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Historic Costume: 20th & 21st c. America & the UK: Databases & Searching

Image rich resources for advertising from previous decades. Late 19th - the end of the 20th century.

Databases

Use databases to find secondary literature about the fashion of a specific period.  Most databases can be searched with subjects, keywords and wildcards.  For more information see "Tips for searching OBIS" below. 

Databases of Primary sources

See also databases listed on the Primary Sources research guide.

Searching OBIS

Search OBIS by SUBJECT for specific items of clothing. 
(Such as: Mililnery, Shawls, Buttons, Fans, Footwear,
Dressmaking, Jewelry, Handkerchiefs, Uniforms, Underwear, Wigs, etc.)

If there are too few resutls search with KEYWORD

Tips for searching Google

To locate images from the correct time and place, search for a famous person or event then scan related images.

Find a relevant image and use Google's Image search

Warning: images on Google have not been curated so do not assume the date or style is accurate.