Library : Costume Design + Tech: Reference + Research

Digital Resources

Costume Databases + Web Resources

Fashion History Timeline: Open access resource for fashion history knowledge, featuring well-resarched, accessibly-written entries on specific artworks, garments and films for those interested in fashion and dress history.

Fashion Collections in Europeana: Explore fashion - historical clothing and accessories, contemporary designs, catwalk photographs, drawings, sketches, plates, catalogues and videos - from more than 30 European public and private institutions.

We Wear Culture from Google Arts and Culture: Explore over 400 stories and image collections from leading institutions around the world, including The Kyoto Costume Institute, British Fashion Council, Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, Victoria and Albert Museum, The Met, and more

The Met Costume Institute Collections: Digitized photos, designs, and drawings from The Met's Costume Institute

Select Costume Ebooks

The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers by Georgina O'Hara Callan; Cat Glover
Call Number: GT507 .C35 2008 (also available as a physical book)

ISBN: 9780500203996

Publication Date: 2008

Documents the universe of fashion from the mid-18th century through the late 1990s in short entries with many illustrations.
The Routledge History of Fashion and Dress, 1800 to the Present by Veronique Pouillard (Editor); Vincent Dubé-Senécal (Editor)
ISBN: 9780367272227

Publication Date: 2023

This volume looks at the history of fashion and dress through the lenses of both international and global history. Covering myriad aspects of the subject this is the perfect companion for all those interested in history of dress and fashion in the modern world.
Unbuttoned: The Art and Artists of Theatrical Costume Design by Shura Pollatsek
ISBN: 9781317420071

Publication Date: 2016

Unbuttoned documents the creative journey of costume creation from concept to performance. Each chapter provides an overview of the process, including designing and shopping; draping, cutting, dyeing, and painting; and beading, sewing, and creating embellishments and accessories.

Physical Materials in the Library

Searching the Library Collections

Our core collection of physical books can be found on the third floor of the Library. Here, materials are organized by subject. Browsing the shelves of the library in-person can help you discover new work, materials, inspiration, and connections. Listed below are general call number ranges for costume and fashion at UNCSA Library:

GT500-2370 and NK4700-4890 - Costume, Dress, Fashion
NK7300-7695 - Jewelry, Gemstones
PN2067-2068 - Theatrical Costume and Makeup Design
TT500-650 - Dressmaking and Tailoring

Additional non-circulating physical resources can be found under the "Costume and Makeup" sign in our second floor reference collection.

You can search our digital and in-library collections simultaneously through our catalog search. Each book record in our online catalog contains Library of Congress Subject Headings, which can help you locate books on a similar topic. Click on the subject heading in the online catalog to go to a list of books that share that subject heading. Some examples are:

Select Print Books

The Complete Costume Dictionary by Elizabeth J. Lewandowski
Call Number: Ref. GT507 .L49 2011 - Reference (2nd Floor), also available as an ebook

ISBN: 9780810840041

Publication Date: 2011

Including more than 20,000 global fashion and costume terms and more than 300 illustrations from the earliest record of fashion to the 21st century.
The Fashion Designer's Textile Directory by Gail Baugh
Call Number: TS1309 .B315 2011 - Stacks (3rd Floor)

ISBN: 9780764146282

Publication Date: 2011

This materials directory discusses the best fabrics for creating specific garments, explaining how each fabric's qualities make it suitable for various items of apparel. Additional features include: fiber characteristics charts, weave charts, and knit charts with fabric names and photos.
Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style by DK Publishing & Smithsonian Institution
Call Number: GT511 .F365 2012 - Stacks (3rd Floor)

ISBN: 9780756698355

Publication Date: 2012

Fashion is the ultimate visual guide to everything ever worn. From simple to sophisticated, elegant to excessive, discover more than three thousand years of shifting trends and innovative developments in the world of style. Tracing the evolution of fashion -- from the early draped fabrics of ancient times to the catwalk couture of today -- this book is a stunningly illustrated guide to the art of clothing.
The Cut of Women's Clothes by Norah Waugh
Call Number: TT504 .W385 1968 - Stacks (3rd Floor)

ISBN: 0878300260

This book includes: patterns taken from actual dresses, many of them rare museum specimens, notes on the production of women's dress, with references to early technical books and journals, and numerous illustrations showing dresses as would've been worn with hairstyles, jewelry, decorations and accessories.
The Cut of Men's Clothes by Norah Waugh
Call Number: TT504 .W38 - Stacks (3rd Floor)

ISBN: 9781138870550

Traces the evolution of the style of men's dress through a sequence of diagrams accurately scaled down from patterns of actual garments, many of them rare museum specimens.

Pattern Books

Vogue Patterns
Call Number: Per. TT500 V717 - Bound Periodicals (2nd Floor)

Publication Date: 1995-present (lacks some issues)
McCall's Pattern Books
Call Number: Per. TT500 M223 - Bound Periodicals (2nd Floor)

Publication Date: 1994-present (lacks some issues)