Welcome to the James E. Shepard Memorial Library guide for Fashion and Clothing. This guide will provide you with an introduction to finding information in the Shepard Library on fashion, clothing, careers in the apparel industry, retailing, etc.
Contains over 675 illustrated pages of Fashion History, Costume History, Clothing, Fashions and Social History
APPAREL FROM AN ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE
Below are a few archives and research libraries with substantial documentation on fashion. Not included are corporate archives, which may or may not open their archives to student and faculty researchers
Chicago History Museum Research Center (Illinois): Notable collections include photograph collections of photographers George Coster and Stephen Deutch and Chicago milliner Benjamin B. Green-Field as well as the records of his business, Bes-Ben, Inc., and the records of the Fashion Group of Chicago.
Duke University Libraries (North Carolina): Notable collections include the records of the J. Walter Thompsen advertising agency and the papers of writer Barbara Lee Diamonstein-Spielvogel. Two of Duke University’s collection strengths, advertising history and women’s history, make this a valuable resource for fashion researchers.
Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Library, (California).
Fashion Institute of Technology Special Collections and Archives, State University of New York (New York). The FIT Archives is comprised of over 300 fashion-related collections.
Kellen Design Archives, New School Archives and Special Collections (New York). Includes the records of Parsons The New School for Design.
Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center (Georgia).
Minnesota Historical Society (Minnesota): Notable collections include the records of menswear designer and manufacturer Munsingwear, the Charles Chamblis photograph collection documenting the Twin Cities African American community, and numerous personal and family papers providing insight into costume and dress in Minnesota.
New York Public Library Archives and Manuscripts Division (New York). The Archives division holds the records of the Fashion Group International, designer Patrick Kelly, and fashion editor Diana Vreeland, as well as less well known fashion designers, such as Harlem-based Cleo Sims.
University of California, Los Angeles Archives and Special Collections (California). Several notable collections including those of designers Bonnie Cashin, Rudi Gernreich, and Giorgio di San’Angelo, as well as that of fashion writer Guy Trebay.
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