In the books department I also recommend old housekeeping books because they often come with sewing instructions and tips relating to the fashions of the era. They are also more directed towards what people actually wore where sometimes fashion plates can have worked the same as today’s vogue editorial and only for somewhat upperclass and inspiration.
Absolutely! Check out antique stores and flea markets - you can score women's magazines for dirt cheap! I've gotten sewing and knitting magazines as old as pre-WWI digging through stacks of old ephemera, complete with instructions and illustrations. You'll need to learn some conversions - for instance, knitting needles and yarn weights are gauged differently now than they were years ago.
Also, never be afraid to contact the experts directly. I just received a reply from a researcher connected to the Lendbreen Tunic (Iron Age garment from Norway) project, with a link to their peer-reviewed paper on the analysis and reconstruction of the tunic. I'M SO HAPPY!!
They could just google it. I think that people mostly message you about that becaause they are hoping for a response/to initiate a correspondence with you (that's the price of fame lol) Have a magical day 🌟
@@shoshimp1309 They do google it. Then they leave the wikipedia hyperlinks in their essays. Well, I guess it makes it easier to catch them. But yeah, It would be neat to get to talk to Bernadette or Karolina.
Shoshi M P Agree. Or just want to hear a particular persons opinion about which sources are best. I mean, sure, you can find evertyhing on Internet, but this also means, that you will most certainly stamble across a lot of desinformation, which you won't be able to recongnize if you research the topic for the first time.
At least in the sciences, if an article is behind a paywall, most authors are happy to send you a .pdf copy for free if you contact them. Only the journal gets paid for the articles, writing and reviewing is something that we do as a service to the profession. I suspect historians are the same.
Remember not to use sci-hub. Like copying and pasting the url of the article in that page and getting the article instantly? Nah. Just don’t. Really really don’t.
The Ultimate Fashion History is a channel that does videos roughly by decade. The lady doing it apparently taught a college class about fashion history and the videos are the power point presentations she made for her students. She also provides a bit of context on the era so it’s great.
Yep. Not only does she go into detail about why women wanted to dress the way they did, she discusses the cultural connections to fashion and the events that lead up to this.
I was lucky enough to score a stack of Mccalls women's magazine from the forties at a garage sale. Even the ads give a good indication of clothing and hair styles. Best find ever!
*Karolina being justifyingly annoyed at entitled and uneducated people who expect her to give them her time and effort to give hundreds of people individual attention and research that they are more than capable of doing themselves
Opracowania could also be used as ‘studies’: 5:00 “...especially when it comes to modern (studies) of particular fashion history topics, it’s good to have that visual reference...”
I’ve been studying history especially Tudor England for 25 years now (I’m 37). I own and have owned dozens and dozens of wonderful books. I urge everyone to collect history books :)
That advice about reading the bibliography was really sound. That's how I've been discovering new books for some years now. Thanks for all these great sources!
Always check your local library!! (I know a lot of them are closed right now, but in the after times, you should go check them out) I found a fantastic textbook about the history of Japanese kimonos at my library!
Ooh on top of Helen Castor and Lucy Worsley’s documentaries, I definitely recommend Ruth Goodman’s Historical Farm docuseries (Tudor, Victorian, Edwardian, and WWII-era) (and her books)!
Karolina, I am in my sixties, and went back to college at age fifty, majoring in History; what a treat, learning to write papers in this brave new world of online information! Sometimes I would be in conversations with the delightful young people in my classes, and I would describe to them writing a paper in 1978. I would go to the large Central Library in my town, with thesis/subject in mind, praying that I would find three books with anything at all on my topic. In those books, if there was one chapter pertinent to my search, I felt like I had struck gold! It could take weeks to locate just a handful of information needed. It is amazing to be able to learn almost anything I want to, now; my husband and I are a little obsessed by it. We both enjoy your videos!
I constantly forget this video exists but when I remember it's always this huge "a-HA!" Thank you for such a great starting point for learning how to research this stuff.
We've yet to go on hard lock-down. The Gov has closed certain businesses & given guidelines. Yet, there are people shopping in swarms. Hubster waits to see if the parking lot is mostly empty, then shops for necessities. Sigh.
In California our governor was the first to issue “shelter at home” orders while still allowing people to exercise and go out for a walk following several guidelines. I’ve never seen more neighbors walking in car dependent Southern California. Some European governments are doing the same, so maybe that’s the case.
If you're not a city dweller there's no reason to have to stay indoors, and even if you are citybound getting in your car alone and going for a drive hurts no one. We're supposed to be staying away from other people, not cowering indoors 24/7. Part of the problem the US is having with people resisting social distancing is the way they keep phrasing it like we need to be in the house all the time, which is unsurprisingly not well received by folks in rural areas. My nearest neighbor is a quarter of a mile away. Taking a stroll in the yard is safer than checking my mail box at this point.
A really good book on 1850-1900 fashion I read is called “Fashion in Art: The Second Empire and Impressionism” by Marie Simon. It’s on amazon but I borrowed it from my college before. Each chapter goes through artwork from the period and details silhouettes and clothing and shows you what you can learn by looking at paintings from the time.
may I ask if it has anything related to British Imperialism in India ? I am kinda confused about the british fashion here in India at the time of colonialism . I dont think Indian dress went much change only fabrics and here and there but I have a basic idea anyways so I can write it ... But there are only 2-3 resources I can find on this topic..
I'm a software developer and I find this video amazing in how it shows historians dealing with ambiguity. Software developers face a lot of ambiguity daily, but I can only imagine how hard it is to find out what something as diverse and ambiguous in nature as fashion was like 100 years ago. The way Karolina talked about dealing with different kinds of sources amazed me. This kind of knowledge comes from a great passion and countless hours of hard work. Huge respect.
Foundations Revealed! I think their memberships have closed for this term, but there are still a lot of free resources on the site. They do have a focus on foundation garments (obviously), but they also cover other things, and they’re really useful for HOW historical things were made. And they’ll have masterclasses by different historians on different articles of clothing from specific times, usually with a focus on how to recreate those things, the exact way they were originally made (as best as can be, at least). Also Cathy Hay (who started the website) is a darling. And Bernadette Banner is now a permanent teacher there, which is really cool. Highly recommend.
When it comes to academic articles, if you find one that looks interesting but it's behind a paywall, email the author. They don't earn any money off of articles and are usually happy to send you a copy for free. I've never had someone say no.
pinterest is what made me realize that i could indeed study fashion history! it's a great starting point (albeit it you have to wade through all of the modern things), i'm so glad you mentioned it :)
Blogs are one of my favorite sources too, alot of them are really good at explaing things in current terminology, which is nice since a lot of the primary sources use confusing terms. When it comes to books, my favorite one is The Cut of Women's Clothes since it has a lot of extra information in addition to patterns.
Yes, ask re-enactors! I used to do lots with a mediaeval group (SCA) and the knowledge some people have of historical costuming is INCREDIBLE: both what's historically accurate and how to make it; and they're more than happy to teach others :) I've learnt SO much.
i am an english lit student right now, last semester i wrote an essay about 'on party patches' by joseph addison written in 1711. you never know how big an impact fashion can have.
Aaah, thank you for this, Karolina! I'm having a lot of difficulties finding what Ukrainian fashion might have looked like around the year 1480 because "Ukraine" as a nation didn't exist yet, only Ukrainian people living as subjects of the Kingdom of Poland/Duchy of Lithuania. On top of this, most scholarly work about fashion from this era only focuses on Western European countries & it's so frustrating, I want to cry 😭
Hello! Archivist here! HathiTrust has a lot of digitized volumes of Harper's Bazaar from the 1870s through the mid 20th century that can be accessed fully online! They include full fashion plates and articles-- and sometimes sewing directions! Alternatively, there are smaller institutions that have great costume collections--- the Maryland Historical society recently did a "spectrum of fashion" exhibit along with a really great catalog! Finally: "Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900" by Joan Severa is a great book that also discusses how you can't necessarily use clothing to completely date a photo, considering that (even today) people will wear clothing that's a few years old-- and how to tell if that clothing might be older than when the photo was taken.
Thank you for this! I did a project for my college about how feminism and fashion mixed through the years and it led me to your channel and that’s why I’m a subscriber now.
I'm a costume designer who is CONSTANTLY looking for in-depth research across the areas. This is SUCH a good video for new resources!!! Thank you you absolute queen!
I appreciate your patience to tell all the references and the sources you got throughout the years. I found this video so accurate and I'm glad to have watched it because I feel like I've learned a lot. Thank you Karolina!
For 20th century fashions, if you can find catalogs from the era you’re looking for you can find such a wide range of everyday styles, dated to specific years and seasons! Also good for imagery of how individual pieces could be styled different ways. If you look on amazon/google you can actually find compilations of catalogs for whole decades-Dover has a lot of “fashions of the *insert decade* as pictured in sears catalogs.”
Me 3 days ago : Hhhh I have to do research about 1934 fashion but idk where to start, there is too much stuff Karolina : here. have fun. Note: Gallica is the online version of the national french library (BnF) ! It's very useful, there is a corner specially dedicated to fashion (but you have to dig. and spend time. lot of things. LOT.)
Actually I understand the fact that you may find some messages annoying (I didn't text you), but I admit that this video is extremely worth, and it's not just something you can know you immediately. I explain myself: I myself started my research about historical fashion just a few months ago, and I confirm, there is plenty of stuff online, just googling. BUT a person that has been studying for a lot of time obviously knows in a specific way also how to find things, and specific details about research that don't often come in newbies mind. So I approve this kind of videos.
I think another great primary source could definitely be old family photos! Now would be the perfect time to call grandma on Skype and ask if she has photos from her life as a young adult in 1950s Turkey (just me? lol ok) and see firsthand what was worn in daily life, schools, evening wear, etc.
TheGamingKing It would certainly be interesting, but she has said that she hasn’t studied it much, but maybe she’ll do some sort of brief description of certain eras
God male costumes in period dramas hurt my soul. It doesn’t matter whether it is the 10th century, or the fifteenth, it is always a loose shirt and tight af trousers. ALWAYS. No armour for the warrior either, just leather. As in, toughened skin. As in, what swords are made to cut through. Dear god. I know this has very little to do with your comment but I had to vent. Us girls at least get the silhouettes right sometimes!
It would be interesting, but I'm going, to be honest. Male fashion for most of the 20th century is samely. It wasn't into the 1970's when you can see more diversity.
@@jananias2985 Yes. I think a lot of creators see male fashion as plain and boring. Also a lot of people see it pretty much as a 'loose shirt and tight trousers', anI would like if it got a bit more regard in the history of fashion community.
I'd love to see a video talking about people of color and fashion, like how would they deal with misrepresentation and if there were any differences between the way they dressed and the rest of society. I don't know, maybe it would be interesting?? I love your videos, keep up the good work!! (Sorry if my English is bad)
I'm currently also researching precolonial Philippine culture. The Boxer Codex is one account of that region, with watercolor images of what people wore in the Philippines and also Siam, the Moluccas, all the way to Japan. Zhou Daguan's memoirs of Cambodia might also have contained descriptions of what people wore, but I don't know if it included illustrations. The Bankoku Sozu might also have a few indicators, but it was primarily intended to be a map rather than something for fashion, and a world map at that.
There is a lady called notyourmommashistory on Instagram and on RUclips that focuses primarily on African American history, and does some things on clothing which you may find interesting
@@ellymarks8361 I'm very much interested in the history of fashion in old Asian countries, if u have discovered any new resources even in Hindu or any local language I'd be very happy to know, thank u in advance and happy searching :)
Something I learned from school was when doing research begin with the bibliography of several books looking for source(s) they have in common. That way you have narrowed down the real beginning point of what would be considered as "MUST" read.
I always make sure to like your videos about all the fashion research you do because those are much more time intensive and I appreciate your hard work putting the historic research together
the youtuber and blogger "Temps D'Elegance" is a really good source for french fashion. She's french so all of her work is in French but she translate 99% of her blog and if she doesn't produce and english version of a video, she tends to provide for subtitles, and she's really thourough with historical accuracy and she often aknowledges the most important parts if you aim more towards historical inspiration/reminding than accuracy
Karolina, Thank you so much for your amazing work and kindness to share all this with us!! Archive.org is such a Gold Mine of info! I visited the V&A museum and loved it, they have so many clothing and costumes from ancient time, plus the entry is free which for once was a change from the parisian museums ;)
Karolina, I really appreciate and LOVE your channel. I'm very interested in historical fashion and always find you informative... thank you for sharing your passion with us! I'd love to see more on the edwardian era, it's one of my favorites!
Fashion history is definitely a difficult thing to research. Especially if you’re researching a specific person, you can look at what people would wear and their social class but it’s hard to know what them as a person would choose to wear. I’ll be sure to check out more resources like this, I’m going to need it lol
what helped me a lot is making a garment based on a picture and just looking at the pattern, next time jou make a garment from this era, study the inside, next time the sleeve, and so on. yes this takes really long but it helped me because you only have to focus on one thing and next time it comes natural so you can focus on the other part, next thing you know you have an accuarate garment.
OMG! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I love history but i usually struggle to find sources to get informations. Expecially with fashion history. Thank you so much for making this video! Love you Meme mom!
Such is the joy of being a history teacher. "I can't find any primary sources." So then I ask, what's your topic? And my soul falls onto the floor when they tell me, 20th century technology. People don't want to take the effort to look before they ask to be spoon fed. Although, some people do. And I think it has always been that way. People have always been people after all. We just get to encounter more of them thanks to the internet.
I pulled my back out the first week of quarantine. I was trying to deep clean everything, since i had the time. I was stuck in bed for four days. I found the first CosTuber. She had another as a guest, that led to several more. Now I think I follow a dozen of you on here. This has been the most interesting rabbit hole I have ever fallen into. I would never have even found this genera of videos had I not gotten injured during quarantine.
I'm not certain if many, including you Karolina would see this, but... Thank you! I'm quite interested In understanding fashion history, as it gives context to so many literary material that is from the Victorian era and beyond (to the past). I think understanding the context in which people whom we read many of their works and/or their biographies, many events, happenings, places and the way they might have generally looked seem quite vague to us modern readers, as long as we haven't been educated about them. What people from the era intended in the book is one of them! When the context is clear, understood and so on, one can grasp even the more abstract idea of a moral point or such things that the author had in mind better too! The internet has indeed many sources, but for someone like me who is utterly clueless on modern fashion, and my sole motivation of understanding fashion, is the historical version of it, It's rather scattered and it's very precious to have someone that collects all this scatteredness in one set and presents it from a place of human experience.
I'm finishing my school before I allow myself to dive into any projects, but I'm so thankful for this video and I haven't even seen it yet. Thank you!!
I am an artist on instragram and I can tell you - people do NOT want to do the research. They want the fastest and easiest solution (IE making *YOU* do all the work). I've gotten many comments like you have mentioned about how to draw digitally. I was watching this because I already started doing some research on my own, but still found this video helpful because there's somethings I've seen around but didn't know the proper terms for (fashion plates being an example). People in the fashion/historical costume community of youtube are so helpful and we appreciate your commentary! Even if you get a lot of comments online expecting you to do more work than you already are doing :')
This is fantastically useful info, Professor Karolina!! I will take your advice and look at your links. And I agree that RUclips is great--and that is where I have gained most of my historical dress info. So thank you, Professor K!!
Thank you! You look so beautiful and are so right about not only fashion history but history in general! So much of what we in America have been taught has been twisted and has great gaps that it is not true history, it takes research and open minds to understand and learn from the past! Blessed Easter with safety!
Also a trick concerning academic articles if they're behind a paywall either in a journal or on academia.edu, find the email address/Twitter account of the researcher and send them a message asking if they could send you their article. Most of them are more than happy to give them to you!
Thank you for posting this video! I’ve been needing more information on late 1700’s early 1800’s for a small town I’m creating in Minecraft that takes place in fall 1800. Thanks again! Stay safe!
Thank you for the fashion plates links! I usually use Google, Open Library or borrow books when researching period dresses. I was wondering lately how to get to the fashion plates and your video just came up! Thank you! :*
My boss is a costume designer for theater and her office and the whole shop is covered in various books about any given period. It depends on the show we're working on, but there's anywhere from three or four books floating around the costume shop for design influence, pattern making, etc. Historical accuracy (while making some adjustments because it's theater) is really big for her, it's crazy to look around and see all of the stuff she has collected in order to get that accuracy. Like you said, you can't just have one book/source that's for ALL of fashion history, the more specific the source is the more detailed the information will be
The sun on your face at @ “9:30” was gorgeous. You kill me when you are reading the people passing by, “ Don’t you know your supposed to be at home?!?!?”
If anyone wants to know more about French women's fashion from 1830, and if you can read French : Manuel des dames, ou L'art de l'élégance, 1833, by Elisabteh-Félicie Bayle-Mouillard. It's on Gallica (a free scanlation by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France). She writes about cosmetics (what make-up they should were, how to make it), hygiene (especially of the teeth), hairdo, dresses (not how to make them but what to wear and how to clean stains and stuffs), corsets, activities. It's like 260p long, no illustrations unfortunately but it is sooooo interesting ! On the same website (Gallica), you can find the Journal des dames et des modes, it goes from 1801 to 1838. It's a fashion magasine (in French), there is usually around 70 to 110 numbers for each years (but nothing in 1812, 1813, 1816 and 1817), with several numbers a month, and in most numbers you can find one or two colored plates. Usually women's fashion, sometimes men's, usually outfit (dress, shoes, hairdo), sometimes just hats. And thank you so much for all the references !
1. So NICE to see "current" video outside! 2. Many people researching online Think they Are researching online by asking you. Lol (and you've done a great job here on educating about how to research.) 3. Yes. Better 1 free chapter to inspire than not at all. 4. Bernadette Banner (cough,cough) mentions going to "Google Scholar" to search from and trying it - I found great things like corset catalogue for 1921. ( Wish I could remember the name now. Sorry.) 5. Thanks for being out here in general.
This is awesome! Thank you so much for these resources! I really appreciate that you went to the trouble to include all the links as well as making a video.
I think more general books about art and fashion are a good starting point if you have no idea what you like, so you can kind of get a very broad approach to them and figure out what you like the best and want to research. And then you buy/research more specific books
I have reenacted 1860s womens fashions. I also have a strong interest in early photography. I have found many great books that have both! I also found a source for what different fabrics looked like when processed in early photographs. White looks dark grey, and red can look white! It's fascinating. The early photos are also great for looking at accessories.
Your sense of humor is unique and I LOVE your videos! I am part of the cast that makes up the Arizona Renaissance Festival in the USA. I am required to wear period underpinnings in order to achieve the correct profile. So I understand about research and unfortunately there is a lot of TRASH out there especially on Pinterest. Funny story: I was speaking to another cast member as I was demonstrating on a hand loom when she mentioned this Polish gal on the internet and had I seen any of her videos! We both had a laugh and remarked about how we enjoy you humor. Now I am going to make a point of watching all you have out there. Also, love the 19th c fashions. Be safe and keep up the great work you are doing for all of us!
I love it!!!!! Well said! And most definitely, I can relate on the Pinterest thing that you can spend for hours and I'm like, "Well, let me be just generic." Because you're right. Most of the time, that one image don't even have the source to go by, or more information about the painter or portraiture, etc.
Completely unrelated, but can you imagine the books people will write on what we're going through now? A fashion historian in 100 years will probably write something like "Fashion During The Great 2020 Pandemic". It's absolutely surreal living through such a significant historical event, I'm sure they'll make a ton of books and documentaries about this.
Another source: your own family. This is a good source if you’re particularly interested in more “everyday/more recent history” fashion items. I talked to my grandmother a lot about clothes (the things she wore, things she made/mended, things she purchased for my mom and aunts). I also spend a lot of time looking through old family photos from the 1930s-1970s.
"we're outside today because I can" is THE flex of the year
It's like saying "I have hand sanitizer", like bruh you rich.
She already made a piece of clothing out of TP. Talk about flexing.
Karolina: *starts filming outside*
the whole neighbourhood: aight imma head out
1,100 likes and 0 comments. Literal mic drop 😂
YUP! This is what we were waiting for.
Meme mom: *steals her mom's shoes*
Meme grandma : piece was never an option
*peace
Nobody:
Absolutely No one:
grammar nazis: *peace
Me: who asked tho?
@@Ame-fy6vr I did
@@Ame-fy6vr who asked you?
@@Ame-fy6vr autism is a thing. We cant always help it.
In the books department I also recommend old housekeeping books because they often come with sewing instructions and tips relating to the fashions of the era. They are also more directed towards what people actually wore where sometimes fashion plates can have worked the same as today’s vogue editorial and only for somewhat upperclass and inspiration.
Big brain!
Seriously though, great suggestion.
Absolutely! Check out antique stores and flea markets - you can score women's magazines for dirt cheap! I've gotten sewing and knitting magazines as old as pre-WWI digging through stacks of old ephemera, complete with instructions and illustrations. You'll need to learn some conversions - for instance, knitting needles and yarn weights are gauged differently now than they were years ago.
@@strawberryhellcat4738 now I feel like throwing away contemporary magazines was a mistake. But I just don't care for diet tips and celebrity gossip 😅
Don’t mind me just commenting on this thread so I can easily find it later lol
Also, never be afraid to contact the experts directly. I just received a reply from a researcher connected to the Lendbreen Tunic (Iron Age garment from Norway) project, with a link to their peer-reviewed paper on the analysis and reconstruction of the tunic. I'M SO HAPPY!!
How do I set this video to autoreply to every "do my homework for me" message I get 😭
They could just google it. I think that people mostly message you about that becaause they are hoping for a response/to initiate a correspondence with you (that's the price of fame lol) Have a magical day 🌟
There’s probably a bot for that
winterhusky possibly
@@shoshimp1309 They do google it. Then they leave the wikipedia hyperlinks in their essays.
Well, I guess it makes it easier to catch them.
But yeah, It would be neat to get to talk to Bernadette or Karolina.
Shoshi M P Agree. Or just want to hear a particular persons opinion about which sources are best. I mean, sure, you can find evertyhing on Internet, but this also means, that you will most certainly stamble across a lot of desinformation, which you won't be able to recongnize if you research the topic for the first time.
“A book about women’s pockets would have more space for quotes or anecdotes”
🤣🤣🤣 I see what you did there!!!
My mum just walked in on me watching this, saying: Oh, it‘s the pretty one again 🤣❤️
At least in the sciences, if an article is behind a paywall, most authors are happy to send you a .pdf copy for free if you contact them. Only the journal gets paid for the articles, writing and reviewing is something that we do as a service to the profession. I suspect historians are the same.
Good point!
also, if you can find the DOI for the article, you can use sci-hub to get them for free
My field is definitely the same! Granted I do more ancient history and literature, but this is a great point well made about the field at large!
@ Notice me sensei Meme Mom
Remember not to use sci-hub. Like copying and pasting the url of the article in that page and getting the article instantly? Nah. Just don’t. Really really don’t.
00:00 books
3:45 contemporary literature
4:55 visual reference - fashion plates and museums
8:45 online courses and groups
9:40 scholars
11:07 podcasts
12:04 documentaries
12:42 RUclips
14:04 blogs
15:25 instagram
16:35 Pinterest
thank you so much! i was hoping someone would've done this!
Thank you!
Me: starts historical fashion project
Karolina: hears my cries over hours of research and gives me tips.
The Ultimate Fashion History is a channel that does videos roughly by decade. The lady doing it apparently taught a college class about fashion history and the videos are the power point presentations she made for her students. She also provides a bit of context on the era so it’s great.
Be warned though, that she is super annoying, talks down to people, and is very opinionated and believes her own opinion is the right one.
Nie Pie, that’s terrible!
She’s got very detailed information though.
Nie Pie She did that? I had no idea!
Yep. Not only does she go into detail about why women wanted to dress the way they did, she discusses the cultural connections to fashion and the events that lead up to this.
I was lucky enough to score a stack of Mccalls women's magazine from the forties at a garage sale. Even the ads give a good indication of clothing and hair styles. Best find ever!
Karolina, being annoyed at us for 20 minutes.
19.4*
Robin Bli 0.4 minutes isn’t 40 seconds...
*Karolina being justifyingly annoyed at entitled and uneducated people who expect her to give them her time and effort to give hundreds of people individual attention and research that they are more than capable of doing themselves
@@mollyflora7299 19' 40"
Or 19.66667
@@Carrybean yes, and I'm here for it! 🙌😂
5:02 'opracowania' - the word you are looking for is 'secondary sources'.
Unlike 'źródła' which are called 'primary sources'.
Opracowania could also be used as ‘studies’: 5:00 “...especially when it comes to modern (studies) of particular fashion history topics, it’s good to have that visual reference...”
I’ve been studying history especially Tudor England for 25 years now (I’m 37). I own and have owned dozens and dozens of wonderful books. I urge everyone to collect history books :)
Can you please give me the name of some books you own? :'(
That advice about reading the bibliography was really sound. That's how I've been discovering new books for some years now. Thanks for all these great sources!
Don't give on shooting outdoors. I love seeing it and the ambient sounds are great.
Always check your local library!! (I know a lot of them are closed right now, but in the after times, you should go check them out) I found a fantastic textbook about the history of Japanese kimonos at my library!
Ooh on top of Helen Castor and Lucy Worsley’s documentaries, I definitely recommend Ruth Goodman’s Historical Farm docuseries (Tudor, Victorian, Edwardian, and WWII-era) (and her books)!
Thank you for reminding me about the historical farm docuseries
Definitely should rewatch them
Opalescence MoonLight you’re very welcome! I can’t get enough of ‘em. Learn something new every time.
Lucy Worsley is so wonderful
Karolina, I am in my sixties, and went back to college at age fifty, majoring in History; what a treat, learning to write papers in this brave new world of online information! Sometimes I would be in conversations with the delightful young people in my classes, and I would describe to them writing a paper in 1978. I would go to the large Central Library in my town, with thesis/subject in mind, praying that I would find three books with anything at all on my topic. In those books, if there was one chapter pertinent to my search, I felt like I had struck gold! It could take weeks to locate just a handful of information needed.
It is amazing to be able to learn almost anything I want to, now; my husband and I are a little obsessed by it. We both enjoy your videos!
i absolutely love this story so much
@@noahbentton ❤️❤️❤️
Pantings and photographs. Keeping in mind the painting is idealized. This was a great video as a history teacher and costumer I get asked this a lot.
I constantly forget this video exists but when I remember it's always this huge "a-HA!" Thank you for such a great starting point for learning how to research this stuff.
“We’re supposed to stay home” she says, sat outside her home
Just joking I love her
I was wondering if she was in her yard or very nearby because she said something about a neighbor looking at her. I had the same thought :-)
We've yet to go on hard lock-down. The Gov has closed certain businesses & given guidelines. Yet, there are people shopping in swarms.
Hubster waits to see if the parking lot is mostly empty, then shops for necessities. Sigh.
In California our governor was the first to issue “shelter at home” orders while still allowing people to exercise and go out for a walk following several guidelines. I’ve never seen more neighbors walking in car dependent Southern California. Some European governments are doing the same, so maybe that’s the case.
It's her yard lol
If you're not a city dweller there's no reason to have to stay indoors, and even if you are citybound getting in your car alone and going for a drive hurts no one. We're supposed to be staying away from other people, not cowering indoors 24/7. Part of the problem the US is having with people resisting social distancing is the way they keep phrasing it like we need to be in the house all the time, which is unsurprisingly not well received by folks in rural areas. My nearest neighbor is a quarter of a mile away. Taking a stroll in the yard is safer than checking my mail box at this point.
A really good book on 1850-1900 fashion I read is called “Fashion in Art: The Second Empire and Impressionism” by Marie Simon. It’s on amazon but I borrowed it from my college before. Each chapter goes through artwork from the period and details silhouettes and clothing and shows you what you can learn by looking at paintings from the time.
Thanks for the reference!
may I ask if it has anything related to British Imperialism in India ? I am kinda confused about the british fashion here in India at the time of colonialism . I dont think Indian dress went much change only fabrics and here and there but I have a basic idea anyways so I can write it ... But there are only 2-3 resources I can find on this topic..
@@nobitanobi3475 I'm very interested in this topic as well, could u tell me about these books? thanks in advance :)
I'm a software developer and I find this video amazing in how it shows historians dealing with ambiguity. Software developers face a lot of ambiguity daily, but I can only imagine how hard it is to find out what something as diverse and ambiguous in nature as fashion was like 100 years ago. The way Karolina talked about dealing with different kinds of sources amazed me. This kind of knowledge comes from a great passion and countless hours of hard work. Huge respect.
Foundations Revealed! I think their memberships have closed for this term, but there are still a lot of free resources on the site. They do have a focus on foundation garments (obviously), but they also cover other things, and they’re really useful for HOW historical things were made. And they’ll have masterclasses by different historians on different articles of clothing from specific times, usually with a focus on how to recreate those things, the exact way they were originally made (as best as can be, at least).
Also Cathy Hay (who started the website) is a darling. And Bernadette Banner is now a permanent teacher there, which is really cool. Highly recommend.
Last time I was this early we weren't in a pandemic
Ahhh the good'ol days....
When it comes to academic articles, if you find one that looks interesting but it's behind a paywall, email the author. They don't earn any money off of articles and are usually happy to send you a copy for free. I've never had someone say no.
last time i was this early jeans had real pockets
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
pinterest is what made me realize that i could indeed study fashion history! it's a great starting point (albeit it you have to wade through all of the modern things), i'm so glad you mentioned it :)
Disappointed that she didn't say "the book I could recommend is ~~ mine! Go buy it"
Karolina being annoyed at her neighbors for 20 minutes.
For those interested, the first (or only I'm not through the video yet) piano piece played is Arabesque by Claude Debussy.
Blogs are one of my favorite sources too, alot of them are really good at explaing things in current terminology, which is nice since a lot of the primary sources use confusing terms. When it comes to books, my favorite one is The Cut of Women's Clothes since it has a lot of extra information in addition to patterns.
Gist: "Stop asking me all the same annoying questions, lazy meme children"
Yes, ask re-enactors! I used to do lots with a mediaeval group (SCA) and the knowledge some people have of historical costuming is INCREDIBLE: both what's historically accurate and how to make it; and they're more than happy to teach others :) I've learnt SO much.
i am an english lit student right now, last semester i wrote an essay about 'on party patches' by joseph addison written in 1711. you never know how big an impact fashion can have.
Video length: 19:40, "1940" Coincidence? I THINK NOT!!!
Hotel? Trivago!
History? Fashion ideas!
Aaah, thank you for this, Karolina! I'm having a lot of difficulties finding what Ukrainian fashion might have looked like around the year 1480 because "Ukraine" as a nation didn't exist yet, only Ukrainian people living as subjects of the Kingdom of Poland/Duchy of Lithuania.
On top of this, most scholarly work about fashion from this era only focuses on Western European countries & it's so frustrating, I want to cry 😭
Hello! Archivist here! HathiTrust has a lot of digitized volumes of Harper's Bazaar from the 1870s through the mid 20th century that can be accessed fully online! They include full fashion plates and articles-- and sometimes sewing directions!
Alternatively, there are smaller institutions that have great costume collections--- the Maryland Historical society recently did a "spectrum of fashion" exhibit along with a really great catalog!
Finally: "Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900" by Joan Severa is a great book that also discusses how you can't necessarily use clothing to completely date a photo, considering that (even today) people will wear clothing that's a few years old-- and how to tell if that clothing might be older than when the photo was taken.
Thank you for this! I did a project for my college about how feminism and fashion mixed through the years and it led me to your channel and that’s why I’m a subscriber now.
I'm a costume designer who is CONSTANTLY looking for in-depth research across the areas. This is SUCH a good video for new resources!!! Thank you you absolute queen!
I'd love for you to cover the fashion and history of Anne With An E!
was just thinking about this! I’ would love to hear her perspective!!
I appreciate your patience to tell all the references and the sources you got throughout the years. I found this video so accurate and I'm glad to have watched it because I feel like I've learned a lot. Thank you Karolina!
For 20th century fashions, if you can find catalogs from the era you’re looking for you can find such a wide range of everyday styles, dated to specific years and seasons! Also good for imagery of how individual pieces could be styled different ways. If you look on amazon/google you can actually find compilations of catalogs for whole decades-Dover has a lot of “fashions of the *insert decade* as pictured in sears catalogs.”
This video is much needed bc I’m planning my dissertation right now and my library is closed. I had no idea where to find sources
What's your dissertation about?
Me 3 days ago : Hhhh I have to do research about 1934 fashion but idk where to start, there is too much stuff
Karolina : here. have fun.
Note: Gallica is the online version of the national french library (BnF) ! It's very useful, there is a corner specially dedicated to fashion (but you have to dig. and spend time. lot of things. LOT.)
Heeey, thanks for the tip! I'll remember that for when I finally learn French... :P
Actually I understand the fact that you may find some messages annoying (I didn't text you), but I admit that this video is extremely worth, and it's not just something you can know you immediately. I explain myself: I myself started my research about historical fashion just a few months ago, and I confirm, there is plenty of stuff online, just googling. BUT a person that has been studying for a lot of time obviously knows in a specific way also how to find things, and specific details about research that don't often come in newbies mind. So I approve this kind of videos.
Meme mom is absolutely glowing in the light, I'm jealous that her skin looks so pristine
I think another great primary source could definitely be old family photos! Now would be the perfect time to call grandma on Skype and ask if she has photos from her life as a young adult in 1950s Turkey (just me? lol ok) and see firsthand what was worn in daily life, schools, evening wear, etc.
Will a male fashion video ever happen? Does anyone else even want one?
Or is it just me?
TheGamingKing It would certainly be interesting, but she has said that she hasn’t studied it much, but maybe she’ll do some sort of brief description of certain eras
God male costumes in period dramas hurt my soul. It doesn’t matter whether it is the 10th century, or the fifteenth, it is always a loose shirt and tight af trousers. ALWAYS. No armour for the warrior either, just leather. As in, toughened skin. As in, what swords are made to cut through. Dear god. I know this has very little to do with your comment but I had to vent. Us girls at least get the silhouettes right sometimes!
It would be interesting, but I'm going, to be honest. Male fashion for most of the 20th century is samely. It wasn't into the 1970's when you can see more diversity.
TheGamingKing I want one too
@@jananias2985 Yes. I think a lot of creators see male fashion as plain and boring. Also a lot of people see it pretty much as a 'loose shirt and tight trousers', anI would like if it got a bit more regard in the history of fashion community.
I'd love to see a video talking about people of color and fashion, like how would they deal with misrepresentation and if there were any differences between the way they dressed and the rest of society. I don't know, maybe it would be interesting?? I love your videos, keep up the good work!! (Sorry if my English is bad)
I'm currently also researching precolonial Philippine culture. The Boxer Codex is one account of that region, with watercolor images of what people wore in the Philippines and also Siam, the Moluccas, all the way to Japan.
Zhou Daguan's memoirs of Cambodia might also have contained descriptions of what people wore, but I don't know if it included illustrations.
The Bankoku Sozu might also have a few indicators, but it was primarily intended to be a map rather than something for fashion, and a world map at that.
There is a lady called notyourmommashistory on Instagram and on RUclips that focuses primarily on African American history, and does some things on clothing which you may find interesting
@@wishiwaslizbennet924 thanks for the recommendation, I'll for sure search for her
@@ellymarks8361 I'm very much interested in the history of fashion in old Asian countries, if u have discovered any new resources even in Hindu or any local language I'd be very happy to know, thank u in advance and happy searching :)
I always found a easy way of finding reference is through vintage photos. Good thoughts and take care. Thank you for the advice and choices .
Something I learned from school was when doing research begin with the bibliography of several books looking for source(s) they have in common. That way you have narrowed down the real beginning point of what would be considered as "MUST" read.
alternative title : *meme mom being annoyed for 20 minutes straight*
I always make sure to like your videos about all the fashion research you do because those are much more time intensive and I appreciate your hard work putting the historic research together
the youtuber and blogger "Temps D'Elegance" is a really good source for french fashion. She's french so all of her work is in French but she translate 99% of her blog and if she doesn't produce and english version of a video, she tends to provide for subtitles, and she's really thourough with historical accuracy and she often aknowledges the most important parts if you aim more towards historical inspiration/reminding than accuracy
Karolina, Thank you so much for your amazing work and kindness to share all this with us!! Archive.org is such a Gold Mine of info! I visited the V&A museum and loved it, they have so many clothing and costumes from ancient time, plus the entry is free which for once was a change from the parisian museums ;)
Karolina, I really appreciate and LOVE your channel. I'm very interested in historical fashion and always find you informative... thank you for sharing your passion with us! I'd love to see more on the edwardian era, it's one of my favorites!
Fashion history is definitely a difficult thing to research. Especially if you’re researching a specific person, you can look at what people would wear and their social class but it’s hard to know what them as a person would choose to wear. I’ll be sure to check out more resources like this, I’m going to need it lol
I love to see a polish RUclipsr becoming so huge! 😊♥️
Scotland's museums are fantastical, soo many beautiful things. And who couldn't love the abundance of castles?
what helped me a lot is making a garment based on a picture and just looking at the pattern, next time jou make a garment from this era, study the inside, next time the sleeve, and so on.
yes this takes really long but it helped me because you only have to focus on one thing and next time it comes natural so you can focus on the other part, next thing you know you have an accuarate garment.
OMG! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I love history but i usually struggle to find sources to get informations. Expecially with fashion history. Thank you so much for making this video! Love you Meme mom!
It's so wonderful to see u in this crazy year! I hope you and your family are doing well. Be safe. Bless u and ur family 🙏🤗😃👋🙃
Omg! Thank you so much! I love studying most things by myself and since I discovered your videos I have been interested on fashion history
Such is the joy of being a history teacher. "I can't find any primary sources." So then I ask, what's your topic? And my soul falls onto the floor when they tell me, 20th century technology.
People don't want to take the effort to look before they ask to be spoon fed. Although, some people do. And I think it has always been that way. People have always been people after all. We just get to encounter more of them thanks to the internet.
I pulled my back out the first week of quarantine. I was trying to deep clean everything, since i had the time. I was stuck in bed for four days. I found the first CosTuber. She had another as a guest, that led to several more. Now I think I follow a dozen of you on here. This has been the most interesting rabbit hole I have ever fallen into.
I would never have even found this genera of videos had I not gotten injured during quarantine.
Welcome to CrashCourse Fashion History with Meme Mum!
mia butron oh I would die for that
I'm not certain if many, including you Karolina would see this, but...
Thank you!
I'm quite interested In understanding fashion history, as it gives context to so many literary material that is from the Victorian era and beyond (to the past).
I think understanding the context in which people whom we read many of their works and/or their biographies, many events, happenings, places and the way they might have generally looked seem quite vague to us modern readers, as long as we haven't been educated about them. What people from the era intended in the book is one of them!
When the context is clear, understood and so on, one can grasp even the more abstract idea of a moral point or such things that the author had in mind better too!
The internet has indeed many sources, but for someone like me who is utterly clueless on modern fashion, and my sole motivation of understanding fashion, is the historical version of it, It's rather scattered and it's very precious to have someone that collects all this scatteredness in one set and presents it from a place of human experience.
I cant describe how thankfull I am for this video, is gonna help me so much to get accurate and varieted outfits for my historical comic project!
This is the video I’ve always wanted
I'm finishing my school before I allow myself to dive into any projects, but I'm so thankful for this video and I haven't even seen it yet. Thank you!!
I am an artist on instragram and I can tell you - people do NOT want to do the research. They want the fastest and easiest solution (IE making *YOU* do all the work). I've gotten many comments like you have mentioned about how to draw digitally.
I was watching this because I already started doing some research on my own, but still found this video helpful because there's somethings I've seen around but didn't know the proper terms for (fashion plates being an example).
People in the fashion/historical costume community of youtube are so helpful and we appreciate your commentary! Even if you get a lot of comments online expecting you to do more work than you already are doing :')
Highly recommend professor Amanda Hallay's Ultimate Fashion History RUclips channel. She does a great job, and her channel is addicting!
This is fantastically useful info, Professor Karolina!! I will take your advice and look at your links. And I agree that RUclips is great--and that is where I have gained most of my historical dress info. So thank you, Professor K!!
"... you're sitting at home bored..."
OMG that's me! I feel so included.
Bring forth the educating smackdown MemeMom.
Thank you! You look so beautiful and are so right about not only fashion history but history in general! So much of what we in America have been taught has been twisted and has great gaps that it is not true history, it takes research and open minds to understand and learn from the past! Blessed Easter with safety!
Also a trick concerning academic articles if they're behind a paywall either in a journal or on academia.edu, find the email address/Twitter account of the researcher and send them a message asking if they could send you their article. Most of them are more than happy to give them to you!
Thank you for posting this video! I’ve been needing more information on late 1700’s early 1800’s for a small town I’m creating in Minecraft that takes place in fall 1800. Thanks again! Stay safe!
Thank you for the fashion plates links! I usually use Google, Open Library or borrow books when researching period dresses. I was wondering lately how to get to the fashion plates and your video just came up! Thank you! :*
Aside from actual time travel, meme mom is a great resource for historical accuracy and where to go to research! Thanks for the video!!
My boss is a costume designer for theater and her office and the whole shop is covered in various books about any given period. It depends on the show we're working on, but there's anywhere from three or four books floating around the costume shop for design influence, pattern making, etc. Historical accuracy (while making some adjustments because it's theater) is really big for her, it's crazy to look around and see all of the stuff she has collected in order to get that accuracy. Like you said, you can't just have one book/source that's for ALL of fashion history, the more specific the source is the more detailed the information will be
The sun on your face at @ “9:30” was gorgeous. You kill me when you are reading the people passing by, “ Don’t you know your supposed to be at home?!?!?”
If anyone wants to know more about French women's fashion from 1830, and if you can read French : Manuel des dames, ou L'art de l'élégance, 1833, by Elisabteh-Félicie Bayle-Mouillard. It's on Gallica (a free scanlation by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France). She writes about cosmetics (what make-up they should were, how to make it), hygiene (especially of the teeth), hairdo, dresses (not how to make them but what to wear and how to clean stains and stuffs), corsets, activities. It's like 260p long, no illustrations unfortunately but it is sooooo interesting !
On the same website (Gallica), you can find the Journal des dames et des modes, it goes from 1801 to 1838. It's a fashion magasine (in French), there is usually around 70 to 110 numbers for each years (but nothing in 1812, 1813, 1816 and 1817), with several numbers a month, and in most numbers you can find one or two colored plates. Usually women's fashion, sometimes men's, usually outfit (dress, shoes, hairdo), sometimes just hats.
And thank you so much for all the references !
1. So NICE to see "current" video outside! 2. Many people researching online Think they Are researching online by asking you. Lol (and you've done a great job here on educating about how to research.) 3. Yes. Better 1 free chapter to inspire than not at all. 4. Bernadette Banner (cough,cough) mentions going to "Google Scholar" to search from and trying it - I found great things like corset catalogue for 1921. ( Wish I could remember the name now. Sorry.) 5. Thanks for being out here in general.
This is awesome! Thank you so much for these resources! I really appreciate that you went to the trouble to include all the links as well as making a video.
I think more general books about art and fashion are a good starting point if you have no idea what you like, so you can kind of get a very broad approach to them and figure out what you like the best and want to research. And then you buy/research more specific books
I have reenacted 1860s womens fashions. I also have a strong interest in early photography. I have found many great books that have both! I also found a source for what different fabrics looked like when processed in early photographs. White looks dark grey, and red can look white! It's fascinating. The early photos are also great for looking at accessories.
Your sense of humor is unique and I LOVE your videos! I am part of the cast that makes up the Arizona Renaissance Festival in the USA. I am required to wear period underpinnings in order to achieve the correct profile. So I understand about research and unfortunately there is a lot of TRASH out there especially on Pinterest. Funny story: I was speaking to another cast member as I was demonstrating on a hand loom when she mentioned this Polish gal on the internet and had I seen any of her videos! We both had a laugh and remarked about how we enjoy you humor. Now I am going to make a point of watching all you have out there. Also, love the 19th c fashions. Be safe and keep up the great work you are doing for all of us!
I love it!!!!! Well said! And most definitely, I can relate on the Pinterest thing that you can spend for hours and I'm like, "Well, let me be just generic." Because you're right. Most of the time, that one image don't even have the source to go by, or more information about the painter or portraiture, etc.
This kind of “starter info” is very useful, and helps folks get an introduction into a given topic.
Just sitting at home bored, but now i wanna sew a gown
Thanks for giving me the final push and getting me to actual study fashion history
Completely unrelated, but can you imagine the books people will write on what we're going through now? A fashion historian in 100 years will probably write something like "Fashion During The Great 2020 Pandemic".
It's absolutely surreal living through such a significant historical event, I'm sure they'll make a ton of books and documentaries about this.
I predict 2020’s fashion will be whatever people had in their closet during the time when the economy broke down.
I already did my homework but I came here to do more because you’re amazing
I really wanted this video so far I was just waiting for it, now I'm immeasurable happy
Another source: your own family. This is a good source if you’re particularly interested in more “everyday/more recent history” fashion items. I talked to my grandmother a lot about clothes (the things she wore, things she made/mended, things she purchased for my mom and aunts). I also spend a lot of time looking through old family photos from the 1930s-1970s.
Thank you for this material ❤️ I asked you about sources where I can find some information about 80's fashion and you're rescuing me with this video!
I am an Art Historian and these resources are amazing for us too. This is wonderful!!! Thanks!
wish I'd had this video last semester for my fashion history class :'( super helpful, stoked about the podcasts!!!