Costume Research Guide
Background Information
Books
Journal and Newspaper Articles
Online Images
Background Information
Reference books are excellent sources of background information for costume. Many of these books will have illustrations and written descriptions of period dress. Some include information on hairstyles and accessories, as well as clothing.
Selected Titles from the Reference Collection
The Chronicle of Western Fashion: From Ancient Times to the Present Day [X] GT511.P42 1991
Complete History of Costume and Fashion: From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day [X] GT375.C67 2001
Costumes and Settings for Staging Historical Plays [X] PN2067.C33 1979 (5 volumes)
Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion [X] GT507.E53 2005 (3 volumes)
Fashion and Costume in American Popular Culture: A Reference Guide [X] GT605.O45 1996The Guide to Historic Costume [X] GT507.B33 1995
The Historical Encyclopedia of Costumes [X] GT510.R3313 1988The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Costume and Fashion: From 1066 to the Present [X] GT720.C37 1994
Theatrical Costume, Masks, Make-up, and Wigs: A Bibliography and Iconography [X] PN2067.J68 1997
20th-Century Fashion: The Complete Sourcebook [X] GT596.P433 1993
Books
The Library Catalog includes records for books, journals, and media materials. Try searching some of the following terms as subject headings to locate books on your topic:
Browsing the main stacks around the following call numbers will also help you find interesting books on fashion and costumes.
GT 500 - GT 2370 Costume in general PN 2067 Theatrical costume TT 490 - TT 695 Clothing in general and the garment industry
Selected Titles from the Main Stacks
Costumes for the Stage: A Complete Handbook for Every Kind of Play
The Costumer's Handbook: How to Make All Kinds of Costumes
The Encyclopedia of World Costume
A History of Men's Fashion
Period Costume for Stage & Screen
The Visual History of Costume Accessories
Journal and Newspaper Articles
Academic Search Premier
Use the Images search in the green toolbar to locate photographs.International Index to the Performing Arts
Covers all aspects of the performing arts from over 130 international journals. Includes some full text.JSTOR
Complete full-text back issues of hundreds of core journals in the Arts and Sciences, including TDR and Theatre Journal.LexisNexis Academic
Articles and reviews from newspapers and trade publications. To search for reviews, select Arts & Sports News, then Book, movie, music & play reviews from the pull-down menus.Project Muse
Full text of articles from over 100 scholarly journals, including Theater and Theatre Journal.
Online Images
AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive
Photographs and other graphic images from the Associated Press. Contains 700,000 photos, most taken since 1995, plus historical images dating back to the 1800s.New York Public Library Picture Collection
The NYPL picture collection includes costumes and fashion drawings. Click on Browse then scroll to the Costume section, or perform a search.Digital Dress Costume Collections
Historical collections in the Detroit, Michigan, area, searchable by type of clothing.
