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Sewing and Fashion History Resources

Here some websites, books, and other resources related to (mainly historical) fashion and sewing that I've found over the years. Many of these sites are quite old and no longer updated, but they still have useful information.

Yellow links are youtube channels, blue are books, green are shops, and red is everything else.

Sort by:

Links:

  • 18th Century Blog Late 18th century fashion and sewing blog. Hasn't been updated in over a decade there's some really pretty costumes.
  • 18th Century Embroidery Techniques - Gail Marsh A very good guide with detailed diagrams and embroidery patterns based on extant pieces.
  • American Duchess shop and blog Shop sells historical reproduction shoes from a variety of periods. The blog has some good articles on fashion history, though a lot are just ads for their shoes.
  • Angela Clayton blog and youtube channel Makes very beautiful historical and historically inspired costumes.
  • Before the Automobile Stunning, mostly 18th-19th century, costumes. Many of the pictures on this blog are broken but she's made a new blog where she has moved a few posts.
  • Bernadette Banner Probably the most popular fashion historian.
  • Burnley and Trowbridge Sells fabrics and notions mostly appropriate for the 18th and 19th centuries.
  • Cerridwen Creations Costuming, embroidery, and crafts from the 10th-16th centuries.
  • The Closet Historian blog and Youtube channel Bianca makes beautiful vintage clothing and has lots of fantastic tutorials on flat pattern drafting. I completely stopped using comercial patterns after watching her videos.
  • Clusterfrock 16th-20th century costumes and tutorials. Lots of original 19th century corset and bustle patterns as well.
  • The Completely Dressed Anachronist Medieval clothing tutorials and research.
  • Costumer's Guide Very old but detailed guide to tons of different movie costumes. I spent so much time pouring over the Lord of the Rings section on here when I was younger.
  • The Couture Courtesan blog and youtube channel Gorgeous 16th-19th century costumes. I really like her 17th century stuff.
  • Couture Mayah Maija makes lovely, mostly 18th and 19th century, costumes. Still updates.
  • Dames a la Mode blog and shop 18th-19th century costumes. Their shop sells historically inspired jewellery.
  • Demode Couture Costuming from lots of periods, but mostly 18th century. She also wrote a book on styling 18th century hair and wigs.
  • The Dreamstress blog and shop Mostly 18th-20th centuries. Also makes and sells historical sewing patterns.
  • Dressed in Time Multiple periods but mostly focused on the late 19th and early 20th centuries. More active on instagram.
  • DSA Threads Mainly focused on 16th century Italy but does other periods too. Makes historic lace with an embroidery machine. Also has some videos on mental health and neurodivergency.
  • Elizabethan Costume Page Lots of info about 16th century clothing. Has a pattern generator for a simple 16th century corset/pair of bodies and chemise.
  • Evelyn Wood Great sewing tips and tutorials for all skill levels.
  • Farthingales Sells patterns, fabric, boning, and other notions for making corsets and hoopskirts.
  • Festive Attyre Many different periods but mostly late 19th/early 20th centuries.
  • A Frolic Through Time Late 18th-19th century costuming and tutorials.
  • German Renaissance.net 16th century German/Dutch costume. Patterns and tutorials for making Saxon style gowns and Landsknecht outfits.
  • Greedy Peasant Creative, queer, and snap-encrusted costumes inspired by medieval design and catholic imagery.
  • De Gli Habiti Antichi, Et Moderni di Diverse Parti del Mondo Libri Due - Cesare Vecellio A late 16th century Italian book on fashions throughout the world going back to antiquity. I would only trust the info on 16th century Italian fashions, though. Pretty illustrations.
  • Historical Sewing Lots of tutorials. Mainly focuses on the early 19th century but there's info that's useful for any period.
  • Isis Wardrobe Mostly 17th and 18th century as well as some 1940s clothing.
  • Janet Stephens Historical hairdressing tutorials, including some for ancient Greek and Roman styles.
  • Johanna Öst Not much sewing but she posts cool lolita and vintage inspired outfits. Also makes and sells beautiful art inspired by horror and fashion history.
  • J.P. Ryan Sells Patterns for 18th century clothing. I've had success with their women's jacket pattern.
  • Karolina Żebrowska Mostly 18th-mid 20th century fashion. Memes.
  • Koshka the Cat 18th and 19th century costumes and tutorials. One of the first costumers I found on live journal a long long time ago.
  • Little Bits Makes and sells historical beauty products.
  • Marquise.de Patterns and info on clothing from many different periods. The first fashion history website I ever found back in like 2004.
  • Matsukaze Sewing Medieval and 16th century costume and research.
  • Mimic of Modes Interesting articles on different fashion history topics. Some older posts are missing images and are better on their old blog.
  • Minji Lee Videos following the process of making elaborate cosplays and renfaire outfits.
  • Mode de Lis Mostly vintage sewing with some 18th and 19th century costumes.
  • The Modern Maker Tutorials for making 16th-17th century clothing.
  • The Modern Maker Volumes 1 and 2 - Mathew Gnagy Manuals for drafting and constructing 16th and 17th century clothing. Teaches the Bara system, a really useful period pattern drafting method from Spain. I highly recommend these books to anyone interested in making clothing from this period.
  • The Modern Mantua Maker 17th-19th century costuming and vintage clothes.
  • Morgan Donner youtube and blog Costuming and crafts from lots of different periods but mainly 14th-16th centuries. Blog no longer exists so I've linked an archived version.
  • Nicole Rudolph Historical shoemaker. Very interesting videos on different fashion history topics and historical sewing.
  • Patterns of Fashion 1-6 - Janet Arnold Six books covering fashions from 1540 to 1940. Each contains dozens of patterns and detailed notes gained from the author's extensive research of extant garments. I only have 1 and 5 but I love them and would recommend any of Janet Arnold's books to those interested in fashion history.
  • The Pragmatic Costumer 17th-20th century costuming and research.
  • Prior Attire youtube and shop Videos showing the process of getting dressed in outfits throughout history, as well as some other historical costuming stuff. The shop sells readymade historical clothing and books on dressmaking.
  • Pure Silks Sells a wide selection of fabrics at good prices. I've bought cotton organdy and silk brocade from here and both were lovely. I have seen polyester mislabeled as silk on the site, though, so be careful.
  • Quiantrelle Life Cute site I used to love back in the day. Tutorials and inspo for vintage and 18th century inspired lolita outfits.
  • Realm of Venus Info on 16th century Italian fashion. Sadly, the original site is no longer up, but a lot of it was archived. My favourite part of this site was the Showcase, a place where costumers could show off their work and explain their process.
  • Redthreaded Sells reproduction corsets and corset patterns.
  • Renaissance Fabrics Nice fabrics appropriate for a variety of periods. I've bought lots of stuff from here.
  • Rococo Atelier Mostly 18th century and regency costumes. Beautiful corsets and stays.
  • Sew Rina Vintage sewing and outfit inspiration. Tutorials on following vintage patterns.
  • Sewstine youtube, shop, and blog Many periods but mainly 18th century. Really amazing costumes and machine embroidery. Also sells historical patterns digitised for embroidery machines.
  • The Shape of Fabric Tutorials for drafting and fitting patterns.
  • Sign of the Gray Horse Reproduction jewellery and accessories. Mostly 18th century.
  • Tiger Lily Threads 18th and 19th century costumes and reenacting.
  • The Tudor Tailor Sells tudor era patterns and notions.
  • Vincent Briggs blog and youtube channel Mostly 18th century menswear. Lots of inspiration for wearing 18th century stuff in everyday life. Has a really useful tutorial for making 18th century shirts. He's also on Tumblr.