Chao Chen, Research Librarian; Homeemail: chao.chen@tufts.edu; phone: 617.627.2057. Tisch Library, Tufts University
Costume Design
(Antigone or The Glass Menagerie as samples)
Research Sources & Tips
Page contents: Reserves | Research Prep | Books | Newspapers & Magazines | Journal Articles | Images: digital; print | Some Fashion History Titles | Request Articles/Books
Check out the Course Reserves.
A. Playscript analysis—extract as much factual material as possible from the script: 1. When: year, season, a special occasion such as a wedding, etc. 2. Where: country, city, place such a home or in an office, etc. 3. Who: the age, social class, and relationships of the characters, etc. ——Is there any particular significance to any or some of the above elements? B. Conduct Historical Research to inform your visual research 1. What kind of clothing such people would wear in such a time period, etc. 2. Do the playwright and/or the characters have anything specific to say about their clothing?
A. Playscript analysis—extract as much factual material as possible from the script:
1. When: year, season, a special occasion such as a wedding, etc.
2. Where: country, city, place such a home or in an office, etc.
3. Who: the age, social class, and relationships of the characters, etc.
——Is there any particular significance to any or some of the above elements?
B. Conduct Historical Research to inform your visual research
1. What kind of clothing such people would wear in such a time period, etc.
2. Do the playwright and/or the characters have anything specific to say about their clothing?
A. Use Library Catalogs to find books
1. Tufts Libraries Catalog 2. WorldCat (beyond Tufts)
1. Tufts Libraries Catalog
2. WorldCat (beyond Tufts)
B. Searches & Results
(note the search pattern; modify to your own needs)
A. Essays on playwrights in Dictionary of Literary Biography Tennessee Williams B. on the Playwright and Production History in the Catalog WIlliams Tennessee (last name first) you will find reference and primary sources such as: Critical Companion to Tennessee Williams. PS3545.I5365 Z675 2005 The Tennessee Williams Encyclopedia. PS3545.I5365 Z459 2004 Conversations with Tennessee Williams. PS3545.I5365 Z463 1986 Notebooks. PS3545.I5365 A6 2006 Memoirs. PS3545.I5365 Z52 Tennessee Williams: a Guide to Research and Performance. PS3545.I5365 Z8452 1998 C. In the Context of Southern States Social Life and Customs: Eating, Drinking, and Visiting in the South: an Informal History. GT2853.U5 T39 1982 Long Journey Home: Folklife in the South. GR108 .L66 Place Over Time: the Continuity of Southern Distinctiveness. F209 .D43 1997 A Treasury of Southern Folklore; Stories, Ballads, Traditions, and Folkways of the People of the South. GR108 .B6 D. On Clothing in America throughout history: costume united states. fashion united states. Clothing And Dress -- United States. Check out this title: American Decades: 1930 - 1939. ( Ref. E169.12 .A419 1994.); volume Four, pp189- 193: American Fashion. E. in the Larger Context of Fashion History: fashion fashion history costume costume history clothing and dress clothing and dress history Textile fabrics history Clothing and dress -- Greece Costume -- History -- To 500 Costume -- History -- Early Works To 1800.
A. Essays on playwrights in Dictionary of Literary Biography
Tennessee Williams
B. on the Playwright and Production History in the Catalog
WIlliams Tennessee (last name first)
you will find reference and primary sources such as:
Critical Companion to Tennessee Williams. PS3545.I5365 Z675 2005
The Tennessee Williams Encyclopedia. PS3545.I5365 Z459 2004
Conversations with Tennessee Williams. PS3545.I5365 Z463 1986
Notebooks. PS3545.I5365 A6 2006
Memoirs. PS3545.I5365 Z52
Tennessee Williams: a Guide to Research and Performance. PS3545.I5365 Z8452 1998
C. In the Context of Southern States Social Life and Customs:
Eating, Drinking, and Visiting in the South: an Informal History. GT2853.U5 T39 1982
Long Journey Home: Folklife in the South. GR108 .L66
Place Over Time: the Continuity of Southern Distinctiveness. F209 .D43 1997
A Treasury of Southern Folklore; Stories, Ballads, Traditions, and Folkways of the People of the South. GR108 .B6
D. On Clothing in America throughout history:
costume united states.
fashion united states.
Clothing And Dress -- United States.
Check out this title: American Decades: 1930 - 1939. ( Ref. E169.12 .A419 1994.); volume Four, pp189- 193: American Fashion.
E. in the Larger Context of Fashion History:
fashion
fashion history
costume
costume history
clothing and dress
clothing and dress history
Textile fabrics history
Clothing and dress -- Greece
Costume -- History -- To 500
Costume -- History -- Early Works To 1800.
Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey, The Costume Designer's Handbook (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, c1992), 61-62.
Magazines "are particularly valuable resources for costume designers because so many are devoted to fashion, lifestyle, and the daily activities of ordinary people."
Periodicals offer a more peculiar essence of the a period rather than the general description in a costume history
Art Index Retrospective (1929- 1982)
Readers' Guide Retrospective (1890-1982)
Designers' favorite magazines: life, Vogue, Town and Country (1902-1913), Tatler (1830-1832), Punch (1841-1991), Harper's bazaar (1867-1912), National geographic.
American Periodicals (1740 - 1940)
British Humanities Index (1962- ) British Periodicals (1680s - 1930s)
Newspapers
For reviews of theatre productions, first-hand, contemporary account of a historical event, etc.
Current:
Book, Movie, Music, Play, And Video Reviews (in LexisNexis)
Factiva (more international coverage)
Alt-PressWatch (1970 -present)
Ethnic NewsWatch (1959-present)
Historical:
Times Digital Archive (1785 - 1985)
New York Times Online Archive (1851 - 3 years before current date)
African American Newspapers - 19th Century
American Newspapers (1690 - 1922)
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers (1860-1922)
In print:
New York Theatre Critics' Reviews. (1944 to 1994) Ref. PN1601 .N4 (Continued by National Theatre Critics Reviews. Ref. PN 2000 .N3)
Tip: Use the Year End Index, either in the front or in the back page in the binder.
A & B. JSTOR and Project Muse
JSTOR is a favorite with its full texts in core journals of all disciplines. Project Muse does not include exactly the same JSTOR journals, but it has more recent and current articles on many topics.
Expand your search into more databases and from various perspectives
C. Academic OneFile (all subjects; a convenient quick start.)
D. America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts (non-U.S.)
E. Drama & Theatre (MLA)
F. ARTbibliographies Modern
G. Music Index Online and RILM Abstracts of Music Literature
H. Communication & Mass Media Complete
Fashion Resources: Clothing & Costume History (Kent State University's fashion library) ARTstor (images from outstanding museums, photographers, libraries, scholars, photo archives, and artists and artists' estates from all over the world. ) Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology Los Angeles Public Library: Fashion Plates (The collection includes over 6,200 hand-colored, finely detailed fashion illustrations produced between 1780 and 1880 for British and American fashion magazines.) Photographs American Memory City Gallery Getty Images Inc. Time & Life Pictures: Defining Visions of an Enduring History Google LIFE Photo Archive New York Public Library Picture Collection New York Public Library Web Gallery of Images Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog Culture and History Museums Image Quest (two million rights-cleared images from some 40 image collections American Association for State and Local History Smithsonian Museum The American Association of Museums This is the largest and most important museum organization in the world. Note: You might need to identify artists creating art during a certain time period and search for their art works when other types of visual materials are not available. Selected Painters for Costume Design Research. (Source: Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey, The Costume Designer's Handbook (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, c1992), 61-62. Art Museums and Art Images ARTstor Art Project (museums from around the world by Google)
Fashion Resources: Clothing & Costume History (Kent State University's fashion library)
ARTstor (images from outstanding museums, photographers, libraries, scholars, photo archives, and artists and artists' estates from all over the world. )
Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
Los Angeles Public Library: Fashion Plates (The collection includes over 6,200 hand-colored, finely detailed fashion illustrations produced between 1780 and 1880 for British and American fashion magazines.)
Photographs American Memory
City Gallery
Getty Images Inc. Time & Life Pictures: Defining Visions of an Enduring History
Google LIFE Photo Archive
New York Public Library Picture Collection
New York Public Library Web Gallery of Images
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog
Culture and History Museums Image Quest (two million rights-cleared images from some 40 image collections
American Association for State and Local History
Smithsonian Museum
The American Association of Museums This is the largest and most important museum organization in the world.
Note: You might need to identify artists creating art during a certain time period and search for their art works when other types of visual materials are not available.
Selected Painters for Costume Design Research. (Source: Rosemary Ingham and Liz Covey, The Costume Designer's Handbook (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, c1992), 61-62.
Art Museums and Art Images ARTstor
Art Project (museums from around the world by Google)
Books with color plates, photographs, etc. are often the official records of the objects. For example:
The Fashion Book. Oversize: TT503 .F37 1998 Ref. GT720 .C37 1994
Spanning 150 years, the whole industry is represented -- from pioneering designers to influential photographers and the people they photographed. It is an A -- Z guide to 500 clothes and accessory designers, photographers, models and those iconic individuals who instigated or symbolize a whole fashion movement. Each entry is illustrated with a photograph or drawing which shows a quintessential aspect of their work or style. An accompanying text describes where they fit into the fashion story and includes essential biographical information about the creator. (Publisher)
Spanning 150 years, the whole industry is represented -- from pioneering designers to influential photographers and the people they photographed. It is an A -- Z guide to 500 clothes and accessory designers, photographers, models and those iconic individuals who instigated or symbolize a whole fashion movement.
Each entry is illustrated with a photograph or drawing which shows a quintessential aspect of their work or style. An accompanying text describes where they fit into the fashion story and includes essential biographical information about the creator. (Publisher)
A Few Titles to Get You started:
Album of American History. 4 vols. Ref. E178.5 .A48 1981 American Costume, 1915-1970: a Source Book for the Stage Costumer. PN2067 .O3 1982 Common Threads: a Parade of American Clothing. GT605 .H35 1992 Dress Codes: Meanings and Messages in American Culture. GT605 .R835 1995 Dress in American Culture. GT605 .D75 1993 Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900. GT610 .S42 1995 The Good Old Days; a History of American Morals and Manners as Seen Through the Sears, Roebuck Catalogs 1905 to the Present. E161 .C68 Picturing the South: 1860 to the Present: Photographers and Writers. Oversize: F215 .P56 1996.
Album of American History. 4 vols. Ref. E178.5 .A48 1981
American Costume, 1915-1970: a Source Book for the Stage Costumer. PN2067 .O3 1982
Common Threads: a Parade of American Clothing. GT605 .H35 1992
Dress Codes: Meanings and Messages in American Culture. GT605 .R835 1995
Dress in American Culture. GT605 .D75 1993
Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900. GT610 .S42 1995
The Good Old Days; a History of American Morals and Manners as Seen Through the Sears, Roebuck Catalogs 1905 to the Present. E161 .C68
Picturing the South: 1860 to the Present: Photographers and Writers. Oversize: F215 .P56 1996.
Use keywords such as pictorial, exhibitions, photography, plates, drawings, etc. to search for books with images in the Tufts Library Catalog:
A sample search: fashion and (pictorial or exhibitions or photography or plates or drawings)
Advanced Keyword Search for books with images
Search Results
1. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions; 2. photo* search photo, photographs, photography, etc. 3. limit search results to books.
1. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;
2. photo* search photo, photographs, photography, etc.
3. limit search results to books.
Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Valerie Steele, editor in chief. Ref: GT507 .E53 2005
The Worldwide History of Dress. Patricia Rieff Anawalt. Ref. GT511 .A63 2007
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Costume and Fashion: From 1066 to the Present. Jack Cassin-Scott. Ref. GT720 .C37 1994
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing through World History edited by Jill Condra.
Ref. GT507 .G74 2008
Costume in Detail; Women's Dress, 1730-1930. Stack: GT580 .B67 1968
A 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. Oversize: GT513 .B76 1955
Set up for your ILliad account Use ILLiad, our Interlibrary Loan Service, to request articles, books and other materials that are not available at Tufts.
Set up for your ILliad account
Use ILLiad, our Interlibrary Loan Service, to request articles, books and other materials that are not available at Tufts.
Chao Chen, Research Librarian;
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