ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ A p ril 19 9 9 /2 8 7 GladRags.com Fashion and costume by Monica Fusich A wealth of information on fashion and cos­ tume resources exists on the Internet. Both the contemporary nature of fashion well as the historical aspect of costume are extrem ely well served by the visual and hypertext medium of the Internet. The fashion industry and fashion devo­ tees have created sites that provide access to runway shows, designers, models, trade in­ formation, and current events. Costume his­ torians have designed sites that can be used to research costumes, locate visuals, and docum ent the creation of accurate historical garments. Richard Martin, curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, notes in his introduction to Contemporary Fashion, “We could not avoid fashion today if w e tried: fashion constitutes the pervasive and persuasive culture o f our time.”1 The culture of fashion, costume, and the Internet has successfully converged to offer unique, innovative, an d informative Web sites. Individuals first used the Internet as a vehicle for disseminating opinions and im­ ages on fashion and costume and created personal hom epages on topics such as punk style, makeup, and designers. The fashion industry and professional or­ ganizations then saw the value of the Internet as an advertising and informational medium and began to develop commercial sites. Cur­ rently, serious researchers and those inter­ ested in cutting-edge fashion trends will be able to locate information on the Internet. a This selected list of Internet sites covers many aspects of fashion and costume his­ s tory that will be of interest to both the seri­ ous scholar and those interested in fashion for fun. FASHION M eta Sites • A n g el o f F a sh io n . An evaluative di­ rectory o f fashion sites that are aw arded the “angel of fashion” for in­ novation and creativity. The site links to alterna­ tiv e fa s h io n sites, e- zines, designers, model­ ing, an d m u ch m ore. Starting at this site gives an excellent overview of the richness o f fashion in fo rm atio n available. Created by Rodney Dunetz. Access: h ttp :// www. fashionangel. com /angel. htm l. • F a sh io n W o r ld .n e t. An excellent and comprehensive index of international fash­ ion sites. This site links to sites of interest to fashion retailers, manufacturers, shoppers, and those just interested in fashion. Provides a search engine of fashion sites. Access: http:// c g i.s o ftla n tis .c o m /fa s h io n w o rld /c g i-b in / fwsetup.exe. • F ash ion N et. This site sponsors live chat and bulletin boards as well as job listings, a fashion-specific search engine, and links to related beauty and modeling sites. Published by Triple International, an online publisher A b o ut th e author M onica Fusich is reference librarian a t California State University, Fresno, e-mail: monica_fusich@csufresno.edu IN T E R N E T RESOURCES GladRags.com FashionWorld.net cgi.softlantis.com/fashionworld/cgi-bin/ mailto:monica_fusich@csufresno.edu 288 / C&RL News ■ A p r il 1999 specializing in fashion. A ccess: http://www. fashion.net/ • W orld F a sh io n Sites. This site links to designers, magazines, fashion schools, col­ lections, textiles, models, and fashion muse­ ums. Produced by the Samsung Fashion In­ stitute. A ccess: http://www.sfi.co.kr/wfsites/ tsites-gnr.html. • F a sh io n ln d ia . Fashionlndia is a com ­ prehensive site including inform ation on designers, boutiques, reviews, models, cho­ reographers, fashion professionals, and other fashion-related information. Includes a glos­ sary and excellent article on the history of fa s h io n in In d ia . A c c e s s : h ttp://w w w . fashionindia.net/. Im ages • FirstVIEW : C ollection s O nline. This is the premiere Internet publication for fash­ ion show photographs from both the haute couture and ready-to-wear collections shown in Paris, New York, Milan, and London. The most current shows are available only by expensive subscription. More reason ab le hourly rates are available one month after the collections are made available to regular subscribers. FirstVIEW includes betw een 60 and 200 photographs o f each designer’s show and images o f the older shows (1 9 9 5 -9 8 ) are free. For exam ple, 90 images o f Richard Tyler’s Spring 1998 ready-to-wear collection are available. Until firstView came online, the most comprehensive image collection o f run­ way shows was the quarterly microfiche set, F ash ion Update. Includes an e-mail notifica­ tion service o f new collections available for viewing. A ccess: http://www.firstview.com/ home.html. Industry in fo rm ation • A p p arel.n et: T he O n line Guide fo r th e A pparel In d ustry. This comprehensive clearinghouse o f links to over 2,000 apparel resources includes inform ation o n trade events, organizations, statistics, and news. Access: http://www.apparel.net/. • F a s h io n B eau ty I n te r n e t A s s o c ia ­ tion. An Internet association and virtual fo­ rum for fashion and beauty businesses such as retailers, manufacturers, and style-related journalists. A ccess: http://www.fbia.com/ index.html. • F a s h io n W in d o w s: T h e I n te r n e t’s D atab ase o n F a s h io n D esig n ers, Visual M e rch a n d isin g , a n d M an n eq u in s. This site was created by a Dallas-based freelance visual merchandiser and is divided into four main areas: mannequins, visual merchandis­ ing, windows, and fashion designers. Each section has a selection o f articles on various topics such as selecting a mannequin or po­ sitioning a mannequin. O f special interest is the windows section, which include examples o f successful window displays. This site also includes a discussion forum and newsletter that can be subscribed to via e-mail. A ccess: h t t p :/ / w w w . f a s h i o n w i n d o w s . c o m / default.asp. • TIMS: T h e T e xtile In d u stry ’s B usi­ n e ss C enter. Provides access, on a mem­ bership basis, to textile and apparel industry companies. Services include company and product searches, a client show­ case, classified ads, employment listings, trade shows listings, and links to further resources. Provided by Unicate Inc., a company working with the textile, apparel, and fashion industries. A ccess: http://www.unicate.com/. • Virtual G arm en t C enter. The mission o f this site is “to provide a virtual commu­ nity dedicated to servicing the apparel in­ d u stry b y p ro v id in g in fo r m a tio n and interactivity.” This site has two sections: mar­ kets where companies can list garments or textiles needed and a searchable database of companies such as manufacturers, jobbers, supplies, or retailers. A ccess: http://www. garment.com. • P re t a P o rte r. This site provides infor­ mation on an international trade show for retail buyers and sellers o f ready-to-wear and accessories. This site is divided into 15 “sec­ tors” representing the different areas o f re­ tail such as professional or sportswear. Buy­ ers can use this site in preparation for travel­ ling to Paris for the live event. A ccess: http:// www.pretparis.com/. • F a sh io nweb. This site focuses on fash­ ion in the United Kingdom and provides chatrooms, job listings, showrooms, and links to additional resources. An interesting aspect o f the showroom section is Fashion-I, a timed http://www http://www.sfi.co.kr/wfsites/ http://www http://www.firstview.com/ http://www.apparel.net/ http://www.fbia.com/ http://www.fashionwindows.com/ http://www.unicate.com/ http://www http://www.pretparis.com/ C&RL News ■ A p ril 1999 / 289 slide show of current fashion trends. Access: http://www2.fashionweb.co.uk/fashionweb/. Designers Yahoo has an excellent list of links to de­ signer homepages. Access: http://dir.yahoo. com/Arts/Design_Arts/Fashion/Designers/. Many of the e-zines discussed in a later sec­ tion will also provide links to designer infor­ mation. • 7 th On Sixth. This hybrid site provides access to cutting-edge men and women’s de­ signers such as Girlsrule, Hang Feng, Patrick Robinson, Vera Wang, and Xuly Bet. A brief biography is provided for each designer as well as a link to a homepage, if available. A calendar of both physical and virtual fashion shows is provided. The digital photographs are by Imagelnfo and the Internet shows are Webcast by the Globix Streaming Media Group and require video software to be ac­ cessed. Access: http://www.7thonsixth.com/ html/home.html. Schools Yahoo offers a partial list of programs offering degrees in fashion design. Access: http:// dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Design_Arts/Fashion/ Education/Schools/. Some noted schools fol­ low. • F a s h io n In stitu te o f T e ch n o lo g y (FIT). For over 50 years FIT has offered de­ grees for those interested in careers in the apparel industry. In addition, FIT currently offers AA and BA degrees in textile and sur­ face design, restoration, fashion merchandis­ ing management, and much more. Access: http://www.fitnyc.suny.edu. • Fashion Institute o f Design and Mer­ chandising. This California private college offers degrees in fashion design, fashion mer­ chandise marketing, textile design, cosmet­ ics and fragrance merchandising, and apparel Authors sought If you’d like to submit a topic for the “Internet Resources” column, please send your topic and a brief description of your expertise by May 21 to Mary Ellen Davis, editor-in-chief, at medavis@ala.org. manufacturing management. Access: http:// www.fidm.com/. • Parson s School o f Design. This fa­ mous school of design also offers a degree in fashion design. Parson graduates include such designers as D onna Karan, Louis Dell’Olio, and James Mischka. Access: http:// www. parsons.edu. • London College o f Fash ion . Offers degree programs in fashion promotion and management and fashion design and tech­ nology. A ccess: http://www.lcf.linst.ac.uk/ mainmenu.htm. E-Zines Yahoo has an excellent index of links to fash­ ion magazines. Access: http://dir.yahoo.com/ Arts/Design_Arts/Fashion/News_and_Media/ Magazines/. In addition to print magazines with a Web supplement, the fashion indus­ try has excelled in producing innovative, high-quality, and contemporary e-zines. A sample list of titles follows. • Fash ion Click: The Online Fashion and Style Magazine. Covers fashion and col­ lections as well as standard fashion maga­ zine fare. In addition to the current issue, maintains highlights of past issues. Access: http://www.fashionclick.com/. • Fashion Planet. This online magazine includes daily updated news items relating to the fashion industry. Each issue includes feature articles and columns on such topics as accessories, beauty, travel, and the arts. An interesting feature is “Windows on New York,” which is a map of 5Ih, Madison, and 57th Street, with images of and links to the various stores located in this area. Access: http://www.fashion-planet.com/. • Fash ion Icon . One of the first fashion e-zines, created by Mila Radulovic, a fashion and beauty consultant. It offers analysis and opinion about current fashion trends. Access: http://www.fashion-icon.com/. • Fash ion Navigator. Includes articles on beauty, collections, films, culture, and music in English and German. Access: http:/ /www.fashion.at. • T h e L ook O n lin e. Sponsored by Smashbox Cosmetics, provides fashion indus­ try information for visitors and subscribers. Access: http://www.lookonline.com/. • Lum iere. Begun in 1995, Lumiere pro­ vides in-depth and up-to-the-minute infor­ http://www2.fashionweb.co.uk/fashionweb/ http://dir.yahoo http://www.7thonsixth.com/ http://www.fitnyc.suny.edu mailto:medavis@ala.org http://www.fidm.com/ http://www.lcf.linst.ac.uk/ http://dir.yahoo.com/ http://www.fashionclick.com/ http://www.fashion-planet.com/ http://www.fashion-icon.com/ http://www.fashion.at http://www.lookonline.com/ 290 / C&RL News ■ A p ril 1999 mation on fashion, beauty, and contempo­ rary culture. Lumiere provides a free, daily e-mail notification service of the most cur­ rent fashion news. A ccess: http://www. lumiere.com/. • Fash ion Live. Produced by World Me­ dia, provides access to fashion trends in Paris, Milan, and London in both English and French. Includes catwalk coverage, a designer database, and an e-mail updat­ ing service. Access: http://www.worldmedia. fr/fashion/. • H yperm ode. A product of Spiral Me­ dia Inc., includes articles on current trends in fashion and a message board. Access http:// www.hypermode.com. Newsgroups, m ail lists, chatroom s Tile.net (Access: http://tile.net/lists/) and Vivia n Neou ’s List o f Lists (Access: http://catalog.com/ vivian/interest-group- search.html) provide information on several fa sh io n d iscu ssio n groups. The following lists would be useful to those interested in fashion: • alt.gothic.fashion. Provides discussion of gothic fashions and styles. • alt.fashion. Provides discussion of any­ thing to do with fashion and makeup. • fashionbiz. Provides discussion of the fashion industry. COSTUME Meta sites The following sites are all labors of love, created by individuals with a strong interest in costume history. • w w w .costu m es. o r g . This compre­ hensive and excellent site provides access to textual information, historical images from classic costume texts, and includes a timeline of costume history. Chronological links to related costume sites are provided as well as links to costume museums, military cos­ tumes, masks and makeup, fabric dyeing, and much more. Especially useful is the Costume Manifesto, a how-to-manual for cos­ tume designers, written by the creator of the Web site. Access to a newsletter and dis­ cussion forum is also provided. Created by Tara Maginnis, costume designer for The­ atre UAF, the Theatre Department of the Uni­ versity of Alaska Fairbanks. A ccess: http:// www.costumes.org/. • The Costume Page: Costum ing Re­ so u rces Online. This well-developed site, created by Julie Zetterberg, indexes over 2,000 costume and costume-related links such as museums and exhibits, costume history, ethnic and folk costume, theatrical costume, making and wearing costumes, and related sites. A c c ess : http://m em bers.aol.com / nebula5/costume.html. • The Costume Site. An excellent site, created by Lauren Podolak, an amateur cos­ tumer, provides access to costume, ethnic, and theatrical images, museums and history, organizations, and links to miscellaneous sites such as those covering corsets and under­ pinnings. This site is especially strong in its access to ethnic costume. A ccess: http:// www.milieux.com/costume/. • The Costume Gallery. Provides over 400 links to costume designers, goods and services, costume history, and recreational sites such as an online costume ball and online costume postcards. Created by Penny E. Dunlap Ladnier. A ccess: http://www. costumegallery.com/. • The Costume Page. Produced by the University o f British Columbia Library, this site links to a small list of costume-related libraries, mail lists, Usenet groups, and exhi­ bitions. A ccess: http://www.library.ubc.ca/ finearts/COSTUME. html. Im ages Most of the sites mentioned above link to images and textual information. The following sites focus on vi­ sual information. • The R egency F ash io n P ag e. This site, created by Cathy Decker, links to three http://www http://www.worldmedia http://www.hypermode.com http://tile.net/lists/ http://catalog.com/ http://www.costumes http://www.costumes.org/ http://members.aol.com/ http://www.milieux.com/costume/ http://www http://www.library.ubc.ca/ C&RL News ■ A p ril 1999 / 291 pages: the Real Regency Clothing Page, Re­ gency Fashion Plates, and the Men’s Page, which show costume images from fashion journals and plates and photographs of ac­ tual re g en cy garm ents. A c c e s s : http:// locutus.ucr.edu/~cathy/reg3. html. • T h e H isto ry o f C o stu m e. C. Otis Sweezey reproduces the plates in the “His­ tory o f Costume” or “Zur Geschichte der Kostume,” which was printed from 1871 to 1880 in Munich. These plates reproduce 500 costume designs from antiquity to the end of the 19th century. Access, http://www.siue.edu/ COSTUMES/history.html. • Godey’s Lady’s Book. There are sev­ eral sites that are in the process o f providing access to this 19th-century periodical. This im­ portant journal included fashion plates as well as poems, fiction, and advice articles. Two locations for this journal are the University of Vermont (A ccess: http://www.uvm.edu/ ~hag/godey/index.html) and the University o f Rochester (A ccess: http://www.history. rochester. edu/godeys/). Associations and organizations • Costume Society o f A m erica. Offers information on membership, symposia, ex­ hibitions, and scholarships and awards. A c­ cess: http://www.costumesocietyamerica. com/. • T h e C o s tu m e S o c ie ty (G r e a t B ritain ). Access: http://www.Bath.uk.com/ CostumeSociety/. • In ternation al C ostum er’s Guild. Pro­ vides information on this worldwide organi­ zation of costume professionals and amateurs. Access: http://www.costume.org. Newsgroups, m ail lists, chatroom s • F-C ostu m e@ lu nch .asd .sgi.com . Fo­ cuses on the design, motivation, and execu­ tion o f fantasy clothing and costume. S u b­ s c r ib e : f-costum e-req u est@ lu nch.asd .sg i. com. • H-Costume. Focuses on how to accu­ rately recreate historical costumes. Subscribe: h-costume-request@andrew.c mu.edu. • Vintage. Vintage clothing discussion list. Subscribe: listserv@brownvm.brown.edu. Note 1. Richard Martin. C on tem porary F ashion (New York: St. James Press, 1995): vii. ■ ( “W eb f o r m s ” c o n t in u e d f r o m p a g e 2 7 2 ) Forms can be used in other ways to enhance library services in general. For example, libraries can provide access to commonly used library forms, such as in­ terlibrary loan requests, requests to put library materials on reserve, or requests for extended reference assistance. As technology becom es more sophisti­ cated, libraries must use creative and pro­ active methods to maintain viability. A ref­ erence Web form is one way libraries can expand their educational and service roles and stay at the forefront o f a changing world. So u rces fo r b u ild in g a Web form • Beverly K. Duval. “Tables and feed­ back forms in Web p ages.” L ib ra ry S oft­ w a r e R eview 15 (1996): 3 1 -3 7 . Part o f the “M icrocom puter Applications in the Li­ brary” colum n looks at the design and HTML cod ing for tab le s and fe e d b ack forms. • J. Honeycutt, and Mark R. Brown. Us­ ing HTML 3 .2. 3rd ed. Indianapolis: Que, Inc., 1997. This com prehensive reference book for HTML 3.2 Web page creation in­ cludes chapters on creating online forms. • W ebR eference.com . A ccess: http:// w w w .w ebreference.com / program m ing/ forms.html. This page gives links to some excellent sites for creating forms on the Web. ■ Web forms to check out Here are some well-designed Web refer­ ence forms we recommend looking at: • Central Michigan University’s Ask a Librarian Web form. Access: http://www. lib.cmich.edu/departments/reference/ askref.htm. • Ask a Librarian at the Eden-Webster Library at Webster University and Eden Theological Seminary. A ccess: http:// library.websteruniv.edu/askalibn.html. • College of Charleston Library Ask a Librarian form. Access: http://www.cofc. edu/~whitt/question. html. • Ask Zach at the Zach S. Henderson Library of Georgia Southern University. A ccess: http://www2.gasou.edu/library/ form.html. http://www.siue.edu/ http://www.uvm.edu/ http://www.history http://www.Bath.uk.com/ http://www.costume.org mailto:F-Costume@lunch.asd.sgi.com mailto:f-costume-request@lunch.asd.sgi mailto:listserv@brownvm.brown.edu http://www.webreference.com/programming/ http://www http://www.cofc http://www2.gasou.edu/library/