The Costumer’s Manifesto

http://www.costumes.org/

The main site, a-z of costume

Visit The Costumer’s Manifesto for all your costume needs. On the home page you will find links to accessories, books, classes, corsets, underwear, costumes, dance, designers, dolls, ethnic dress, fashion theory, theatre, tons of supplies, and lots more.

Go here for the history of costume

http://www.costumes.org/pages/costhistpage.htm

If you have a hunger for costume history this site is a gold mine. Be sure to check the costume history section; there is a wealth of information for you. The history sections are broken into the following periods: Pre-Historic & Babylonian, Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Greece and Environs, Ancient Roman, Byzantine, Barbarian Europe, Medieval Europe, Italian Renaissance, 16th Century/Northern European Renaissance, 17th Century, 18th Century, Regency and Empire, Victorian Era, Edwardian Era, 1911-1920, 1920’s, 1930’s, 1940’s, 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s. Each section has extensive links.

There is also a timeline of images, showing an overview of costume through the ages. You can view the plates from Le Costume Historique by Racinet which were produced in the 19th century.

Want to learn? Then take the online course called The History of Fashion & Dress. Add to that good links and books for sale and even though parts of the site are still under construction, this site is a must visit if you are into costume research.

Hat enough? Wait there’s more

http://www.costumegallery.com/

The Costume Gallery advertises itself as a central location on the web for fashion. There are five main categories and a number of “what’s new on the gallery” sections. The first section is In the Costume Classroom. You can take online classes about costume on many different subjects from sewing classes about colonial woman’s wear to costume history of Victorian and Edwardian fashions. The site has over 1000 web pages and 2,500 images of fashion and costume. Take your time you can learn a lot here.

The second section is The Library and has great online articles and resources. You just click an image of one the books on the library shelf and start your research. Product Palace is the third section and has businesses that provide products and services related to the costume. Then comes the Designer’s Hall which showcases websites owned by costume designers. The fifth section is set up to be a fun place to play The Courtyard. Here you can go to a ball with Cyber Cinderella, view the costumes in a rock video, see the costumes from the Titanic, and more. You might enjoy looking at the Princess Diana’s dresses, from the Princess Tea Party. The Princess Tea features seven of Princess Di’s gowns that were auctioned at Christies in 1997.

Do not miss the What’s New section! Some top grade stuff here. They have recently added a textile reference manual. The articles are loaned to The Costume Gallery by the business, Textile Fabric Consultants. If you want to know about textiles, this section has very informative articles on the subject.

Another section of this site you might find intriguing is the section on hairstyle history. Visit this section to learn more than you thought there was to know about hairstyles. Reference sections cover ancient Egypt’s hairdresser tools to hair work jewelry. There will be more hair articles coming soon. You can purchase books on the subjects covered on the site, or you can receive The Costume Gallery Newsletter by email. 

Fashion class

http://www.furman.edu/~kgossman/history/directory.htm

Put on your caps and gowns for this college class. Here you will find a brief history of western fashion, developed by teachers and students. The site is intended to answer basic questions on the history of dress and covers 2500 years. There are many great images here. The terms used are well defined and primary reference books are listed for further study.

Each period covered on the site contains 5 pages. The 1st page is devoted to 2 drawings and has direct links to the images, terms used, links for more information, books of interest, and a time line. Dress appropriately, class dismissed.  

The 1700’s

http://www.history1700s.com/page1071.html

This one is dedicated to the 18th Century. There are some real nuggets buried in the articles. Well written and informative, the page serves as a jump station to find out more information, view exhibits, and learn all about it.

Some of the articles covered here are: The Anatomy of Female Rococo Costumes, The Anatomy of Male Rococo Costumes, Articles of 18th Century Clothing, A Wastecoat Database, Historic Boys Clothing , Uniforms of the American Revolution. You’re sure to find something you can use.