This page will help you find the best information and library resources in Fashion.
- Starting points
- Catalogue searches for fashion topics
- The best databases for fashion
- Important journals
- Internet resources
- People & organisations
- Related subject guides and help finding more information
Starting points
Reference sources are a good starting point for any assignment topic. They can help to clarify concepts and discover keywords, as well as provide an overview of a topic. They include dictionaries, encyclopaedias, directories, handbooks, and manuals.
Encyclopedias
Get an overview of your topic:
- Browse the Encyclopedia Brittanica Online at these topics: dress, textile.
- Read the Wikipedia entries for: fashion, fashion design, clothing, textiles. Be sure to evaluate the information on Wikipedia.
- To find encyclopedias on fashion in the library, try this catalogue keyword search: (fashion or clothing or dress) and encyclop*
We recommend these encyclopedias in the library:
| Title | Call number |
|---|---|
| Baclawski, K 1995, The Guide to Historic Costume, B.T. Batsford, London . | 391.009 78 |
| The Fashion Book, 1998, Phaidon, London. | 746.9203 2 |
Houck, C 1982, The Fashion Encyclopedia : An Essential Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Clothes , St. Martin's Press, New York, N.Y. |
646.3403 1 |
Dictionaries
- Use dictionaries to understand your key concepts and check the meanings and spellings of words. See a dictionary entry for: fashion, textiles.
- Use a thesaurus to find similar words you can use for search terms: see a thesaurus entry for: fashion, textiles.
- Try this catalogue keyword search to find dictionaries: (fashion or clothing or dress or textile*) and dictionary
We recommend these dictionaries in the library:
| Title | Call number |
|---|---|
| Callan, GOH 1998, The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers, Rev., expanded and updated edn, World of Art., Thames and Hudson, New York. | 391.003 2 |
| Picken, MB 1999, A Dictionary of Costume and Fashion : Historic and Modern : With over 950 Illustrations, Dover Publications, Mineola, NY. | 746.9203 3 |
| Tortora, PG 1996, Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles, 7th edn, Fairchild Publications, New York. |
Kelvin Grove Reference 677.003 5 /7 |
Some reference books are not available for loan, but can instead be used in the library.
Catalogue searches for fashion topics
To find books and other material on a topic, the best starting point is to search the library catalogue. The catalogue contains all the books, videos, journals and other resources held by the library.
Catalogue searches for keywords from your topic
Try adapting these sample catalogue keyword searches to match your topic:
- (shoe* or footwear) and (fashion or trend*)
- (fashion or cloth*) and histor* and Europ*
- fashion and (anorex* or bulim* or "eating disorder")
Learn more about combining keywords to find the best information.
Catalogue searches for subject headings
Subject headings are assigned to each item in the library catalogue. These are some of the subject headings relevant to fashion:
Tip: Any time you find something good in the catalogue, look for the subject headings in the catalogue record. Click them to find similar items.
Catalogue searches for call numbers
The call number (shelf location) is assigned to each item based on the subject area it covers. Browse the shelves around these call numbers to find resources, or click the links to browse online.
| Call number | Subject area | Call number | Subject area | Call number | Subject area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 338.456 | Textile & Clothing industry | 658.575 | Product management & development | 687.0285 | Fashion & CAD (computer-aided design) |
| History of fashion | 658.8 | Marketing | 741.672 | Fashion illustration | |
| 391.4 | Fashion accessories | 658.87 | Retail trade | 745 | Design & decorative arts |
| 646 | Sewing | 677.009,746.09 | History of textiles | 746 | Textile design (general) |
| 646.4072; 687.042 | Pattern design and pattern making | 687 & 687.0688 | Fashion merchandising | 746.92 | Fashion designers |
The best databases for fashion
Use the libary databases to find journal articles on your topic. The best databases for fashion are:
| Database | Description |
|---|---|
| Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI) | For design and crafts journals from around the world - this is the most relevant database |
| Academic Research Library via Proquest (includes "ProQuest Arts") | A great interdisciplinary content including scholarly articles on the arts. |
| APAIS: Aust. Public Affairs Information Service via Informit | For current journals and newspapers on Australia's social and cultural affairs. |
View all databases relevant to fashion.
Find out more about using journal databases:
- Database help - help, FAQs, examples and multimedia demonstrations of searching databases and finding journal articles.
- Pilot - online tutorial helps you with understanding databases and developing search strategies.
- Classes & Programs - library staff offer training sessions.
Important Journals
The library subscribes to many print and electronic journals that cover Fashion. Journals cover articles about current developments and research in a subject area. Browsing relevant journals is a good way of keeping up to date in your area.
Print journals
| Call number | Journal title |
|---|---|
| 746.92 82 | Fashion theory - a scholarly journal |
| 687 2 | Ragtrader - the Australian fashion industry magazine. |
| 746.92 84 | Vogue Australia - a popular and influential fashion magazine. |
Electronic journals
| URL/Link | Journal title |
|---|---|
| Elevenonline | Elevenonline: Your Guide to the World of Australian Fashion, Media, Photography, Style and Modelling , 1998, Final Image. Archives only available. |
| http://www.dnrnews.com/ | DNRNEWS - news magazine of men's fashion and retail, published weekly. |
| http://www.threadsmagazine.com/ | Threads - an online magazine for sewers. |
| http://www.vogue.co.uk/ | Vogue (U.K.) |
| http://www.wwd.com/ | WWD - Women's Wear Daily |
Try this advanced catalogue search to find more journals: (Subject keyword: fashion) or (Subject keyword: cloth*), limited to Periodicals.
Internet resources
The Internet provides access to a large range of resources in the Fashion area. However, as part of your research process, you will need to evaluate each web site. There are guidelines for evaluating information which can help you with the evaluation process.
The Fashion Information Skills Toolbag: The modules within this tutorial are designed to help you with your research and information skills. They are self-paced and can be selected individually for quick access, or you can work through the whole tutorial step-by-step as a complete course.
Design
| Web address | Description |
|---|---|
| ADAM http://www.adam.ac.uk |
An art, design, and media gateway site that contains over 1000 Internet resources selected and catalogued by librarians. |
| The Costume Page http://www.costumepage.org/tcpinfo.html |
Costuming resources online. |
| Worth Global Style Network http://www.wgsn.com |
Leading online research, trend analysis and news service for the fashion and style industries. |
Fashion
| Web address | Description |
|---|---|
| FashionNet http://www.fashion.net/ |
Links to fashion agencies,photographers, magazines & more |
| FashionWeb http://www.fashionweb.net/ |
UK website with fabulous links |
| YAHOO! : Fashion http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Design_Arts/ Fashion_and_Beauty/ |
Links to all aspects of fashion. |
| Apparel News http://www.apparelnews.net/ |
US gateway to fashion links. |
Textiles
| Web address | Description |
|---|---|
| Cyberfibres Website http://www.cyberfibres.rmit.edu.au/about.htm |
Online register of Australian Fashion and Textile Design. |
| FabrickLink http://www.fabriclink.com/ |
Fabrics, Apparel, Home Furnishings and Care; dictionary of fabric terms; list of fibres and trademarks. |
| Roger Milliken Textile Library http://www.itt.edu/Library/ |
One of the most comprehensive collections of English language textile information in the world. |
| The Textile Institute http://texi.org/ |
A forum for informing the world about textile activities; a worldwide professional association for people working with fibres and fabrics, clothing, interior and technical textiles . |
People and Organisations
| Web address | Description |
|---|---|
| ALMITAB http://www.almitab.org.au/ |
Australian Light Manufacturing Industry Training Board |
| Arts Info http://www.artsinfo.net.au/ |
Business, grants, training information |
| Craft Australia http://www.craftaus.com.au/ |
Links to organisations & craftspeople |
| International Textile and Apparel Association http://www.itaaonline.org/ |
A global organisation for textile an apparel scholars. |
| TCF Training Packages http://www.ntis.gov.au/ |
National Training Information Service - code LMT00 |
Related guides/information
For further information about using libraries and the principles of searching the Library Databases and the Internet, try Pilot. It is a series of short interactive tutorials on finding information in the library and on the Internet.
There are also guides to citing information (in both APA and Harvard format), and how to find standards in your research area.