Beyond the Exhibition: Researching Charles James Using Electronic Resources

Charles James (American, born Great Britain, 1906–1978). Sketch, "Clover Leaf" Ball Gown, 1952–53. Paper, watercolor, ink, graphite; 19 3/4 x 14 in. (50.2 x 35.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Clive Runnels and Mrs. Edward L. Ryerson, 1957 (2009.300.1945)

«If you enjoyed Charles James: Beyond Fashion and want to find out more about the designer and his creations, the Museum and its libraries offer a number of rich online resources.»

Several of these resources are available for free to anyone, anywhere in the world through the Museum's website, including The Collection Online and the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

To revisit James's work included in the show and other designs in the Museum's collection, a great place to start is The Collection Online. This database currently contains nearly four hundred thousand records for accessioned objects in the Museum's collection and is continually growing.

The Collection Online

A simple keyword search for Charles James returns over 1,200 results, but limiting our search to the designer Charles James from the Artist/Maker/Culture facet reduces that number to 700 results. Items created by James in The Collection Online include gowns, coats, accessories, mannequins, patterns, and sketches. These results can be further limited by artworks on display, artworks with images, or even by material.

Charles James: limit results using the Artist/Maker/Culture facet

Looking at the record for his "Four Leaf Clover" gown reveals basic information about the dress, as well as photographs and sketches, a description, related objects, and links to additional online resources.

"Four Leaf Clover" gown

One of the links to additional online resources leads to the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Timeline includes a number of essays based on geography, period, and themes in the history of art, illustrated by objects in the Met's collection. While this resource only contains records for about seven thousand objects in the Museum's collection, it places them in the context of the global history of art.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

A basic keyword search for "Charles James" leads to an essay about the designer, his career, styles, and techniques, by curator Jan Glier Reeder, as well as a number of examples of his work and references for further reading, all of which can be requested for review in Watson Library.

An essay about the designer, his career, styles, and techniques, by curator Jan Glier Reeder

The libraries at the Museum offer several fashion-specific electronic resources where you can find more information about James, including archives for both Vogue and Women's Wear Daily.

Although these resources are not available to Museum patrons from home, visitors can search these databases from two locations within the Museum: Nolen Library (located in the Uris Center for Education) and Watson Library. Nolen Library is open to Museum visitors of all ages, while Watson Library is open to researchers college-aged and above who have registered to use the library. More information about registering to use Watson Library can be found here.

The Vogue Archive offers a complete, searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month. It includes every article, cover, photo shoot, illustration, and advertisement, and is searchable by designer and brand names.

The Vogue Archive

The Women's Wear Daily Archive includes a comprehensive archive of Women's Wear Daily, from the first issue in 1910 to material from the last twelve months. Like The Vogue Archive, this database includes every page from each issue in high-resolution digital images.

The Women's Wear Daily Archive

Because these two publications were in print when James was actively working, articles and advertisements provide an even greater sense of the designer in the context of his own time through the perspective of fashion journalism.

This is just a taste of the electronic resources available through the Museum and its libraries. To browse a complete list of our electronic resource offerings, visit the Watson Library portal.