The Museum at FIT has a comprehensive list of Costume and Textile Collections Online, with annotations about what you’ll expect to find in the database and other information about each particular collection. Their list includes collections from all over the world and highlights some of the best images of textiles and garments online.
In addition to these websites, there are several other collections and databases that could be useful for researching fashion, textile, and costume:
In LUNA:
- Pratt Institute Fashion Plate Collection (as well as the Pratt Institute Archives Negative and Photograph Collections).
In ARTstor:
- Gazette du Bon Ton (Minneapolis College of Art and Design)
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Brooklyn Museum Costumes
- Magnum Photos: Contemporary Photojournalism
At the University of Chicago Library
Image credit: Elsa Schiaparelli. Doll, Fashion (Evening Ensemble), 1949. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Syndicat de la Couture de Paris; Photographed by Lolly Koon. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.