Research Guides: Fashion Studies: History & Designers

History

Websites

Fashion Study Collection
618 South Michigan Building of Columbia College, 8th floor
Established in 1989, this collection is an academic and inspirational resource supporting teaching and learning across disciplines through the exploration of dress and its relationship to history, culture, art, design, business, and technology. It also houses fashion accessories, advertisements, books, periodicals, visual media and other reference materials. It is available by appointment.
Fashion History Timeline
Explore the history of fashion from ancient to modern times with hundreds of essays on artworks, garments and films. Learn about the styles, trends, designers and cultural contexts of fashion.
Fashion Plate Collection
The original fashion plates collected by Blanche Payne and others have been cataloged and carefully stored for preservation purposes in archival housing. Many of these plates are from some of the leading French, British, American, and other continental fashion journals of the 19th century and early 20th century.
Retail HIstory in Chicago | Chicago History Museum
Tips on research about Chicago's department stores and catalog houses.
Costume and Fashion in Chicago | Chicago History Museum
Research the history of clothing and fashion in Chicago and beyond.
Vintage Fashion Guild
Get inspired with vintage fashion looks. Features a fashion timeline along with guides for identifying vintage designer labels, lingerie, hats, fur and fabrics A to Z.
Vintage Patterns Wikia
The Vintage Patterns Wiki has over 83,500 sewing patterns dating until 1992. Browsing by decade, it's fascinating the see how fashion evolves over time.
All Sewn Up | Millinery, Dressmaking, Clothing and Costume
This digital collection includes millinery, dressmaking, clothing and costume books from the UW-Madison collections. These books from the first half of the 20th century (1907 – 1940's) include the history of clothing, styles of dress, fashion drawing, and design and construction of hats, clothing and costumes.
Vintage Fashion Video Clips
A YouTube Collection from British Pathé shares historical and vintage beauty, fashion, and retro lifestyle clips.

Books

In Fashion
Learn about how and why fashion evolves and changes, the materials used and who creates them, the companies who make apparel, and how fashion marketing helps companies sell their products. Spotlight features focus on careers, innovators, and businesses, using industry examples to show real world situations.
Fashion Design, Referenced: A Visual Guide to the History, Language & Practice of Fashion
Call Number: > > > E-Book + Print Book: 746.92 K35f (Fourth Floor)
A comprehensive guide through the art and industry of fashion design, richly illustrated with over 1,000 photographs and drawings.
The Fashion Book
Spanning almost 200 years, The Fashion Book is a massive A-to-Z encyclopedia of fashion packed with hundreds of profiles including designers, photographers, style icons, models, and retailers. More than 500 of fashion's greatest names from A- Z.
Survey of Historic Costume
Each chapter presents a chronology of significant dates and events in fashion from ancient times to today.
Smithsonian - Fashion: The Definitive Visual Guide
Takes you on a tour across the centuries as it catalogues the history of what people wore, revealing how Western fashion has been influenced by design from around the world, and celebrating everything from costume to haute couture.
Fashion: 150 Years of Couturiers, Designers, Labels
Discover the social, historical, and cultural developments of fashion from its origins in the nineteenth century to today. Walk down the runways of history through informative chapters that cover the liberation of women from the corset all the way to the creations of modern designers.
100 Ideas That Changed Fashion
A unique perspective on the history of twentieth-century fashion presented in 100 fashion ideas that changed womenswear.
100 Women | 100 Styles - Women Who Changed The Way We Look
100 women who have broken the rules and have given us the freedom to express ourselves with style empowering women and fashion lovers everywhere.
Reading Fashion In Art
Call Number: > > > E-Book
Provides a step-by-step guide to analyzing dress in art, including paintings, photographs, drawings and art installations.
Screen Style
In a visual medium like television, costume is an essential element of storytelling. It helps define characters, adds to the atmosphere, and can even spark off-screen fashion trends. Organized into genres - Comedy, Coming of Age, Crime, Historical, Retro, Contemporary and featuring 50 diverse series of the small screen: from Mad Men, Outlander, Grace and Frankie, Empire to Succession.

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion
Call Number: > > > E-Book + 3 Volume Set: 391.003 E56s (Third Floor)
Examines the origins of clothing, the development of fabrics and technologies, and the social meanings of dress.
Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia
Call Number: > > > E-Book
The clothes we wear tell stories about us--and are often imbued with cultural meanings specific to our ethnic heritage. This concise A-to-Z encyclopedia explores 150 different and distinct items of ethnic dress, their history, and their cultural significance within the United States. PLUS: Offers related readings and alternative related subject terms to search to expand your research.

Essay

A Concise Introduction To Costume Design | Digital Theatre+ | Essay
An overview of costume history, key costume designers, working collaborations, video links to performances exemplifying costume design, ideas explored by costume designers along with a resource list of books -- many available at the Library. (Sign In -- Using your Columbia College Chicago Email Address)

Designers

Books

Fashion Designers A-Z
From Azzedine Alaïa, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and Coco Chanel to Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood, more than a century's worth of fashion greats are celebrated in this new edition.
Women Who Revolutionized Fashion: 250 Years of Design
Profiles early fashion vanguards such as Jeanne Lanvin, Callot Soeurs, and Madeleine Vionnet, as well as underrepresented women who revolutionized fashion from the mid-1700s to the present.
The Great Fashion Designers: From Chanel To McQueen, The Names That Made Fashion History
The lives and collections of 55 iconic fashion designers draws on the latest academic research and the best of fashion journalism, including interviews with the designers.
50 Fashion Designers You Should Know
Fifty major fashion designers are profiled in this book in full-color spreads that showcase their most memorable creations.
Fashion 150: 150 Years / 150 Designers
Featuring designers, brands, movements and style icons that have created the history of international fashion from the 1860s all the way to today.
Fashion Visionaries
Featuring 75 of the world’s most legendary designers, this book presents the story of fashion through the fascinating personal lives and innovative collections that have shaped the field over the past century.

Websites

Victoria & Albert Museum | Online Collection | Alexander McQueen
Explore online the inspiration, craftsmanship, hidden stories, creative collaborations and standout collection pieces from fashion designer Alexander McQueen's celebrated career. See his personal collection of reference books that were intrinsic to his development as a designer at The National Art Library at the V&A...and discover some of these same titles through our Library as well.

Fashion Podcasts

99% Invisible: Articles of Interest
A podcast series on the social history of fashion and what we wear. Learn about the rise of casual wear, the environmental impact of the textile industry, why womenswear doesn’t have pockets and more.

Library

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History

Designers

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