Research Resource - Victoria and Albert Museum

Gone are the days when you had to live in New York, Paris, or London to research historical fashion firsthand. With the wonder of the internet at our fingertips, we can browse through collections from thousands of miles away. One of my favorite long-distance research relationship is with the Victoria and Albert Museum.

photo by wallyg

The Victoria and Albert has a significant number of pieces from their collections digitally available and searchable online. And their collection of fashion, jewelery and accessories is astounding. They have textile fragments from the fourth century, Victorian ball gowns, and everything in between.

1. Stays and Busk (1660-70) in pink silk, linen, silk thread, whalebone.
2. Side Hoop (1778) in pink linen, cane or whalebone.
3. Evening Dress (1818) in silk net, satin decoration, wired epaulettes.

Their online collections are searchable by date range, materials, and place of origin, making the quest for a Regency evening gown as simple as searching for "gown" between the years 1811 and 1820. What a wonderfully useful (and free) resource.