Reference Books:
| 100 Years of Style by Decade & Designer |
[Ref] GT 596 .W38 2001 |
| Five volume set: the first 2 volumes cover fashion from 1900-1999. Volumes 3, 4, & 5 cover fashion designers of the 20th century. |
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| Who's Who in Fashion (Watkins) |
[Ref] TT 505 .A1 W37 1975 |
| A looseleaf compilation of biographies of more than 300 "historical fashion greats, rising stars and contemporary leaders."
NOTE: This "Who's Who" & the following "Who's Who" should not be confused with the "Who's Who in Fashion" listed last on this page. |
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| Who's Who in Fashion (Stegemeyer) 4th ed. |
[Ref] TT 501 .A1 S74 2004 |
| Organized by country. Sections entitled "Fashion Designers & Firms" give biographical sketches of each country's best-known designers. A designer name index is located at the back of the book. |
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| Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Fashion & Fashion Designers |
[Ref] GT 507 .O53 1998 |
| Covers early nineteenth century to the present. |
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| Contemporary Fashion 2nd ed. |
[Ref] TT 505 .A1 C66 2002 |
| Provides information on fashion designers active from 1945 to the present. Features critical assessment of designers' work as well as biographical material. Citations to other material by and about the designer are also included. |
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| Contemporary Designers 3rd ed. |
[Ref] NK 1166 .C66 1997 |
| Covers biographical information for designers in many fields including fashion. Entries include a personal and professional biography, a bibliography of writing by and about the designer, and a description of the design philosophy of each designer. |
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| Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions |
[Ref] TT 617 .S36 1973 |
| A chapter entitled "Designers" offers biographies of major men's designers. Illustrated with photos of the designers and some fashion images. |
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| Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion 3rd ed. |
[Ref] TT 503 .C34 2003 |
| An appendix includes brief biographical profiles of 150 international designers. |
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| American Fashion |
[Ref] TT 505 .A1 A44 1975 |
| Explores the designs of Adrian, Mainbocher, McCardell, Norell, and Trigere. Includes illustrations. |
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| Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion |
[Ref] GT 507 .E53 2005 |
| This 3 volume set provides a comprehensive survey of fashion in various times and cultures. Biographies of designers are included in the A' Z arrangement. |
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| In an Influential Fashion: An Encyclopedia of Nineteenth & Twentieth Century Fashion Designers & Retailers who Transformed Dress |
[Ref] TT 505 .A1 I5 2002 |
| From the publisher: "In an Influential Fashion profiles 164 fashion designers and retailers from many countries who have had the most impact on American dress and culture from the late 19th century to the year 2000." |
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| Women of Fashion |
[Ref] TT 504 .S74 1991 |
| Covers contemporary designers from major fashion centers and offers discussion of movements and innovations. Heavily illustrated with a lengthy bibliography and an index. |
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| Haute Couture |
[Ref] GT 515 .H3 1969 |
| Subtitled "Notes on Designers and their Clothes in the Collections of the Royal Ontario Museum." Offers brief biographies of leading European and American couturiers and focuses on their influence on 20th century styles and trends. |
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| Couture: The Great Designers |
[Ref] TT 505 .A1 M55 1985 |
| Groups designers and couturiers in categories "according to how their clothes look." Good biographical material and discussion of styles. Many photographs. |
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| Who's Who in Fashion 2 vols. 1st ed |
[Ref] TT 505 .A1 W4 1982 |
| A biographical encyclopedia containing some 6,000 biographies of people active in the fields of fashion, beauty and jewelry. Volume 1 is entitled Fashion and focuses on European professionals in many aspects of fashion design and marketing. Indexed. |
Additional Biographical sources:
| Biography & Genealogy Master Index |
Online (click on link to access) |
| This "master" index lives up to its name as it indexes more than 700 other biographical sources including all the major biographical dictionaries, who' s who type sources and encyclopedias.
Current and historical figures are included. While this index does not offer the biographical information itself, it leads the researcher to resources that do provide biographies. |
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| Current Biography Yearbook |
[Ref] CT 100 .C8 |
An annual cumulation of the monthly periodical, Current Biography.
Lengthy articles report on living leaders in all fields and around the world.
Search the index at the back of the latest volume to cover the most recent years and use the cumulative indexes to search multiple years through 1995.
Note: The material in Current Biography is indexed in the B & G Master Index described above. |
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| Billington Library Biographical Research Guide |
Click here to access |
| Biographical resources from the JCCC Library reference, circulation, periodicals and web sites. |
Circulating Materials:
Search for books and other media in the online library catalog.
You may search by author, title, subject or keyword.
Try these subject terms:
- costume designers
- fashion
- clothing and dress
- men's clothing
- etc.
Periodical Indexes:
Biography Index (Printed index located on Index Tables)
This index covers periodical articles in a number of popular magazines and journals.
The articles will be only those that are biographical in nature, or that are about the designer's work.
Biography Index also indexes books and chapters of books that offer biographical material.
Please check the online catalog to determine if book material is available in the JCCC Library.
Note: The material in Biography Index is indexed in the B & G Master Index described above.
Expanded Academic ASAP (Online)
This index includes about 1100 periodicals from 1980 to the present.
The wide range of topics covered will include information about fashion and designers.
Lexis Nexis Academic (Online)
This database offers excellent general news and business news coverage from many national & international sources.
Includes current full text articles.
ProQuest Historical New York Times (Online)
This version of The New York Times includes full-text and full-image articles from 1851-2001.
Digital reproductions of every page and every article from every issue are available in downloadable PDF files.
In addition to news stories, the database includes obituaries, photos, and advertisements which may be useful in a biographical study of fashion.
Web Sites:
The following addresses are good starting places to find material about designers on the Internet:
Yahoo's Directory of Fashion Designers
dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Design_Arts/Fashion_and_Beauty/Designers/
The Fashion Designers Directory from Fashion Index
www.externalharddrive.com/fashion/fashion_designers.html
Fashion Windows, a site covering many aspects of fashion, offers a list of biographical information on designers
www.fashionwindows.com/fashion_designers/showall_fashion_designers.asp
