Museums
- New South Wales
Powerhouse Museum - A museum located in suburban Sydney. Search collections here. Ultimo.
- Vienna
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien - Museum of Art History Vienna, in German and English. Search collections here in German only. Vienna.
- Ontario
Bata Shoe Museum - Images may be found on online exhibitions. Toronto.
Royal Ontario Museum - Collections related to world culture and natural history. Search collections here. Toronto.
- Quebec
McCord Museum - In French and English. Search the collections here. Montreal.
- Berkshire
The Royal Collection - The collections of the British monarchy. Search collections here. Locations in London, Windsor and Edinburgh.
- Dorset
Red House Museum & Gardens - Browse limited historic dress and textiles collection on the Hampshire City Council website. Christchurch.
- Durham
The Bowes Museum - Lovely museum built in 1869. Search collections here. Barnard Castle.
- Greater London
Geffrye Museum of the Home - Tracing changes in the English home from 1600 to today, with a textile collection. Search collections here. London
Museum of London - Artifacts illustrating London's long history. Search collections here. London.
The Royal Collection - The collections of the British monarchy. Search collections here. Locations in London, Windsor and Edinburgh.
The Victoria and Albert Museum - The world's largest museum of decorative arts and design. Search collections here. London.
- Greater Manchester
Manchester Art Gallery - Art and costume museum. Search collections here. Manchester.
- Hampshire
Hampshire City Council - Browse limited historic dress and textiles collection here. Much of these items are at the Red House Museum in Christchurch, Dorset.
- Shropshire
Darwin Country - Database website of the Shrewsbury Museums Service, which includes three sites in Shrewsbury. Browse collections here. Shrewsbury.
- Somerset
Fashion Museum - Museum devoted to fashion history. Search collections here. Bath.
The Jane Austen Centre - Museum about Austen's time spent in the city from 1801 and 1806. No online collections, but plenty of great resources. Bath.
- Tyne & Wear
Tyne & Wear Museums - A group of museums located all over Tyne & Wear. Search collections on IMAGINE.
- West Yorkshire
Leeds Museums and Galleries Collections - Searches collections from museums in Leeds.
- Alsace
Musée de l'Impression sur Etoffes de Mulhouse - Textile museum, in French and English. Mulhouse.
- Île-de-France
Musée de la Mode et du Textile - In French and English. Search collections here (in French). Paris.
- Berlin
Deutsches Historisches Museum - In German and English. Search collections here.
- Kyoto Prefecture
The Kyoto Costume Institute - In Japanese and English. Browse collections here. Kyoto.
- Saint Petersburg
The State Hermitage Museum - Founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great. Search collections here. In Russian and English.
- Edinburgh
The Royal Collection - The collections of the British monarchy. Search collections here. Locations in London, Windsor and Edinburgh.
- Madrid
Museo del Traje - Unique items, but some of the images are bad quality. Search collections here (in Spanish). Madrid.
- Arizona
Phoenix Art Museum - Browse fashion collection here. Phoenix.
- Arkansas
Old State House Museum - Search collections here. Little Rock.
- California
FIDM Museum & Galleries - The museum of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Search collections here or read their blog. Los Angeles.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art - World art museum with an excellent costume collection. Search collections here. Los Angeles.
Oakland Museum of California - A museum with artifacts related to the history of California. Search collections here. Oakland.
- Delaware
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library - Search collections here. Winterthur.
- Hawaii
University of Hawaii Museum - Browse their collections on Flickr. Honolulu.
- Illinois
Chicago History Museum - Search collections here. Chicago.
- Indiana
Indianapolis Museum of Art - A museum devoted to "modern, African and fine art". Search collections here. Indianapolis.
- Massachusetts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - World art museum. Search collections here. Boston.
- New York
Cornell Costume and Textile Collection - The collections of Cornell University. Search collections here. (Warning: It's pretty complicated.) Ithaca.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art - One of the top museums in the world. Search collections here. New York City.
Museum of the City of New York - No searchable costume collection as far as I can tell, but there is an online exhibition here. New York City.
The Museum at FIT - Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology. Search collections here (in progress). New York City.
New-York Historical Society - Search collections here. New York City.
- North Carolina
Mint Museum - My local museum! Only the Randolph Rd location has costumes. Browse collection preview here. Charlotte.
The North Carolina Museum of History - Search collections here. Raleigh.
- Ohio
OSU Historic Costume and Textiles Collection - A couple photos scattered throughout the site. Columbus.
- Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Museum of Art - Search collections here. Philadelphia.
- Texas
Texas Fashion Collection - From the University of North Texas. (Currently having issues with the website.) Denton.
- Virginia
Colonial Williamsburg - A full colonial-era town. Search collections here. Williamsburg.
- Washington, DC
National Museum of American History - A Smithsonian museum. Browse collections here.
The Textile Museum - Worldwide textiles. Browse highlights here.
Databases and Libraries
The British Library - The biggest library in the UK. Access its online gallery here.
La Couturière Parisienne - "This site is all about period costume, from the Middle Ages up to the early 20th century. Access 4000 costume pictures through a database, read one of hundreds of articles, or download some authentic period patterns." In German and English.
Europeana - Searches culture-related collections from across Europe. Try using keywords in different languages.
Fashion Plate Collection - Fashion plates from 1806 to 1915 from the library of the University of Washington.
Gallica - Database of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. In French, English, Spanish, Portuguese and German.
Library of Congress - The library of the US government, with pictures related to US history.
Louisiana State University Library - Fashion plates from the Louisiana State Museum.
National Trust Collections - Searches items in National Trust locations across the UK.
The Visual Arts Data Service - Visual arts collections of the University for the Creative Arts and other universities across the UK. Browse collections here.
WorldImages - A database which provides access to the California State University IMAGE Project.
Other Collections
The Antique Corset Gallery - Collection of quality shapewear from the 1740's to the 1910's.
Beverley Birks - Birks' impressive collection of designer clothing.
Kostym - A fantastic collection of early extant pieces of clothing from museums around the world. Includes reproductions and patterns based off of originals.
Old San Francisco Living History Program Virtual Museum - Online museum of the Old San Francisco Living History Program. Some broken images.