Research Guides: Theater Research Guide: Costume Design

Reference Sources

Reference resources (dictionaries & encyclopedias) are great for getting a quick underst&ing of a topic, developing keywords, & verifying facts.

Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion by Valerie Steele
Call Number: ebook
The Encyclopaedia of Fashion by Georgina O'Hara; Carrie Donovan
Call Number: GT507 .O53 1986
The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Fashion
Call Number: GT513 .K813
Costume, 1066-1990s by Peacock, John Collection of drawings which ranges over ten centuries of English historical costume.
Call Number: GT730 .P43 1994

Search Terms for Books

Using the Subject Headings in the library catalog is a great way to find books on your topic. One way to do this is to do a keyword search, click on an item that looks useful to get to the item record, & then click on the links on the right side of the item record under the "Subjects" heading. Here are some to try:

Costume design
Clothing & dress - History
Clothing & dress - Social Aspects
Costume - History
You can also get more specific:
Clothing & dress - History - 18th Century
Costume - History - 17th Century
Fashion - History - 18th Century
Clothing & dress - History - Pictorial works

Journals & Newspapers

Costume: The Journal of the Costume Society
Electronic access for 1965-present.
Dress by Costume Society of America
Electronic access 1975-present.

New York Times - Theater
The theater section of the New York Times.

Websites

Columbia College Fashion Study Collection
Collection of over 6,000 designer garments, fashion history, & ethnic dress.
Costume at the Victoria and Albert Museum London
There are over 3,500 stage costumes and accessories - ranging from complete outfits to individual headdresses. All are a tribute to the creativity and skills of designers and costume makers from the mid 18th century to today, in every kind of live performance - drama, opera, dance, musicals, pantomime, rock and pop, music hall, cabaret, circus.
Costume Institute
Part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Holds over 35,000 costumes & accessories.
Digital Dress Costume Collections
Digitized collections from The Henry Ford Museum, Wayne State University, Meadow Brook Hall, & the Detroit Historical Museums.
Drexel Historic Costume Collection
Database of a collection with significant descriptive notes & panoramic views of objects.
Harper's Bazaar
Textiles and Costumes at the Henry Art Gallery
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.