Dress and fashion collections are included in this database. Use keyword searches to find thumbnail images. You are able to resize images and search additional suggested keyword terms.
Electronic access does not permit printing. If you want to print use the microfilm copy in the Kenyon Library. For assistance with microfilm go to the Reference Desk.
Many of these illustrations are from some of the leading French, British, American, and other continental fashion journals of the 19th century and early 20th century.
Spanning four centuries, the V&A’s Fashion collection is the largest and most comprehensive collection of dress in the world. Key items in the collection include rare 17th-century gowns, 18th-century ‘mantua’ dresses, 1930s eveningwear, 1960s daywear and post-war couture. Plus a growing number of pieces from 21st-century designers.
Scan the thumbnail images for collections which may interest you. For example the Randolph Linsly Simpson African-American Collection includes Daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes, and card photographs depicting black life from the 1850s-1940s. Features include 'zoom' and exporting images as a PDF.