Harry Ransom CenterThe University of Texas at Austin

Costumes

Wool coatdress with fox fur cuffs worn by Susan Hayward in I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
Film Costumes, Harry Ransom Center

• Clift, Montgomery (1920-1966). Costumes and Personal Effects, ca. 1900 [?]-ca. 1966 (bulk 1940s-1960s)
• Conway, Gordon (1894-1956). Costumes and Personal Effects, ca. 1980 (based on designs from the 1920s and 1930s)
• De Niro, Robert (1943- ). Costumes and Props, 1970-2005 (bulk 1990-2005)
• Film Costumes, 1940s-1960s
• 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.

For an overview of costume holdings, see Helen Adair and Jill Morena, "More Than Gone with the Wind: Costumes and Costume Designs at the Harry Ransom Center," in Performing Arts Resources 27, "Documenting: Costume Design," ed. Nancy E. Friedland (New York: Theatre Library Association, 2010).

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 assistant curator of 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.