Research Guides: Fashion Design & Merchandising: Reference Sources

What are Reference Sources?

Reference Sources help you to get background information, discover topics for research, and inspire curiosity. Library reference sources are the perfect place to start your research and are college-level alternatives to web sources like Wikipedia.

Searching Reference Sources

Explore the library online reference sources in this section. Try searching with keywords like 'fashion merchandising', 'fashion design', 'fashion industry' or other combinations of related terms. Ask a Librarian if you need help.

Note: Mt. SAC Portal login required if using a non-campus network. For access issues please see our tips for access or contact us.

Berg Fashion Library
Winner of the Dartmouth Medal, Berg Fashion Library is the leading resource for students and researchers of fashion studies. Interdisciplinary in nature, with great visual and integrated content, it is invaluable for researchers in the areas of fashion, museum studies, cultural studies, anthropology, and more.
Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library)
Cross searches the full text of more than one hundred encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources covering arts and humanities, biography and genealogy, business, careers, education, literature, history, philosophy, information industry, law, government, medicine and health, multicultural studies, countries, religion, science, social studies, sports, technology, and women’s studies.
Britannica Academic
Delivers access to high-quality and comprehensive information in the Encyclopædia Britannica plus Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, magazines and periodicals, and many other research tools that students need to consult when conducting thorough research—all from one resource.
Credo Reference
Includes full text entries from dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical, statistical, and quotation sources covering all major subjects.

Finding a Topic You're Curious About

Watch the video in this section for good advice on finding a topic.

Note: Mt. SAC Portal login required if using a non-campus network. For access issues please see our tips for access or contact us.

Sample Reference Sources

Explore library reference sources in this section.

Ask a Librarian if you need help.

Note: Mt. SAC Portal login required if using a non-campus network. For access issues please see our tips for access or contact us.

World Clothing and Fashion
Taking a global, multicultural, social, and economic perspective, this work explores the diverse and colorful history of human attire.
The Encyclopedia of National Dress
This two-volume set presents information and images of the varied clothing and textiles of cultures around the world, allowing readers to better appreciate the richness and diversity of human culture and history.
St. James Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Culture
This entry covers hip hop's influence on fashion. This encyclopedia examines the history and contributions of hip hop to American and global culture, including the music, dance, and visual arts that are its artistic expressions.
Fashion, Costume, and Culture
Provides facts and information about the cultural, religious, and social implications of human decoration and adornment throughout history, with a particular emphasis on the decades of the 20th century.
Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion
Coverage includes the origins of clothing and body adornment, the development of fabrics and technologies, and the social meanings of dress, as well as representative costumes from a wide range of historical eras.

Take a Library Research Workshop

Take Developing Research Topics with a Librarian to learn strategies for using reference sources. This workshop is available live in-person at the Library and over Zoom, and self-paced in Canvas.

Key Topics in this Workshop:

Find reliable overviews and background information
Narrow or broaden research topics
Develop focused research questions or statements

Who should attend? Students who need to develop a research topic for an assignment or want to learn how to do so.

Prior experience needed? No prior experience is needed.

TIP: It is more helpful to attend this workshop while you are still in the topic development phase of the research process.