Costume Resources

Background & Image Research

The Drama Research Guide has information on image research (for finding primary resources), finding plays, and background research.

Web Resources

Costume Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

These dictionaries describe and illustrate costume terms and style periods. Most include bibliographies leading to other books about costumes and periods. They also identify artists who depicted people (and costumes) in their art work, diarists who described costumes of their time, and costume museums.

20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. By François Boucher. GT 510 .B6713 1967a Babbidge and Art Ref.

Apparel Anatomy. By Mary Humphries et al. GT 507 .H86 1986 Babbidge and Art Ref.

Costume Language: A Dictionary of Dress Terms. By Stephanie Curtis Davies. GT 507 .D38 1994 Babbidge and Art Ref.

Cyclopaedia of Costume or Dictionary of Dress . . . By J.R. Planché. GT 510 P5 Babbidge Ref.

Encyclopedia of World Costume. By Doreen Yarwood. GT 507 .Y37 1986 Babbidge Ref.

Historical Encyclopedia of Costumes. Albert [Auguste] Racinet. GT 510 .R3313 1988 Babbidge Ref.

Pictorial History of Costume: A Survey of Costume of All Periods and Peoples from Antiquity to Modern Times Including National Costume in Europe and Non-European Countries. By Wolfgang Bruhn [and] Max Tilke. GT 513 .B763 Babbidge Ref.

Costume Bibliographies

These bibliographies help you identify books or collections focusing on costume or fashion. The Oliver and Jowers are "must see's."

Costume, Clothing, Fashion, Information Access: Sources and Techniques. By Valerie Burnham Oliver. GT 511 O45 1993 Babbidge Ref.

Dated, but still an outstanding resource. Provides information about clothing and fashion dictionaries, directories, bibliographies, and books leading to primary resources. Also includes information about reference resources outside of costume (e.g., religion, health care) that have costume information. Many of the print indexes (e.g., Art Index) listed are now online. Use the Research Database Locator to find them.

Theatrical Costume, Masks, Make-Up and Wigs: A Bibliography and Iconography. By Sidney Jackson Jowers. Z 5691 J68 2000 Music Ref.

Outstanding resource. Extensive bibliography of international publications covering the history of stage costumes. Includes lists of image reproductions (paintings or photographs) from stage productions, companies, and theaters, with title, author, performer, and designer indexes.

Other Bibliographies:

Costume Index: A Subject Index to Plates and to Illustrated Text. By Isabel Monro and Dorothy E. Cook. Z 5691 M75 [1937] Babbidge Ref.

Databases for Costume Research. By Valerie Burnham Oliver. GT 507 O55 1991 Babbidge Ref.

Film Costume: An Annotated Bibliography. By Susan Perez Prichard. Z 5691 P75 Babbidge Ref.

Guide to Reference Books. By Robert Balay. Z 1035.1 G89 1996 Music Ref.

The Performing Arts: A Guide to the Reference Literature. Linda Keir Simons. Z 6935 S56 1994 Music Ref.

Theatrical Costume: A Guide to Information Sources. By Jackson Kesler. Z 5691 K47 Babbidge Ref.

Additional Books

This is a sampling of costume or fashion books you can consult. To find more, do a HOMER Subject Heading search on Costume or Fashion (read more about Dramatic Arts Subject Heading Searches).

Costume and Fashion: A Concise History. By James Laver. GT 511 L39 1985 Babbidge

Costume Design on Broadway: Designers and Their Credits, 1915-1985. By Bobbi Owen. PN 2067 O94 1987 Babbidge Ref.

The Cut of Women's Clothes, 1600-1930. With line diagrams. By Norah Waugh. TT 504 W385 1968 Babbidge Oversize

Historic Costume for the Stage. By Lucy Barton. GT 510 B37 1963 Music

History of Costume, from the Ancient Egyptians to the Twentieth Century. By Blanche Payne. GT 510 P35 Babbidge

Patterns of Fashion: Englishwomen's Dresses & Their Construction. By Janet Arnold. TT 504 A7 1972 v. 1-2 Babbidge Oversize

Who's Who in Fashion. By Anne Stegemeyer. TT 505 A1 S74 1996 Babbidge Ref.

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