Collections

Our clothing and textile collection includes over 35,000 artifacts. We recently acquired two major collections, from the University of Manitoba Human Ecology Department and The Canadiana Collection from Victoria. Our collection spans three centuries of clothing from Canadian donors.

The archival collection held by the Costume Museum of Canada provides researchers with primary source documents into clothing references and photographs. There is also a non-lending library on site with periodicals and books from 1900 onward and clothing patterns. References such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and L'officiel serve as valuable resources for research and inspiration for design work.