A Visual Dictionary of Fashion

I always get intimidated by fashion resources. I am so not meant for the catwalk. But Bissonnette on Costume ( at http://dept.kent.edu/museum/costume/ ) is interesting because of the different ways it allows you to browse (by geography, time, and subject.)

I chose to browse by time, and picked 19th century. From there I had eight eras to choose from. After picking one I got a set of costume photographs, usually from at least two angles, with notes about the origin, time period, fabric, and who holds the costume. I was disappointed that you couldn't enlarge the photographs; a lot of the costumes would benefit from more detail.

All the items I viewed by time period were American or European; if you're looking for costumes from other places, do a geographic search. Choosing China from the geographic search provided several photographs of costumes including many gorgeous robes from the 19th century. You can also browse by clothing type including accessories, childrenswear, and menswear. This site could really use larger photographs, but it's worth a browse.

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