The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library
The Costume Institute
The Irene Lewisohn Costume Reference Library is one of the world’s foremost fashion libraries. Its collection includes approximately 20,000 non-circulating books, rare periodicals, and books, as well as design archives, and extensive files of clippings pertaining to the history and study of the arts of adornment throughout the world. The Library contains fifty current fashion periodical subscriptions, including a wide range of international magazines and scholarly journals.
The scope of the Library collections is unique. It reflects a wealth of invaluable information relating to the areas of haute couture, fashion, and regional costume, as well as the history of costumes of all countries and periods. The Library collection also includes extensive archival holdings of fashion plates, photographs, drawings, prints, sketches, textile swatches, embroidery samples, and ephemera.
The Library is dedicated for use by the curatorial staff of The Costume Institute. In addition, the Library supports the mission of the Museum by serving as a research center for scholars, fashion designers, and graduate students. The Library is open to researchers by appointment only. Before making an appointment, visitors are encouraged to search the holdings of The Costume Institute’s Library in Watsonline, the Museum libraries’ online catalog. Titles listed as being in the Thomas J. Watson Library or Offsite should be used in Watson Library. Titles that are Offsite require 48 hours’ notice for retrieval.
Hours and Access
By appointment only, Tuesday and Wednesday, 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Email: Julie.Le@metmuseum.org
Telephone: 212-650-2723
