Strike a pose

A Vogue cover from July 1926

BOWLING GREEN, O.—A record of American and international fashion, culture and society from the turn of the 20th century to today is now at the fingertips of Bowling Green State University faculty, staff and students. University Libraries recently acquired the Vogue Archive database, a complete, searchable archive of American Vogue from the first issue in 1892 to the present.

“The Vogue Archive is a unique electronic resource that will present many opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching and research,” said Sara Bushong, dean of University Libraries. “The University Libraries is pleased to provide this rich resource to the campus community.”

Every article, cover, photo shoot, illustration and advertisement from every page of every issue is available. Users can find images by designer and brand name as well as by keyword searching. The archive also features a special indexing of images from photo features. There are separate designated fields for fashion items, such as a scoop neckline, person pictured, company or brand, designer name, material, trend, color and print.

Vogue was founded in New York in 1892 as a weekly society paper catering to Manhattan's social elite. When it was bought by Condé Nast in 1909, the publication changed dramatically: the quality of the paper, printing and illustrations improved, the page count, advertising space and cover price all increased, and there was a new focus on fashion.

You can access the archive by clicking here.

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(Posted February 03, 2012 )