Skip to Main Content AUB

Fashion: Fashion History Research

A Guide for Fashion, Fashion Branding & Communication, and Digital Fashion Innovation

What are Primary Sources?

Primary Sources are first-hand accounts of a topic, from people who had a direct connection with it. In fashion history research, these can be magazine articles, photographs, drawings, adverts, film footage and original items of clothing or accessories that were created in the period you are studying.

These can give you clear ideas about how clothes were worn in particular years, help you recognise key historical styles, what was popular in the period, and how real people engaged with clothing throughout history.

Fashion Databases

Collections of fashion history information and sources.

Digital Collections & Archives

Museum Collections

Many museums have made their fashion collections searchable online. Explore museums with digital collections of fashion, dress and textiles around the world on this interactive map.

Major museum collections are listed below:

Online Magazine Archives A-Z

Vogue

The Library provides access to many international editions of Vogue, arguably the world's more prominent fashion publication.

Available online:

Available in print:

Image Databases

Archives of fashion imagery, art, illustration, satirical drawings, film and more, from throughout fashion history.