathers to such garb as aprons, bikinis, and prison dress. There are color plates and nearly 600 black-and-white illustrations. Back matter includes a comprehensive index, a timeline, and a topical outline."--"Reference that rocks," American Libraries, May 2005.
Publication Date: 2005
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through American History 1900 to the Present by
Find out what we wore and why we wore it in The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing in American History-Twentieth Century to the Present. This fascinating reference set provides two levels of information: descriptions of styles of clothes that Americans have worn and, as important, why they wore those types of clothes. With volume one covering 1900-1949 and volume two covering 1950 to the present, the first half of each volume provides four chapters that each examine the impact that political and cultural events, arts and entertainment, daily life, and family structures have on fashion. The second half of each volume describes the important and everyday fashion and styles of the period, decade by decade, for women, men, and children. The set also includes helpful timelines; resource guides listing web sites, videos, and print publications; an extensive glossary; and illustrations. Fashion influences how we view other people and how we view ourselves. Find out what we wore and why we wore it in The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing in American History - Twentieth Century to the Present. This fascinating reference set provides descriptions of styles of clothes that men, women, and children have worn in the U.S. since 1900, and, as important, why they wore them. In addition to chapters describing fashion trends and types of clothes, this work examines the impact that cultural history has on fashion and how fashion may serve as an impetus for change in society. With volume one covering 1900-1949 and volume two covering 1950 to the present, the first half of each volume provides four chapters that examine the impact that political and cultural events, arts and entertainment, daily life, and family structures have on cultural life and fashion. The second half of each volume describes the important and everyday fashion and styles of the period, decade by decade, for women, men, and children. The set also includes helpful timelines; resource guides of web sites, videos, and print publications; an extensive glossary; and illustrations. Fashion is not for the exclusive use of the social elite and the rich, nor can it be simply dismissed as just showing off. We use fashion to express who we are and what we think, to project an image, to bolster our confidence, and to attract partners.
Publication Date: 2008
Finding Articles
- Vogue Archive 1892-present
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The Vogue Archive contains the entire run of American Vogue magazine from 1892 to the present day – more than 400,000 pages in total reproduced in high-resolution color page images. This fully searchable database constitutes a treasure trove of the work of the greatest designers, photographers, stylists and illustrators of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Vogue Archive is both an essential primary source for the study of fashion and a unique record of American and international popular culture. - Vogue Paris 1920-1940From the National Library of France in .pdf format; searchable and browseable. 143 issues from 1920-1940. Not all issues from a particular year are available.
- Design & Applied Arts Index This link opens in a new window
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Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI) is the leading source of abstracts and bibliographic records for articles, news items, and reviews published in design and applied arts periodicals from 1973 onwards. DAAI covers both new designers and the development of design and the applied arts since the mid-19th century, surveying disciplines including jewellery, graphic design, fashion and clothing, textiles, furniture, interior design, architecture, etc. - International Bibliography of Theater & Dance This link opens in a new window
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Scholarly journals, popular magazines, and monographs in theatre and dance. - Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
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Scholarly articles and general interest sources in all fields.
Costume Links
- Harpers BazaarThis open access database contains scans of all issues published between November 1867 – December 1900, with very few gaps.
- Jalou Fashion Magazine ArchiveOver 200,000 pages of pages of fashion magazines available free since 1921! On this site you can read all the pages of the magazines: L'Officiel de la Mode from 1921 to 2007, L'Art de la Mode from 1883 to 1969, as well as L'Officiel Hommes from 1977 to 1989, and other titles published by Les Éditions Jalou. You can also search by keyword.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art-Costume ChannelVideo of exhibitions, discussions with designers, symposium, and wig making.
- Artstor This link opens in a new window
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Search over one million digital images across visual arts, the humanities, and sciences. Search under the "Classification > Fashion, Costume, and Jewelry" for fashion and costume results.
- Europeana Fashion PortalAccess to hundreds of thousands of fashion items from Europe's richest collections, including items from the Victoria & Albert Museum, Les Arts Decoratif, the Nordiska Museet, and the Royal Museums for Arts and History. Click through "View at" link to find additional images in the respective institution, as well as additional information on the item.
- Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Image CollectionThis database offers access to tens of thousands of high resolution images from the Folger Shakespeare Library, including books, theater memorabilia, manuscripts, and art. Can search for costumes to see examples of real costumes as well as drawings and other objects.
- Costume Collection at the Museum of the Fashion Institute of AmericaThe Museum’s permanent collection now encompasses some 50,000 garments and accessories from the 18th century to the present. Important designers such as Adrian, Balenciaga, Chanel, and Dior are represented. The collecting policy of the Museum focuses on aesthetically and historically significant “directional” clothing, accessories, textiles and visual materials, with emphasis on contemporary avant-garde fashion.
- Textiles and Costumes at the Henry Art GalleryThe Henry Art Gallery’s Costume and Textile Collection provides a resource for studying the construction and design of fiber-based objects, their relationship to other art forms, and their historical and cultural role in the societies that produced them. The collection illustrates the wide range of aesthetic and technical skills employed over several millennia by often anonymous master artisans, and it documents how technology and mechanization have influenced one of humankind’s most basic activities. This electronic gallery guide provides concepts for understanding costume and textiles and serves as a point of entry to explore this remarkable collection.
- The Costumer's ManifestoOffers extensive historical, geographical breakdown of costume history as well as accessories, uniforms, costume shops, dyeing, etc.
- Millieux: The Costume SiteIncludes: images, museums, theatrical sites, accessories, etc. Site also focuses on laces and textile.
- The History of Costume by Braun & Schneider - c.1861-1880The "History of Costume" or "Zur Geschichte der Kostüme" was printed from 1861 to 1880 in Munich by the publishing firm of Braun and Schneider. It was originally published as individual plates in a German magazine titled "Münchener Bilderbogen". Later, these plates were collected and bound into book form. The total publication consisted of 125 pages, with four pictures per pages, for a total of 500 costume designs. These plates consisted of historical dress from antiquity to the end of the 19th century. This book is an excellent source for students who are studying the history of fashion and for costume designers. One must be aware though, that these illustrations have a Victorian perspective to their designs. The last 35 pages consists of contemporary folk dress (c.1880) from most European, Asian, and African countries. These provides a source for researching plays which take place during the Victorian period, such as "The King and I" or "The Sea Gull".
- Colonial Williamsburg: Eighteenth Century ClothingSite includes women's, men's, and children's clothing, a millinery's shop, and links to resources for the reproduction of historic clothing. Site also includes links to furniture and props and pages on tradespeople and social history.
- From the Neck UpWebsite for the book From the Neck Up which includes a list of millinery suppliers with links when available and a list of links to sites with information about hats or which sell hats.