Drama Library



Costume & Textile Exhibits


Museums

Links to Museums with an Interest in Costumes and Textiles

Pacific Northwest

Organization Information
Bellevue Art Museum 510 Bellevue Way NE,
Bellevue, WA 98004
The Museum is free to all visitors on the first Friday, the third Thursday and the last Saturday of each month.
The public information line is (425) 519-0770.
The Burke Museum The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Box 353010 University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-3010
24-Hour Information: (206) 543-5590
The Henry Art Gallery 15th Avenue NE & NE 41st St.
U. Washington Seattle, WA
gallery info: (206)543-2280 | admin: (206)543-2281 fax (206)685-3123
hartg@u.washington.edu
La Conner Quilt Museum P.O.Box 1270
703 South 2nd Street
LaConner, WA 98257
(360) 466-4288
LACMA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Costume and Textiles Collection
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Media Phone (323)857-6522
Media Fax: (323)857-4702
General LACMA Information: (323)857-6000

The department of costume and textiles houses an encyclopedic collection of more than fifty thousand objects, representing more than one hundred cultures and two thousand years of human creativity in the textile arts. The collection is almost equally balanced between textiles and dress and is recognized worldwide for its depth and breadth.
Maryhill Museum of Art 35 Maryhill Museum Drive
Goldendale, WA 98620
Tel: 509-773-3733 Fax: 509-773-6138
maryhill@gorge.net
MOHAI: Museum Of History & Industry McCurdy Park | 2700 24th Avenue East
Seattle, Washington 98112-2099
Museum Phone | Voice: 206-324-1126 | Fax: 206-324-1346
Staff Direct Line 206-324-1685 (type in two-digit extension # after message) information@seattlehistory.org
The Nordic Heritage Museum Ballard at 3014 NW 67th St.
Seattle, WA 98117.
Entrance to Museum parking lot located on NW 68th St.
Royal BC Museum 675 Belleville Street
Victoria, British Columbia CANADA V8W 9W2
(250) 356-RBCM (7226) or 1-888-447-7977
San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum
Design Research Collection
401 Van Ness Avenue
Veterans Building, 4th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-255-4800
Seattle Art Museum
Downtown:


Seattle Asian Art Museum:
100 University Street
Seattle, WA 98101-2902
(206) 654-3255

Volunteer Park
1400 E. Prospect Street
Seattle, WA 98112-3303
(206) 654-3206
Textile Museum of Canada 55 Centre Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 2H5
(416) 599-5321
info@textilemuseum.ca
Washington State History Museum 1911 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, Washington 98402
253/272-WSHS
Wing Luke Asian Museum 407 7th Ave. South
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206/623-5124
Fax: 206/623-4559
folks@wingluke.org
The Yakima Valley Museum 2105 Tieton Drive
Yakima, WA 98902
tel. (509) 248-0747 -- FAX (509) 453-4890


Museums

Links to Museums with an Interest in Costumes and Textiles

National and International

Organization Information
Museum of Costume-Bath, England The collection focuses on fashionable dress for men, women and children from the late 16th century to the present day.
Beverly Birks Courture Collection The Beverley Birks Couture Collection is one of the world's largest collections of haute couture. In addition, included in the collection are some 500 accessories; hats, handbags, boots and shoes. Also, there are examples of plates from the Journal des Dames De Mode an early 19th Century collection of fashion prints.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs : The Louvre The collections of the four museums and of the decorative arts library cover all areas of the decorative arts, from medieval furniture to contemporary design, and including the French 18th century, the Empire period, Art Nouveau and Art Deco: from ancient textiles to today’s fashion, from the first posters to the most recent films, advertising objects and computer images. It also has major specialist collections of jewellery, toys, wallpaper, gold and silverware, ceramics, glass, drawings and Islamic and Far Eastern objects and artworks. To this can be added a library with a rich collection of printed books and periodicals, as well as prints, vintage photographs and a sizeable iconographic collection.
Collect Britain: The British Library Collect Britain is the British Library's largest digitisation project to date. You can view and hear a staggering 100,000 images and sounds from our world-renowned collections without ever needing to visit the prestigious building in London.
Millitary Collection (Collection Militaria) The Collection Militaria comprises historical weapons, armors, uniforms, flags, medals, decorations, as well as military graphics and prints. German history from the Middle Ages to World War I constitutes its center. Numerous objects prove the diverse connections between the German history and the history of Europe. Standard weapons that were used by different armies in the wars of the 19th and 20th centuries have also found their way into the museum's collection.
Museum of Fine Arts-Houston The Textiles and Costume collection includes American, English, and French haute couture as well as Western and non-Western textiles and costumes.
London College of Fashion: College Archive The London College of Fashion College Archive is a collection of historical materials which chronicle the history of the College from its origins as two early needle trade schools up until the 1970's. This database contains images of black-and-white and sepia photographs from the Archive depicting a wide range of subjects taught at the schools over the years. Also included, are images of photographs which provide an insight into events and activities related to the colleges.
Louvre Collections include Oriental Antiquities - Islamic Art, Egyptian Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities, Sculptures, Objets d'art, Paintings, and Prints and Drawings
Metropolitan Museum of Art:
Costume Institute
The world-renowned Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum possesses more than 75,000 costumes and accessories from seven centuries and five continents. The Costume Institute has particularly impressive holdings of dress accessories, including hats, shoes, gloves, and buttons; eighteenth-century menswear from the French and English courts; twentieth-century haute couture, especially from France; postwar American sportswear; and contemporary fashion.
Museum of the City of New York:
Costume Collection
As one of the strongest historically-based collections of clothing in this country, the Museum of the City of New York's Costume Collection preserves over 25,000 garments and accessories worn by New Yorkers from the mid-eighteenth century to the present.
Museum of London:
Costume and Textile Collection
The costume and textile collection is one of the largest in the country and one of the most comprehensive, including clothing and accessories from the medieval period to the present day. Within the costume collection high quality fashionable dress predominates and there is an excellent range of male and female clothing and accessories from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The 20th-century garments are more diverse and include everyday wear as well as fashionable dress. Dress and knitting patterns have also been collected. There is a small collection of children's wear.
Philadelphia Museum of Art:
Best Dressed: 250 Years of Style Exhibition
Best Dressed: 250 Years of Style is the website for the most comprehensive costume exhibition ever mounted by the Museum, with some 200 costumes and accessories covering nearly three centuries of fashion. Drawn from the Museum’s important holdings of Western and non-Western dress, the exhibition will feature costumes from the Middle East and Asia as well as Europe and United States.
The Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Museums have a variety of collections including: Military History, Native American History & Culture, Photography, and Textiles and Quilts.
The College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources:
Historic Costume Collection (University of Hawaii at Manoa)
The Costume Collection, housed in the Textiles and Clothing Program in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, is one of the largest collections of garments, textiles, and related artifacts in an American university and is divided into the Asian, Hawaiian, Ethnic, and Western collections.
Victoria and Albert Museum:
Fashion, Jewellery, and Accessories Collection
The Victoria and Albert Museum has collected both dress and textiles since its earliest days. The collection covers fashionable dress from the 17th century to the present day, with the emphasis on progressive and influential designs from the major fashion centres of Europe. The V&A collections also include accessories such as jewellery, gloves and handbags.


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Last modified: Thursday January 27, 2005 (weaver)