UVM Libraries Research Guides: Theatre: Costume: Starting Points: Costume & Fashion

Online Reference Sources

Berg Fashion Library This link opens in a new window
This resource is a searchable portal to integrated text and image content on world dress and fashion throughout history. It covers all aspects of clothing, dress, fashion, and textiles around the world. It contains the Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, fashion and costume dictionaries, and e-books. It provides selected images from the encyclopedia and selected museum collections in the U.S. and abroad.
Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new window
Provides access to a wide range of primary source types beyond genealogical materials. Most notable for costumers is the Sears Catalog, one of the first and largest mail order catalogs in the U.S. To access the Catalog click "Search" at the top of the screen. Click "Card Catalog". On the next screen, in the "Title" search box, type the word Sears. Then click the link Historic Catalogs of Sears, Roebuck and Co., 1896-1993. Browse catalogs by year or search within.
Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window
This archive contains full issues of Vogue magazine from the first issue in 1892 to the current month. The archive is indexed and can be searched by photographer, fashion item (kimono, scoop neckline, Breton jacket), person pictured, company/brand, designer name, or material (chiffon, wool, taffeta).

Encyclopedia of clothing and fashion
Print: REF GT 507 .E53 2005 (3 vols). A survey of clothing, costume and fashion. Coverage includes the origins of clothing and body adornment, the development of fabrics and technologies, and the social meanings of dress, as well as representative costumes from a wide range of historical eras.
Fashion, Costume and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages
Provides a broad overview of costume traditions of diverse cultures from prehistoric times to the present day. Examines a variety of items of human decoration and adornment. Explores how and why items were created, the people who made them, and their uses. Shows how clothing, headwear, body decorations, and footwear reflect the different cultural, religious, and societal beliefs.
Arts & Humanities Through the Eras
Profiles milestones and movements in the arts, literature, music, religion, fashion, etc. from five specific periods (Ancient Egypt-Age of the Baroque and Enlightenment, 1600-1800).
American Decades
Cross-disciplinary source that presents a decade by decade (1900-1999) overview of U.S. social history through the lens of several categories (e.g., politics, arts, fashion, sports, media, religion, social trends, etc.).
American Decades 2000-2009
Cross-disciplinary source that presents a decade by decade (2000-2009) overview of U.S. social history through the lens of several categories (e.g., politics, arts, fashion, sports, media, religion, social trends, etc.).
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture
Entries cover topics and persons in major areas of popular culture: film; music; print culture; social life; sports; tv and radio; and art and performance (e.g., theater, dance, stand-up comedy, and other live performance).
Contemporary Fashion
Provides biographical and critical coverage of primarily U.S. designers, milliners, footwear designers, fashion companies and textile houses.
Godey's Lady's Book
This resource provides full access to Godey’s Lady’s Book (1830-1898), one of the most influential U.S. women's magazines of that era. Alongside articles concerning all aspects of the domestic sphere, the magazine includes patterns for handcrafts, color plates of the latest fashions, literary works, song lyrics, and sheet music. Click on the grey Search button at the bottom of the title description to access items in this title only.

Selected Print Reference Books

The print books in this list are located in the Reference Collection [main/1st floor], primarily in Row 5. Browse carefully in this area to find additional books on this topic. Reference books are non-circulating, but pages may be scanned for free in the library, or you can take photographs of pages with your IPhone. Note: In addition to the resources on this page, be aware that many general and subject (e.g., history, popular culture, etc.) encyclopedias include essays on various aspects of costume and fashion.

Important Set of Books - Row 12

A Cultural History of Dress and Fashion
Call Number: REF TT 497 .C85 2017 (6 vols)
Presents an authoritative survey from ancient times to the present. This set of six volumes covers over 2,500 years of dress and fashion. Vol 1: Antiquity (500BCE-800AD). Vol 2: The Medieval Age (800-1450). Vol 3: The Renaissance (1450-1650). Vol 4: The Age of Enlightenment (1650-1800). Vol 5: The Age of Empire (1800-1920). Vol 6: The Modern Age (1920-2000+). Each volume discusses the same key themes in its chapters: 1. Textiles 2. Production and Distribution 3. The Body 4. Belief 5. Gender and Sexuality 6. Status 7. Ethnicity 8. Visual Representations 9. Literary Representations. This structure means readers can either have a broad overview of a period by reading a volume or follow a theme through history by reading the relevant chapter in each volume.

ROW 5 : Call Number range: GT

Survey of Historic Costume : a history of western dress by Phyllis G. Tortora; Keith Eubank
Call Number: REF GT 580 .T67 2010
Presents a thorough overview of Western dress from the ancient world to the trends of today. Each chapter presents social, cross-cultural, environmental, geographic, and artistic influences on clothing. With visuals, illustrated tables, and in-depth discussions, readers come to recognize recurring themes and concepts and understand the role of dress from a diverse, global perspective.
Fashion in History : western dress, prehistoric to present
Call Number: REF GT 510 .B47 1979
20,000 Years of Fashion : the History of Costume and Personal Adornment
Call Number: REF GT 510 .B6713 1987
Costume and Fashion : A Concise History
Call Number: REF GT 511 .L39 2012
What People Wore When : A Complete Illustrated History of Costume from Ancient Times to the Nineteenth Century for Every Level of Society
Call Number: REF GT 511 .W53 2008
1940s Fashion : The Definitive Sourcebook
Call Number: REF GT 596 .D575 2013
1920s Fashion : The Definitive Sourcebook
Call Number: REF GT 596 .N55 2015
1930s Fashion : The Definitive Sourcebook
Call Number: REF GT 1720 .N56 2015
Fashions of the Thirties : 476 authentic copyright-free illustrations
Call Number: REF GT 596 .F38 1993
Reproduces illustrations from the Fashion Review Service, a company that provided advertising illustrations to small clothing and department stores that had no in-house art staffs.
Complete Fashion Sourcebook
Call Number: REF GT 596 .P393 2005
20th-Century Fashion : the Complete Sourcebook
Call Number: REF GT 596 .P433 1993
Fashion Accessories : the Complete 20th Century Sourcebook
Call Number: REF GT 596 .P4327 2000
Everyday Fashions... as Pictured in Sears Catalogs
Call Number: REF GT 615 .E [6 titles, covering 1909-1960s]
American Costume, 1840-1920
Call Number: REF GT 610 .W67
American Costume, 1915-1970 : A Source Book for the Stage Costumer
Call Number: REF GT 615 .036 1982
Costumes and Settings for Staging Historical Plays
Call Number: REF GT 720 .C37 1979 (5 vols)
v. 1 Classical period.--v. 2 Mediaeval period.--v. 3 Elizabethan and Restoration period.--v. 4 Georgian period.--v. 5 Nineteenth century.
Mourning Dress : a costume and social history by Lou Taylor
Call Number: REF GT 720 .T38 1983
Guide to Historic Costume
Call Number: REF GT 730 .B33 1995
Costume for Births, Marriages and Deaths by Phillis Cunnington
Call Number: REF GT 733 .C86 1972b
Costume Reference
Call Number: REF GT 730 .S48 1977 (6 vols)
v. 1 Roman Britain and the Middle Ages.--v. 2 Tudors and Elizabethans.--v. 3 Jacobean, Stuart, and Restoration.--v. 4 The eighteenth century.--v. 5 The Regency. --v. 6 The Victorians.
Men's Fashion: the Complete Sourcebook
Call Number: REF GT 1710 .P43 1996
Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions
Call Number: REF GT 1710 .S36 1973
Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion
Call Number: REF GT 1720 .M84 1988
Visual History of Costume Accessories by Valerie Cumming
Call Number: REF GT 2050 .C86 1998
History of Underclothes by C. Willett Cunnington; Phillis Cunnington Scholarly survey of various undergarments worn by the English over six centuries.
Call Number: REF GT 2073 .C8 1992
Vintage Hats & Bonnets, 1770-1970
Call Number: REF GT 2110 .L36 1998
A Cultural History of Hair by Geraldine Biddle-Perry
Call Number: REF GT 2290 .C85 2019 (6 vols)
Presents an authoritative survey from ancient times to the present. This set of six volumes covers nearly 3,000 years of Hair and its physical, spiritual, social and cultural dimensions. 1. Antiquity (600 BCE - 800 CE) 2. Medieval Age (800 - 1450) 3. Renaissance (1450 - 1650) 4. Age of Enlightenment (1650 - 1800) 5. Age of Empire (1800 - 1920) 6. Modern Age (1920 - 2000+) Each volume discusses the same themes in its chapters: 1.Religion and Ritualized Belief 2.Self and Society 3.Fashion and Adornment 4.Production and Practice 5.Health and Hygiene 6.Gender and Sexuality 7.Race and Ethnicity 8.Class and Social Status 9.Cultural Representations This structure means readers can either have a broad overview of a period by reading a volume or follow a theme through history by reading the relevant chapter in each volume.

ROW 12

Fashion Source Book
Call Number: REF TT 509 .M38 1996
Century of Fashions : dress pattern illustrations, 1898-1997 Presents a century of fashion illustrations from dress pattern envelopes ranging from the 1890s to the 1990s. References the popular shapes, silhouettes, and fashions through nearly 350 patterns for evening wear, lingerie, sportswear, and more. This detailed presentation illustrates cultural, social, and economic changes influencing women's fashions and the stylized illustrations used to capture the mode and ideal body styles of the day. Offers hundreds of skillful renderings done by hand.
Call Number: Ref TT 520 .D84 2011
Encyclopedia of Hair : a Cultural History
Call Number: REF TT 957 .S46 2006

Military Uniforms

Berg Fashion Library This link opens in a new window This resource is a searchable portal to integrated text and image content on world dress and fashion throughout history. It covers all aspects of clothing, dress, fashion, and textiles around the world. It contains the Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, fashion and costume dictionaries, and e-books. It provides selected images from the encyclopedia and selected museum collections in the U.S. and abroad.

This database offers a substantial essay on- and many images of- (mostly) military uniforms in Western Europe. Military uniforms from other regions - not so much. Try a keyword search in the main search box military uniforms

Books on Military Uniforms are generally in this call number range: UC 480. Reference Collection: Row 12 or Row 18 (oversized-Quarto) / Circulating Books: 3rd floor
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ROW 12

Military Uniforms Visual Encyclopedia
Call Number: REF UC 480 .M6345 2011
Illustrated guide to military uniforms from the end of the eighteenth century to present. Each featured uniform is illustrated with a color artwork, showing the figure in detail with specifications tables that list country of origin and relevant points of interest in the uniform and equipment carried.
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of uniforms of the Napoleonic wars : an expert, in-depth reference to the officers and soldiers of the revolutionary and Napoleonic period, 1792-1815
Call Number: REF UC 480 .S65 2006
Military Uniforms of the 19th Century: an expert guide to the Crimean War, American Civil War, Boer War, wars of German and Italian unification and colonial wars
Call Number: REF UC 480 .K55 2011
Military Uniforms in America
Call Number: REF UC 480 .C6 1974 (4 vols)
Uniforms of the World : a compendium of Army, Navy, and Air Force uniforms, 1700-1937 / with 1,600 ill. of uniforms
Call Number: REF UC 480 .K513
Military History: the Definitive Visual Guide to the Objects of Warfare Guide to the development of battlefield technology through the ages, from Bronze Age Mesopotamia to the present. Organized chronologically and by key military technology, covers the iconic weapons, armor, equipment, and battles that have defined war, showing the impact of changes in military technology on history.
Call Number: REF D 25 .M486 2012 [Row 3]
Civil and Military Clothing in Europe, from the First to the Eighteenth Century
Call Number: REF GT 720 .S6813 1968 [Row 5]
Publication Date: 1914