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This guide is designed for new researchers who need to find articles, sources, and get started with research in fashion including the history, aesthetics, design, analysis, production, marketing and social aspects of textile and apparel products.
Start with:
Articles
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Berg Fashion LibraryBerg Fashion Library is a resource for students and researchers of fashion studies. It is interdisciplinary in nature, with great visual and integrated content in the areas of fashion, museum studies, cultural studies, anthropology, and more.
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Design and Applied Arts IndexDAAI is an international index to design and craft journals. It contains annotated references from more than 450 design and craft journals, and data on nearly 50,000 designers, craftspeople, studios, workshops, firms etc. All areas of design and craft are covered, including industrial design, interior design, environmental design, computer aided design, furniture design, ceramics, glass, fashion design, textile design, graphic design, typography, multimedia design, book design, photography, advertising, theatre design, ergonomics, and design management.
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Textile Technology IndexFind articles with international coverage of textiles, fashion, textile production and processing, and the automation and management systems of these operations, apparel, home furnishings, flooring, and polymer industries.
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WGSNFind fashion trends, news, and fashion images including fashion forecasting, design, company profiles and news items on e-commerce, finance, advertising and marketing. Note: Access is only for the content under "Fashion" and "Insight" tabs.
Images
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ARTstorARTstor is a cross-disciplinary image database. It offers collections of approximately 300,000 art images and descriptive information covering art, architecture and archeology.
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Motley Collection of Theatre and Costume DesignA rare collection of materials on costume and set designs, housed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Rare Book and Manuscript Library, that contains over 5000 items including sketches, notes, photographs, storyboards, lists of props, and fabric swatches. It is almost entirely digitized, open access, and supported by a searchable index.
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Fashion Plate Collection from the University of WashingtonIllustrations from the leading French, British, American, and other continental fashion journals of the 19th century and early 20th century. These images reflect the metamorphosis of women's fashion from the 1920s through the 1970s from the Gimbel Art and Design Library
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Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)A searchable online catalog with millions of digitized items to browse, including photos, maps and books, from libraries, archives, museums, and cultural institutions around the United States.
Then try any of the following:
Primary research materials
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Harper's Bazaar Archive, 1867-currentFind articles, advertisements, and covers of every issue of Harper's Bazaar from its first appearance in 1867 to the current month.
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Vogue Archive, 1892-currentA complete searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month, reproduced in high-resolution color page images.
Newspapers
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New York Times (1980 to present) This link opens in a new windowFull-text coverage of the New York Times to present day. Does not include photos, illustrations, ads, wire stories, or other page-image level access. (via ProQuest Newsstream)
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New York Times (1851 to 20xx) This link opens in a new windowFull-page, digital archive of the New York Times. The archive runs from 1851 to 4 years ago. Search and view images of articles, advertising, photos, and more (via ProQuest Historical Newspapers).
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Minnesota Digital Newspaper HubDigital reproductions of historical newspapers from Minnesota cities. Includes the Minneapolis Tribune from 1867-1922.
Also check out:
Articles
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Bloomsbury Fashion Business CasesThis database is designed to help students develop the essential business skills required by the next generation of fashion industry professionals, this digital resource presents real-world cases on challenges facing the business of fashion, tackling important issues such as sustainability, technology, ethics, and leadership.
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Sourcing JournalA digital journal that publishes news, commentary, and in-depth analysis of the fashion and retail industry.
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Business Source PremierFind business articles from journals and magazines in marketing, management, information technology, operations, human resources, accounting, finance and economics dating back to 1965. Includes the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Marketing Research.
Fashion museums
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The Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe collection contains more than thirty-three thousand items from the 15th century to the present.
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Museum at the Fashion Institute of TechnologyThe permanent collection includes more than 50,000 items from 18th century to the present.
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Kent State University MuseumThe gallery of costumes contains garments from the 18th century through the 20th century.
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Victoria and Albert Museum (London)The digitized textiles and fashion collection contains 15,673 objects including images of garments and sketches.
Last Updated: Nov 25, 2025 6:28 PM
URL: https://libguides.umn.edu/c.php?g=841650