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Theater Research Guide: Costume Design Resources (open access)

Introduction to Costume Design

This library research page is intended as a starting place for SCC students, faculty and staff, pointing to resources for finding information about costume, fashion, and related topics. All of the resources here are open access, i.e., freely available online, and they supplement the theatre resources.

 

GLOSSARIES:

Digital Libraries

  •  Digital Library of Costumes
    "This site is all about period costume, from the Middle Ages up to the early 20th century. Access 4000 costume pictures through a database, read one of hundreds of articles, or download some authentic period patterns."
  • The History of Costumes

    An online index version of a German book printed in 1861-1880, featuring a total of 500 costume designs from antiquity to the end of the 19th century. This book is an excellent source for students who are studying the history of fashion and for costume designers.

  • Motley Collection of Theatre and Costume Design

    A valuable source of documentation on the history of theatre, housed in The Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois. It is a rare collection of original materials on the theatre comprising over 4000 items from more than 150 productions in England and the United States. These materials include costume and set designs, sketches, notes, photographs, prop lists, storyboards, and swatches of fabric.

  • Europeana Fashion Project

    Collections from Victoria & Albert Museum. Search by collection, style, object type, material, technique, and more, dating from antiquity to present.

Fashion & Costume

Patterns

  • ​​​​​Antique Pattern Library
    Free access to full texts and photos of antique patterns and craft books mostly from the 19th century.
  • Vintage Patterns Wikia

    An encyclopedia of over 50,000 vintage sewing patterns.

Blogs

Featured Museum Collections

Museums - Costumes Collections

  • Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK - "the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects, books and archives that span over 5,000 years of human creativity."
  • V&A Costume Collection - "Theatre and Performance collections include over 3,500 stage costumes and accessories dating from the mid-18th century to today."
  • The MET: Costume Institute - "The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present."  Search it by country, time period, and objects.
  • FIDM Museum and Galleries, LA - "The FIDM Museum and Library, Inc. collects, preserves, and interprets fashion objects and support materials with outstanding design merit. The collections of the FIDM Museum & Galleries span more than 200 years of fashion history. From Parisian haute couture to iconic film costumes and one-of-a-kind accessories, our collections offer a comprehensive overview of fashion’s key moments and most important tastemakers."  Google Arts & Culture features nine online exhibits from this museum.
     
  • FIDM - Art of Television Costume Design
  • FIDM - Featured Books

This museum preserves collections of more than 10 000 costumes in theatre. opera and dance, which makes it one of the largest museums, specializing in stage costumes in the world.  Thematic Collections: Masterpieces, Noureev's Collection, and more. 

Award Winners