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Costume History and Fashion Design

This guide contains research resources for costume and fashion history, fashion design and theater costuming

Library Resources in Support of The Texas Fashion Collection


The Texas Fashion Collection at the University of North Texas contains over 15,000 objects of historic dress and is an important resource for researchers, students and lovers of fashion and costume. The Texas Fashion Collection is temporarily located in the Welch Street Complex at 405 S. Welch Street.

The library resources are housed in the Willis Library on the UNT campus in Denton, TX.

Willis Library    
      Willis Library, 1506 W. Highland Street                             


These resources are only a sampling. For more resources, see the other tabs in this guide.

How to Find Books on Costume History and Fashion Design at the UNT Libraries

Books on Historic Costume and Fashion


For books on costume and fashion in the UNT Libraries, search the UNT Library Catalog. Choose the Keyword search.
Keyword Search: Tea gown AND Nineteenth Century; France AND Baroque AND dress; "Art Deco" AND  fashion; Accessories AND Renaissance; shoes AND history; Denim AND history. 
Designer Search:  Chanel, Coco; Chanel, Coco AND dress, Dior, Christian AND fashion
 

A Sampling of Books on Costume and Fashion at the UNT Libraries

Historic Costume and Fashion: Reference Books


Most books are located on the 3rd floor of the Willis Library. Click on the title of the book to see the location and call number.

Survey of Historic Costume
20,000 Years of Fashion (Boucher)
The Guide to Historic Costume
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Costume and Fashion: from 1066 to the Present
Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Costume and Fashion 1550-1920
Encyclopaedia of Fashion
Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions
Evolution of Fashion
The Face of the Century: 100 Years of Makeup and Style
Fashion in Costume, 1200-2000
Fashions in Hair (Corson)
Fashions in Makeup (Corson)
Godey's Lady's Book 1830-1898
A History of Men's Fashion
Men's Fashion: The Complete Source Book
20th Century Fashion
Contemporary Fashion
Visual History of Costume Accessories
17th-century men's dress patterns, 1600-1630
How to read a suit: a guide to changing men's fashion from the 17th to the 20th century
Waistcoats: from the Hopkins collection c.1720-1950
Footwear: shoes and boots from the Hopkins Collection
Fashion in detail: from the 17th and 18th centuries
Historical pattern archive: women's clothing 1837-1969
The American duchess guide to 18th century dressmaking: how to hand sew Georgian gowns and wear them with style
The American duchess guide to 18th century beauty: 40 projects for period-accurate hairstyles, makeup and accessories
18th-century fashion in detail
Fashioning fashion: European dress in detail, 1700-1915


Historic Costume Books in Special Collections


Special Collections on the 4th floor of the Willis Library houses many rare and fragile materials on the history of costume and fashion design. These items may be used only in Special Collections.


Le Costume en France de François: 1er à 1900
Costume Historique
Costumes Civils et Militaires des Français à Travers les Siècles
Costumes of Eastern Europe
Delineations of the Most Remarkable Costumes of the Different Provinces of Spain
Deutsche Volkstrachten
Encyclopedia of World Costume (Yarwood)
Fashion: From Ancient Egypt to the Present Day
History of French Masculine Costume
History of the Feminine Costume of the World (2 vols.)
Mexican Costume
The history of fashion in France
Zur Geschichte der Costume
 

Find Costume History and Fashion Design Journal Articles

Costume and Fashion Databases for Journal Articles


Search the databases below for journal articles on fashion, costume and designers.

Country or Period Search Examples
: France AND costume (or dress, or clothing, or fashion), France AND Baroque AND costume; Victorian AND mourning fashion; "Art Deco" AND fashion; Accessories AND Renaissance; shoes AND Roccoco. 
*Designer Search Examples:  (last name, first name) Balenciaga, Cristobal; Klein, Calvin.
*Other keyword search examples: Tea gown AND Nineteenth Century; Denim AND History; "textile design" AND history; fashion AND men AND Europe; "fashion accessories"
*If accessing off campus, you will be asked for an EUID and EUID password.

How to Find More Books on Costume and Fashion at Other Libraries

Biographical Resources on Fashion Designers

Fashion Designers-Biographical Sources: Books


To find books on fashion designers, search the UNT Libraries Catalog. Choose subject or keyword searches.
Search names in the following manner: Example: Balenciaga, Cristobal.

To find books on designers that are not owned by the UNT Libraries, search the World Catalog. The World Catalog contains more than 35 million records describing items owned by libraries around the world. Books or other materials not owned by UNT may be requested to be borrowed through UNT's Inter-Library Loan Department (for UNT students, faculty and staff).
 

Fashion Designers-Biographical Sources: Reference Books


Most of these books are located on the 3rd floor of the Willis Library. Click on the title of the book to see the location and call number.
The designer's names are listed alphabetically in each of these books.

The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers
Contemporary Fashion

The Fashion Guide: International Designer Directory

Historic Costume Identification: Microforms

Historic Costume and Fashion Images: Microfilm


Visual Catalogue of Fashion and Costume in the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1556-1975. MicF 245
Includes prints, drawings, and plates of costume and fashion designs owned by the museum.

Pacquin-Worth Fashion Drawings, 1865-1956 MicF385
Provides 5,000 illustrations of Parisian fashion designs.

Fashion For America MicF633
Provides information on the U.S. fashion industry during the 20th century created from images in the collection of the Fashion Institute of Technology Library.

Swinging Sixties: Fashion Design in Britain, 1960-1969 MicF 384
Contains images of Sixties designers, haute couture, and manufacturing houses.

London College of Fashion Designer Files MicF 802
Contains 25 years of clippings of various designers' work from fashion magazines such as Vogue and Elle.

New York and Hollywood Fashion and Costume Design from the Brooklyn Museum Collection MicF 366
Provides an overview of fashion and costume design from 1910 through the late 1950s. Includes 657 sketches representing 55 designers. Examples of Hollywood designers included are Charles LeMaire, Edith Head, Walter Plunkett, and Irene.
 

Fashion Trendcasting

Fashion Trendcasting Resources

 

Women's Wear Daily (WWD)
WWD is much more than just women's wear. WWD includes women's and men's fashion trends, fashion business information, accessory and beauty trends.

LOOKBOOK.nu
LOOKBOOK.nu shows street style fashion trends.

The Sartoralist
A great site for fashion trends.

Trendwatching.com
Search this site for consumer trends in many sectors.

Springwise.com
A good site for general consumer trends.

COLOURlovers
COLOURlovers forecasts the trends in colors and patterns in fashion and home markets.
 

Additional Links

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