Research Guides: Fashion Design and Merchandising Research Guide: FASH 3000, History of Dress

Fashion Books Call Numbers in the Library

Browse these call number areas for books related to fashion design and merchandising.

GT on the main floor (for clothing history)
TS on the lower level (for textile fabrics)
TT on the lower level (for fashion design and designers)
Reference Section (main floor, outside Library 127):
- GT has print copies of Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion (2010) and the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion (2005)

Use the Right Search Terms

Suggested terms for searching:

"fashion history"
"costume history"
clothing and dress -- history
cloth* - which will search clothes or clothing
costume
type of clothing such as dress, suit, lingerie, hat, accessories, etc.

Combine your search with a specific year, decade or time period or culture or nationality.

You can also search history books with chapters on pop culture, advertising, beauty, women and gender, etc.

Databases & Journals to Find Articles & Resources

Bloomsbury Fashion Central This link opens in a new window
The Berg Fashion Library contains the Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, reference works, ebooks, images, and museum exhibitions.

Costume: The Journal of the Costume Society
Published for the Costume Society by the Dept. of Textiles, Victoria and Albert Museum (0nline access from 2000)
Dress
Journal of the Costume Society of America (online access, 2016-2021)

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
An archive of scholarly full-text journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
The JSTOR archive holds the complete digitized back runs of core scholarly journals, starting with the very first issues, some dating as far back as the 1600s. Subject areas include the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

JSTOR includes various collections, and the St. Kate's Library has purchased the Arts and Sciences Collections I-VII and the Biological Sciences Collection. These collections include subsets for ecology & botany, language & literature, and music.

JSTOR's agreements with publishers often include a "moving wall," which means that the most recent years (typically 3-5 years) are not available.
America: History & Life This link opens in a new window
Scholarly articles on U.S. and Canadian History.

A complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. It indexes and abstracts more than 2,000 journals published worldwide. Book reviews, media reviews, and disserations are also indexed. Indexing began in 1954. This database is produced by ABC-CLIO, but you access it through EBSCO.
Art Full Text This link opens in a new window
A full-text database of art publications from the 1920s onwards, including periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins.
Art Full Text indexes more than 400 leading art publications from around the world, including periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins, and provides the full text for more than 100 periodicals. Our access includes Art Index Retrospective, which extends indexing back to 1929. Together, these databases cover topics such as art history, archaeology, architecture, crafts, film, folk art, graphic arts, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture, museology, painting, photography, sculpture, and textiles. The databases also index reproductions of works of art that appear anywhere in the indexed publications. Full text coverage begins in 1997.

Historical Newspapers & Magazines

Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window
A searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month, reproduced in high-resolution color page images.

Godey's Lady's Book - St. Kate's collections
Godey's Lady's Book (or Godey's Magazine) was an American women's magazine that was published from 1830 to 1878. It covered fashion, costume, entertainment, dance, and more. Selected print volumes are in the library's archives and the whole run of the magazine is available on microfilm.

New York Times (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window
Full-page images of the New York Times from 1851-2021.
Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Full-page imaging of American newspapers from the 1800s, including every article, advertisement, and illustration.
Minneapolis Tribune (1867-1922) This link opens in a new window
Scanned images of the paper (various titles) published between the years 1867 and 1922.
American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection This link opens in a new window
This database provides digital access to the American Antiquarian Society's comprehensive collection of more than 7,500 titles, in 5 series, published between 1684 and 1912.

Life Magazine
An American news magazine that ran from 1883-2002, Life is a good snapshot of a time in history. Available from 1935-1972 via Google Books.
Harper's Bazaar - Hathi Trust
Full-text access to Harper's Bazaar from 1867-1922.

Costume & Historical Dress Collections & Sites

Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Online collections include fashion, costume, wedding dresses, gender & sexuality, etc.
The Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology)
The museum's permanent collection 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. Their online collections range from the 18th century to the present.
FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum & Galleries
The FIDM Museum Permanent Collection contains 15,000 objects representing over 200 years of fashion history, including haute couture and ready-to-wear, world dress, film costumes, textiles, jewelry, and fragrance. Two major archives—Rudi Gernreich and Gianni Versace Menswear—are highlights of the museum’s collection.
FIDM Museum and Library (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles)
Collects fashion objects and support materials with outstanding design merit.
Fashion Museum Bath
Housed in the Assembly Rooms in Bath, England, the Fashion Museum "focuses on fashionable dress for men, women and children from the late 16th century to the present day." The site features images of highlights from the collection and lists from the "Dress of the Year" program. Take a virtual tour of this museum's extensive collection and special exhibits.
The Costumer's Manifesto
Musée de la Mode, Palais Galliera
The Palais Galliera preserves some of the richest collections in the world. Estimated today at nearly 200,000 works (clothing, accessories, photographs, drawings...), these collections reflect the codes of clothing in France from the 18th century to the present day.
The Goldsteim Museum of Design, University of Minnesota
Fashion collection containing the work of internationally prominent designers such as Charles Frederick Worth, Elsa Schiaparelli, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Issey Miyake, Norman Norrell, and Isaac Mizrahi.
Couturiere Parisienne
Fashions of the medieval and Renaissance to early 20th century. Includes images, articles, instructions and patterns for sewing.
Fashion Plate Collection
Digitized fashion plates from some of the leading French, British, American, and other continental fashion journals of the 19th century and early 20th century. University of Washington Digital Collections.

Fashion Design and Merchandising Research Guide

History of Fashion Web Resources

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Fashion Books Call Numbers in the Library

Use the Right Search Terms

Databases & Journals to Find Articles & Resources

Historical Newspapers & Magazines

Costume & Historical Dress Collections & Sites