Library & Learning Commons: Costume Design + Tech: Costume Reference + History

Digital Resources

Selected Costume Ebooks

The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers by Georgina O'Hara Callan; Cat Glover
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.

Note: The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers is also available as a physical book in the library.

Changing Fashion by Annette Lynch; Mitchell Strauss; Joanne B. Eicher (Series edited by)
ISBN: 9781845203894
Publication Date: 2007
Multi-disciplinary approach to examining fashion change, bringing together theory from fashion studies, cultural studies, sociology, psychology and art history, amongst others.
Footwear Design by Aki Choklat
Publication Date: 2012
Aki Choklat explores the footwear design process, explaining the differences between the anatomy of the foot and the anatomy of a shoe, showing how one constrains the other, before moving onto the research and design development processes and the art of creating a complete collection.

Costume Databases + Web Resources

Ad* Access This link opens in a new window
Over 7,000 U.S. and Canadian advertisements covering five product categories - Beauty and Hygiene, Radio, Television, Transportation, and World War II propaganda - dated between 1911 and 1955.

Fashion History Timeline
Open access resource for fashion history knowledge, featuring objects and artworks from over a hundred museums and libraries that span the globe. The Timeline website offers well-researched, accessibly written entries on specific artworks, garments and films for those interested in fashion and dress history.
Credo Reference: Fashion Topic Page
A good starting point for exploring fashion terms and fashion 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.
Folger Shakespeare Library's Digital Image Collection
Digital collection includes images of books, theater memorabilia, costumes, manuscripts, art, and more content relating to Shakespeare and early modern English drama.
VintagePatterns Wiki
Browse vintage dress patterns and completed vintage sewing projects.

Grove Art Online This link opens in a new window
Thousands of reference articles on artists, architects, craftsmen, patrons, movements, locations, and periods, as well as bibliographies for further research and thousands of searchable images made available through partnerships with museums, galleries, and other arts organizations.

Physical Materials in the Library

Searching the Library Collections

Materials in the library are organized by subject. Browsing the art 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

You can search our digital and in-library collections simultaneously through our LibrarySearch.

Each book record in the online catalog also 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:

Selected Print Books

The Complete Costume Dictionary by Elizabeth J. Lewandowski
Call Number: Ref. GT507 .L49 2011 - Reference (2nd Floor)
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.

Note: The Complete Costume Dictionary is also available as an ebook.

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. Ornamentation is also discussed, and the author includes advice on how to work with different fabrics to create various decorative effects. Additional features include: Fiber characteristics charts, weave charts, and knit charts with fabric names and photos.
Fundamentals of Men's Fashion Design by Masaaki Kawashima
Call Number: TT590 .K29 1976 - Stacks (3rd Floor)
ISBN: 0870051059
Publication Date: 1974
The Cut of Women's Clothes by Norah Waugh
Call Number: GT595 .C64 - Stacks (3rd Floor)
ISBN: 0878300260
Publication Date: 1987
Patterns taken from actual dresses, many of them rare museum specimens, illustrated by sketches of the dresses. There are notes on the production of women's dress, with references to early technical books and journals, together with diagrams from some of them. Numerous illustrations show the dresses as worn complete with their hairstyles, jewelry, decorations and accessories.
The Cut of Men's Clothes by Norah Waugh
Call Number: TT504 .W38 - Stacks (3rd Floor)
ISBN: 9781138870550
Publication Date: 2015
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)