Costumes
Wool coatdress with fox fur cuffs worn by Susan Hayward in I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
Film Costumes, Harry Ransom Center
- De Niro, Robert (1943- ). Costumes and Props, 1970-2005 (bulk 1990-2005)
- Savage, Ann (1921-2008). Costumes for My Winnipeg, ca. 1940s-ca. 1980s
Most of the Ransom Center's costume collection is drawn from mainstream Hollywood films. Highlights include the distressed bomber jacket worn by Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976), five dresses worn by Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939), a wool coatdress with fox fur cuffs worn by Susan Hayward for her Oscar-nominated role in I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), shown at right, and items worn or used by the legendary actress Gloria Swanson.
Scarlett O'Hara's dresses are featured in the Gone with the Wind web exhibition.
Costumes for stage performances are located in the performing arts collection. The W. H. Crain Costume and Scenic Design Collection includes costumes used by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, designed by Léon Bakst for Narcisse (1911) and by Nicholas Roerich for The Rite of Spring (1913). Other notable theater costumes are found in the collections of the graphic artist and costume designer Gordon Conway, the American theater and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes, and the British actor-manager Donald Wolfit.
Access
Costumes may be viewed in the Center's Reading and Viewing Rooms during regular hours. A minimum of 3 business days notice is required to pull items to the Reading Room. To make an appointment, please contact the collection assistant for costumes and personal effects. All appointments to view costumes are supervised by a staff member, and visitors are not permitted to handle or touch costumes. Please note that we are unable to accommodate groups in the Reading Room. For more information, see the Center's policy on access to costumes.
Item-level descriptions of cataloged costume and personal effects collections are available in a searchable database.
The Harry Ransom Center's blog Cultural Compass gives an insider's look at news, events, exhibitions, acquisitions, multimedia content, researcher and scholarly work, conservation, and items from the collections.
