Inspired by a flurry of recent announcements about new online archives, today we take a look at what's new in the world of fashion and fashion history research resources. Twice before we've published roundups of easily accessible online resources: here and here. Do you have a favorite resource (besides this blog!) that we've missed? Post a comment with a link…you just might help out a fellow researcher.

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We've mentioned MetPublications on our Facebook page, but it's definitely worth mentioning again. Visit this page to read or download many of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition catalogs, including out of print titles like The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire, 1789–1815 and Christian Dior.

We recently discovered this online trove of 1867-1900 Harper's Bazar. Browse full issues, or search with specific terms.

The Zandra Rhodes Digital Study Collection features 500 garments by the designer, with a focus on her work from the 1970s and 1980s. A comprehensive look at Rhodes' work, the site features dates and descriptions for each garment pictured, video interviews with the designer, and design tutorials.

Lee Miller Archives provides access to more than 3,000 watermarked Miller images. Fashion aficionados will be most interested in Miller's fashion photography, though there isn't much accompanying info for most of the photos. This a great 1944 image Miller photographed for British Vogue.

André Studios 1930-1941 is an interesting collaborative project from the Picture Collection of the New York Public Library and the Special Collections & FIT Archives of the Fashion Institute of Technology Library. André Studios was a subscription-based producer of sketches for clothing manufacturers, and the more than 5,000 images in this archive offer a glimpse at fashions from 1930-1941. The archive is searchable by detail (pleat, raglan sleeve, etc.) or garment type.

And because we'd hate to leave you without an image from our collection, here's a detail of our mulberry silk tea gown. This style of loose gown was worn in very specific circumstances—during informal, late afternoon gatherings of close friends. Cascading wisteria vines decorate this garment, highlighting the Western affinity for Japanese design in the 1880s.

Tea gown (back detail)
c. 1887-89
Museum Purchase
2007.5.22