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Fashion and Textile Studies

This is a research guide for students in the Fashion and Textiles: History, Theory Museum Practice Graduate Program.

Fashion & Textile History Resources

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Research Tips

TIpStart with a fashion encyclopedia.

  • Need a definition or an overview of a topic? Try a fashion specific encyclopedia or dictionary.  These can be more helpful than searching google which often only gives general or modern definitions.
  • Need to know when a fashion term was first used? Try the Oxford English Dictionary.

TIpBrowse the shelves.

  • Sometimes browsing the shelves is a good way to get ideas for projects. There are two main area where fashion history books tend to be shelved. Look at the section of "fashion call numbers" below for more ideas.
  • GT - Fashion by Date
  • TT505 - Biography of Fashion Designers

TIpBe creative with search terms.

  • Searching for fashion by a specific decade can be tricky because the same time period can be described several different ways and information about a decade may be found in several different sections of the library.  There is no one phrase that will bring back all the clothing of a decade so try a few different searches to see what works. 
  • For example fashions from the 1920s can be searched many different ways: 

1920s     Nineteen twenties     20s     20s fashion     Flapper era      Art Deco fashion

TIp​​​​​​​Researching a designer from a specific period?

  • Try "coco chanel" NOT "coco chanel 30s"
  • Because a designer's career can span decades, it's difficult to restrict a search to a specific designer AND a specific decade.

Fashion and Textile History Books

Fashion & Textile History Call Numbers

The following is a list of Library of Congress call numbers and their subject headings in two columns.
GT 509-510    Fashion history
GT 511    Fashion, modern
GT 520    Fashion, social aspects
GT 530    Fashion by time period
GT 596    Fashion 20th century
GT 601    Fashion U.S.
GT 615    Fashion U.S. 20th century
GT 720-1310    Fashion Europe
GT 1370-1565 Fashion Asia
GT1580     Fashion Africa
GT 1710    Menswear
GT 1730    Children's clothing
GT 1747    Types of clothing (masks, theater, wedding)
GT 2050    Articles of clothing (shirts, pants, hats, etc.)
GT 2073    Underwear, Lingerie
GT 2077    Bathing suits
GT 2085    Denim
GT2110     Hats
GT 2130    Shoes
GT 2180    Handbags
GT 2290    Hair
GT2340     Tattoos
GV 749.S64    Sneakers
NK 2115.5.F3   Fabrics in interior decoration
NK 4700    Costume collections
NK 4890.S45    T-Shirts
NK 8800-9505    Textile arts
NK 8804.5    Conservation
NK 8806    Textile history, ethnic groups, by region

 

NK 8906    History, Region and time period
NK 9100    Quilts
NK 9200    Embroidery
NK 9400     Lace 
NK 9500    Textile patterns and prints- history
PN 1995.9.C56    Theatrical costume
TP 897    Textile dyeing
TP 930    Textile printing techniques
TS 990    Shoemaking
TS 1300    Textile Industry
TS 1445 Textile sciences
TS 1475   Textile Design
TS 1540-1765    Textile fibers
TT1-175 Crafting
TT 490    Clothing manufacture, dressmaking, tailoring
TT 502    Fashion shows
TT 505    Fashion designer biography
TT 509    Fashion illustration
TT 520 Patternmaking
TT 570-617    Tailoring, Men's clothing
TT 635    Children's clothing 
TT 650    Millinery
TT 679    Machine knitting
TT 699    Textile arts
TT 700    Sewing
TT 769    Embroidery techniques
TT 819    Knitting & crocheting
TT 835    Quilting
TT 848    Hand weaving
TT 851-853    Textile painting, printing, dyeing

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Interlibrary LoanCan't find what you need in our library?  Try requesting a book from another library through Interlibrary Loan.  To search books in other libraries try WorldCat. Or visit one of our partner libraries by making a METRO appointment

Fashion Photography Books

Fashion History & Theory Periodicals

Available either online or in print in the Periodicals Department, Library 4th floor.

See the full list at History of Dress & Fashion Theory Periodicals list.

Archaeological Textiles Review

Archaeological Textiles Review

Archaeological Textiles Review
online: November 1985 (n1)-Current. Annual
Published in Copenhagen, Denmark, in English, the journal includes investigation and technical analysis of all textile materials with a focus on archaeological textiles

ICOM Costume Publications

ICOM Costume Publications

Open Access Resource Available 1990-2024

Conference proceedings of the International Committee for Museums (ICOM) Costume Committee Annual Meeting. Research presented by museum professionals and costume historians from all over the world committed to the study of all aspects of presenting, preserving, researching and collecting apparel and textiles. 

Textile Museum Journal

Textile Museum Journal

March 2004 (v2 n1)-Current. 3x per year
online: March 2003 (v1 n1)-Current

A peer-reviewed journal that features research on the cultural, technical, historical and aesthetic significance of textiles from all around the world. 

Fashion Studies Journal

Fashion Studies Journal

Open Access Journal Available Online 2018-Current

Textile Cloth and Culture

Textile: Cloth and Culture

online: from 2003-Current

Publishes research in textiles, cloth, and raw materials with their social, personal and cultural meanings in material history and visual culture worldwide.

Clothing Cultures

Clothing Cultures

2014 (v1 n1); 2016 (v3 n1). 3x per year
online: October 2013 -Current 
This journal discusses how clothes determine social interaction and behavior and their statement of one’s values or culture. It also covers textiles and their significance in the production and consumption of clothing.

Cora Ginsburg Catalogues

Cora Ginsburg Catalogues

online: 2001-2018

Founded in 1971, the company specializes in museum quality antique costume of the 18th and 19th centuries and in European embroideries, silks, and printed textiles of the 17th - 20th centuries

Costume: The Journal of the Costume Society

Costume: The Journal of the Costume Society

1967-Current. Semi-annual
online: 1965/66-Current
 
The journal of the Costume Society of the United Kingdom. Book reviews and scholarly articles about the history of dress and costume design

Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty

Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty

online: October 2010 (v1 n1)-Current
A journal dedicated to the examination of fashion and beauty systems as symbolic spaces of production and reproduction, representation and communication of artifacts, meanings, social practices, and renditions of cloth, clothing and appearance

Critical Studies in Men's Fashion

Critical Studies in Men's Fashion

scholarly
2014 (v1 n1); 2015 (v2 n2/3). 3x per year
online: October 2013 (v1 n1)-Current
(Current FIT username and password required for access)
Discussion, analysis, and theoretical development of men’s appearance from multiple disciplines

Dress

Dress

trade publication
1975 (v1 n1)-Current. 2x per year
online: January 1975 (v1 n1)-Current
(Current FIT username and password required for access)
The journal of the Costume Society of America. “Dedicated to the better understanding of the field of costume study in America”

Fashion, Style & Popular Culture

Fashion, Style & Popular Culture

scholarly
2014 (v1 n1). 3x per year
online: October 2013 (v1 n1)-Current
(Current FIT username and password required for access)
A peer-reviewed journal specifically dedicated to the area of fashion scholarship and its interfacings with popular culture. 

Fashion Theory

Fashion Theory

scholarly
March 1997 (v1 n1)-Current. 5x per year
online: February 1997 (v1 n1)-Current
(Current FIT username and password required for access)
Social and psychological aspects of fashion presented in scholarly articles

Film, Fashion & Consumption

Film, Fashion & Consumption

scholarly
online: January 2011 (v1 n1)-Current (Current FIT username and password required for access)
Film, Fashion & Consumption is a peer-reviewed journal designed to provide an arena for the discussion of research, methods and practice within and between the fields of film, fashion, design, history, art history and heritage. 

International Journal of Fashion Studies

International Journal of Fashion Studies

scholarly
2014 (v1 n1); 2015 (v2 n2). Semi-annual
online: April 2014 (v1 n1)-Current
(Current FIT username and password required for access)
A scientific peer-reviewed journal that fosters the worldwide diffusion of Fashion Studies. Fashion Studies is an interdisciplinary field of research that has been producing an extensive repertoire of theories, analyses and enquiries

Studies in Costume & Performance

Studies in Costume & Performance

scholarly
online: April 2016 (v1 n1)-Current (Current FIT username and password required for access)
This title aims to encourage, generate and disseminate critical discourse on costume and the relationship between costume and performance. 

Textile History

Textile History

scholarly
December 1971 (v2 n1)-Current. Semi-annual
online: December 1968 (v1 n1)-Current
(Current FIT username and password required for access)
Scholarly articles on the history and development of the textile industry

Journal of Dress History

Journal of Dress History

Open Access Journal Available Online 2017-Current

Databases

Thousands of recent and historical articles, books and images.  Access it online with your FIT username and password.

Fashion Calendar Archives

Fashion Calendar Archives

Directory of fashion shows from 1941-2014

Nineteenth Century Collections Online

Nineteenth Century Collections Online (Through NYPL)

Need New York Public Library card for Access.

A multi-year global digitization and publishing program focusing on primary source collections of the nineteenth century. The content is sourced from the world's preeminent libraries and archives. 

Eighteen Century Collections Online (Through NYPL)

Need New York Public Library card for Access.

Provides full text, digital images of books, pamphlets, broadsides and other materials published in the United Kingdom between 1701-1800. 

Berg Fashion Library

Berg Fashion Library

contains fashion specific dictionaries and encyclopedias.  It's a great place to get definitions and overviews on a topic.

Artstor

JSTOR Image Library

has thousands of images from museum collections around the world.  You can browse by Country of Origin, Museum, Medium and Time Period.

FITDIL: FIT Digital Image Library

FITDIL: FIT Digital Image Library

digital repository database of approximately 64,000 digital images intended for both research and instructional use by FIT students and faculty. Includes our designer files.

Ingenta Connect

Pulls from multiple scholarly databases and open access publications.  Great for interdisciplinary research. 

Taylor and Francis Online

We have full-text access to the following Taylor & Francis publications:

Historic Magazines

Please note, some of our magazines are available digitally and some are only available in print in the Periodicals room on the 4th floor for in-library use. Visit our Periodicals LibGuide to see all of our periodicals by decade.

Collections of Historic Magazines

Christmas Muse Technical

Christmas Muse Technical [Department Store Catalogs]

This privately run website has digitized Sears, JC Penney, and Montgomery Ward Catalogs from 1940-2017.

SPARC Periodicals Index

List of SPARC Periodicals

A list of 655 periodicals held in Special Collections. To view in person, please make an appointment.

Perfume Drinker Thumbnail

Perfume Drinker Magazine Directory (Online)

A list of 346 freely available, digitized periodicals from the 18th, 19th, and 20th century related to fashion. Includes sections on international and menswear magazines.