Introduction
This page includes resources for finding articles about costume design. We've included some suggested article databases below as well as recommendations of specific publications to check out in the next box. If you need a refresher on how to find articles through an academic database, check out our library guide linked below!
- Finding Journal Articles for Theatre ResearchThis guide is an introduction (or a refresher) to searching for, accessing, and evaluating articles for theatre research.
Suggested Databases
The best place to find scholarly articles is in one of the library's databases. The University of Illinois subscribes to over a thousand different databases that can help you access the content you need. It can be overwhelming to know how to start searching, so we've pulled out a list of recommendations for costume and design research.
- Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI) This link opens in a new windowThe leading source of abstracts and bibliographic records for articles, news items, and reviews published in design and applied arts periodicals from 1973 onwards.
- International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Alternate version: International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches). International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance with Full Text contains all of the content available in International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance as well as full text for 100 titles, including Canadian Theatre Review, Dance Chronicle, Dance Teacher, Modern Drama, PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art, Research in Dance Education, Research in Drama Education, Studies in Theatre and Performance, TDR: The Drama Review, Theater, and many more. Additional full text available includes more than 50 books & monographs.
- Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new windowIt indexes more than 200 international performing arts periodicals as well as performing arts related articles and obituaries appearing in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
- Vogue This link opens in a new windowA complete searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month.
- Vogue Paris 1920-1940Searchable and browseable, this database includes 143 issues from 1920-1940.
Selected Journals
If you're just looking for a place to browse, check out the journals listed below. We've highlighted several publications that are particularly good for costume design research.
Looking for a specific journal? Check the library catalog or our Journal and Article Locator tool to see if we have it in print and/or online.
- DressDress, the Journal of the Costume Society of America, publishes research that examines the significance of dress in art, social history, anthropology, and material culture, and has been in publication since 1975.
- Costume: The journal of the Costume SocietyCostume is the journal of The Costume Society, presenting current research into historic and contemporary dress. The journal publishes articles from a broad chronological period and with a worldwide remit, maintaining a balance between practice and theory with a focus on the social significance of dress.
- Performing Arts ResourcesTheatre Library Association’s monograph series, Performing Arts Resources, features articles on resource materials in the fields of theatre, popular entertainment, film, television and radio, information on public and private collections, and essays on conservation and collection management of theatre arts materials. PAR also publishes rare historical documents and out-of-print works that might otherwise be lost to theatre scholarship.
- Theatre design & technologyJournal of the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology.