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Fashion Merchandising Overview

Guide created to support research in fashion merchandising at TCC

Off-campus access to library databases is limited to current TCC students, faculty, and staff only. Use your TCC email and password when prompted to log in. If you have problems accessing library resources, contact the library staff for help.

Books & More

Find & Access Books

stack of books

Did you know that current TCC students can request books from other TCC library locations to be sent to the TCC campus library of your choice for pick up? Not all items can be requested (for example, reference or reserve items). Know when your assignment is due, plan ahead, and start your research early to give yourself enough time to take advantage of this option!

Search the catalog

  1. Start on the TCC Libraries homepage
  2. Find TCC Library Catalog (box on left)
  3. Select "In the Library"
  4. Select your home campus (or leave as "Any Campus" to search all TCC library locations)
  5. Type what you are searching for in the search box (for example: book title, author, topic keywords) and click Search 
  6. Use the filters on the left to narrow down your results
  7. If the item is available, results will show where it is available at
    • If the item is at more than one campus you will see "and other locations" - click to open the item record to view all campus library locations for the item.

Find on the shelf

  1. Use the location information from the catalog record to help you locate the item in the library. 
  2. The information after the library name will tell you what section of the library the item is in.
    • If it says "Circulating Collection" these you can check out and take out of the library. You will find these on the shelves.
    • If it says "Library Reserves" these books will be held at the library's circulation desk. Most of these can only be checked out for use in the library for a couple of hours.
    • Other books may list something else (for example, "New Arrivals" or "Oversized"). Books may be on display or part of a specific collection.
  3. Look for signs on the ends of the shelves to find the shelf the book should be on, then match the call number listed in the catalog to the call number on the spine of the book to locate the item on the shelf.
  4. If you need help finding a book, stop by the reference desk in the library to get help from a librarian. 

Browse the shelves

For general browsing of our print collection for fashion and fashion merchandising, these Library of Congress call number sections might be of interest:

  • GT500-2370 Costume. Dress. Fashion
  • HD28-9999 Industries. Land use. Labor (particularly HD9940)
  • HF5001-6182 Business
  • TS1300-1865 Textile industries
  • TT490-695 Clothing manufacture. Dressmaking. Tailoring

Don't forget that the library has a large collection of eBooks available! 

Search the catalog

  1. Start on the TCC Libraries homepage
  2. Find TCC Library Catalog (box on left)
  3. Select "Ebooks"
  4. Type what you are searching for in the search box (for example: book title, author, topic keywords) and click Search 
  5. Use the filters on the left to narrow down your results

Access online

  1. After you have searched for and located an eBook in the library catalog, click on "Available Online" or the book title to open up the catalog record.
  2. Use the link(s) listed under View Online to access the eBook.

The library does not collect textbooks, however we may have a copy of your textbook if your instructor has placed one on reserve. Generally these can only be checked out for use in the library for a couple of hours. You can search our Course Reserves using the steps below. You can also stop by the library or chat with us online. We are always happy to check to see if we have a book available.

Search the catalog

  1. Start on the TCC Libraries homepage
  2. Find TCC Library Catalog (box on left)
  3. Select "Course Reserves"
  4. Type what you are searching for in the search box (for example: book title, course instructor name, course code).
  5. If the item is available, results will show where it is available at.
    • If the item is at more than one campus you will see "and other locations" - click to open the item record to view all campus library locations for the item.

Find in the library

Visit the library's circulation desk to check out books that are part of the Reserves collection.

To search for all books at the same time, regardless of format or location, use the All Collections option on the TCC Library Catalog search, and then limit your results to Books under Resource Type.

In addition to our databases and books, the library provides access to a variety of other materials. If searching the TCC Library Catalog, you can use the All Collections search option and then use the Resource Type limit under Filter Your Results to find a particular type of material.  


dressesFor research on fashion & fashion merchandising-related topics, our databases, print books, eBooks, newspapers & magazines, and some of our streaming video collections may be particularly relevant. The library also has resources available to support professional development and finding information about fashion-related careers. Explore these additional resources listed in the box below.  

Recently Added & Coming Soon

The Fashion Book

Print Book

The iconic bestseller, showcasing more than 500 of fashion's greatest names from A-Z Phaidon's iconic global bestseller The Fashion Book takes a fresh look at the fashion world and the people who created and inspired it. Spanning almost 200 years, the entire fashion industry is represented: from designers to photographers, stylists, and retailers, as well as editors and creative directors. Marking significant changes on the fashion landscape, this edition features important new names who have fundamentally shaped the way we see fashion in recent years, including Virgil Abloh, Gosha Rubchinskiy, and Alessandro Michele, influential photographer Petra Collins, designer and contemporary icon Rihanna, and Leandra Medine, alongside fashion pioneers of the previous edition such as Coco Chanel, Issey Miyake, Kate Moss, Erdem, and Richard Avedon. Showcasing more than 500 of fashion's greatest icons in A-Z order, the book places early stars such as Karl Lagerfeld and Helmut Newton alongside today's most innovative designers and creatives, including Edward Enninful, Iris van Herpen, Stella McCartney, and cutting-edge brands such as Supreme. This bestselling classic remains a comprehensive and definitive view of the fashion industry today.

The Power of Plus

Print Book

One of Vogue Business 100Innovators 2022 "The Power of Plus will leave you feeling inspired, motivated, and ready to push for real change, as well as confident and encouraged to embrace yourself, just as you are. This is essential reading for anyone who truly cares about the future of fashion, and for anyone who believes in the power of being yourself." --Versha Sharma, editor in chief, Teen Vogue Plus-size fashion revolutionizes the way women view themselves and their bodies.  Exclusivity runs within the foundation of fashion. While calls for diversity have intensified recently, long-held attitudes are only beginning to change. But through social media, plus-size people have been able to create supportive communities that show their confidence, strength, and beauty. Plus-size fashionistas have been writing their own narrative for the past three decades, creating a market all on their own that is now worth more than $21 billion. The Power of Plus features interviews with trailblazers such as Tess Holliday, Emme Aronson, Gabi Gregg, and more as it follows the evolution of plus-size fashion from its start on small blogs to its current boom, examining the way this market has changed women's relationships with their bodies and how plus-size fashion is integral to the future success of the industry. Plus-size fashion is not a PR stunt. It is a culture-changing market created by and for the people who have always deserved to feel stylish but never had the visibility to be . . . until now.  By honoring our progress so far, The Power of Plus celebrates the next stage of the plus-size fashion movement.

Dress Code

Print Book

A New Yorker Magazine Best Book of 2022 * An Esquire Best Nonfiction Book of 2022 * A Town & Country Must-Read Book of 2022 * A Fashionista Summer Read "Smart, funny, and impressively thorough."--The Cut In the spirit of works by Jia Tolentino and Anne Helen Peterson, a smart and incisive essay collection centered on the fashion industry--its history, its importance, why we wear what we wear, and why it matters--from Elle Magazine's fashion features director. Why does fashion hold so much power over us Most of us care about how we dress and how we present ourselves. Style offers clues about everything from class to which in-group we belong to. Bad Feminist for fashion, Dress Code takes aim at the institutions within the fashion industry while reminding us of the importance of dress and what it means for self-presentation. Everything--from societal changes to the progress (or lack thereof) of women's rights to the hidden motivations behind what we choose to wear to align ourselves with a particular social group--can be tracked through clothing.  Veronique Hyland examines thought-provoking questions such as: Why has the "French girl" persisted as our most undying archetype What does "dressing for yourself" really mean for a woman How should a female politician dress Will gender-differentiated fashion go forever out of style How has social media affected and warped our sense of self-presentation, and how are we styling ourselves expressly for it Not everyone participates in painting, literature, or film. But there is no "opting out" of fashion. And yet, fashion is still seen as superficial and trivial, and only the finest of couture is considered as art. Hyland argues that fashion is a key that unlocks questions of power, sexuality, and class, taps into history, and sends signals to the world around us. Clothes means something--even if you're "just" wearing jeans and a T-shirt.  

Regenerative Fashion

Print Book

As our climate, ecological and social crises converge, urgent action is needed to maximize our chances of survival. A new commercial approach is possible but it requires a systemic shift, with companies learning to operate as part of a wider 'ecosystem', allowing fashion to restore what it has taken. Regenerative Fashion presents a roadmap for new ways of doing fashion. To keep our planet safe, we must cut production and end our dependency on fossil fuels. We must also create dignified livelihoods for the millions of people working in the industry. By using natural resources, paying factory workers and farmers a living wage and scaling up craft production, we can not only rebuild soils, ecosystems and biodiversity, but also support decarbonization, regenerate communities and ensure a just transition for all. Part guide and part manifesto, this book shares stories of our interconnectedness with the natural world and each other, divided into sections on Nature & Materials; People, Livelihoods & Crafts; and New Economy & Leadership. Fully illustrated throughout, it features interviews from best-practice designers and businesses around the world, as well as thought pieces from leading campaigners within the industry.

Fabric

Print Book

A magnificent work of original research that unravels history through textiles and cloth--how we make it, use it, and what it means to us. A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice How is a handmade fabric helping save an ancient forest? Why is a famous fabric pattern from India best known by the name of a Scottish town? How is a Chinese dragon robe a diagram of the whole universe? What is the difference between how the Greek Fates and the Viking Norns used threads to tell our destiny? In Fabric, bestselling author Victoria Finlay spins us round the globe, weaving stories of our relationship with cloth and asking how and why people through the ages have made it, worn it, invented it, and made symbols out of it. And sometimes why they have fought for it. She beats the inner bark of trees into cloth in Papua New Guinea, fails to handspin cotton in Guatemala, visits tweed weavers at their homes in Harris, and has lessons in patchwork-making in Gee's Bend, Alabama - where in the 1930s, deprived of almost everything they owned, a community of women turned quilting into an art form. She began her research just after the deaths of both her parents --and entwined in the threads she found her personal story too. Fabric is not just a material history of our world, but Finlay's own journey through grief and recovery.

The Intersection of Fashion and Disability

Print Book

The history of the fashion industry has been well written as it relates to people who conform to certain physical norms and cultural stereotypes, whereas the inequality in access to the world of fashion has been largely ignored. Despite this lack of coverage, much work has taken place over the centuries to enable people who live with disability to participate in fashionable culture. This book tells that story via perspectives of notable historical figures, events and movements, and continues the discourse with a look at some of the contemporary developments in clothing and fashion. The Intersection of Fashion and Disability takes the long view, from early attempts to conceal 'unsightly' bodies of royalty and nobility via creative innovation through growing contemporary awareness of inclusive fashion and how future work can be driven by technology and cultural acceptance.

Additional Resources

  • Click on the tab for additional library resources.
  • To access library resources, use your TCC email and password if prompted to log in.

In addition to providing access to information, the library provides study space and other general resources. Currently enrolled students can also check out devices. Refer to our Library 101 guide for more information on general resources available.  

Career & Professional Development - Databases

Career & Professional Development - eBooks / Print Books

These are just a few of the available titles. Search the library catalog to find more.

eBook Collections

Browse an eBook collection using the links below.
Refer to our databases listed by subject, under Electronic Books and Magazines, for all available collections.
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News & Magazines

These are just a few of the resources available. Refer to our databases listed by subject, under News and Controversial Issues or under Electronic Books and Magazines, for additional resources.
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Streaming Video - Databases

Refer to our databases listed by subject, under Streaming Video, for additional resources.
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