Subject representation for fashion objects concerns two issues: (1) which elements to include for subjects/topics in a metadata format, and (2) how to differentiate the sources of subject terms.
While USMARC's 6XX fields and Dublin Core's SUBJECT element recognize subject added entries, VRA Core sets up several elements to share the role of subject access points with the SUBJECT element. In the VRA Core (1997) specification, the NATIONALITY/CULTURE element is defined as the name of the culture from which a work originated or the name of the nationality with which the work has been associated. The STYLE/ PERIOD/ GROUP/ MOVEMENT element is defined as terms identifying a work that associates it with a defined style, historical period, group, school, or movement whose characteristics are represented in the work. For fashion objects, these elements are very important and benefit specific searches. For example, they promote these searches: (1) NATIONALITY/ CULTURE element incorporates cultural/influence information: e.g., "Indian (Kashmir)", "French", "American or European", "English?", etc.; (2) STYLE/ PERIOD/ GROUP/ MOVEMENT element specifies fashion object type and style, e.g., "train", "court dress", "evening dress", or "Paisley shawl". In VRA record, the MATERIAL element records the medium in which a work is composed; for instance, whether a textile or fabric is "wool" and "silk". In this fashion application, all these elements satisfy both description and subject access demands. "The line between description and subject analysis is harder to draw" (Taylor, 1999, p.11). Labeling them by various attribute names instead of "SUBJECT" is appreciated by the author and the museum staff. As Svenonius (1994) has pointed out, often attributes other than subject are more useful in the labeling and grouping of documents for retrieval and this is especially true for nonbook materials.
Subject indexing for historical fashion items relies on more than one source of subject headings or thesauri. Four thesauri have been studied for representing subject contents of fashion items. Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) provides a small group of general terms (e.g., "costume") and subject access related to geographical names, time periods, and corporate names. The Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I: Subject Terms (TGM I) (Library of Congress, 1995) provides a substantial body of terms for describing a broad range of subjects depicted in pictorial such materials, including activities, objects, types of people, events, and places. Unfortunately, art historical and iconographical concepts are not included. Because the subject indexing for fashion items leans towards "Ofness" rather than "Aboutness" (Shatford, 1986), there are not many terms in the TGM I that are particularly helpful. Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) (Getty Information Institute, 1994) also offers some groups of useful terms, such as terms in the categories of Styles and Periods, People and Organizations, Processes and Techniques, and Materials. ICOM's (International Council of Museums) Vocabulary of Basic Terms for Cataloging Costume (ICOMV), a term list developed by ICOM International Committee for the Museums and Collections of Costume, provides many more specific terms than the LCSH and AAT. It was developed by a group of experts in the fashion and museum profession, and was used by a number of well-known museums such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (J. Druesedow, personal communication, October 29, 1997). Although it is not organized using a standardized thesaurus structure, and it has only a general grouped display, its exhaustive list includes terms useful in registering and indexing dresses and accessories of men, women, and children. It also includes terms related to textiles, household items, and handiwork accessories. Without a doubt this was the most useful terminology to use although terms from LCSH and AAT were also used as much as possible for the purpose of ensuring compatibility with other collections.
It was noticed that a number of digitized fashion collection websites used their own classifications in organizing the displays. For example, The Texas Fashion Collection at the University of North Texas (http://www.art.unt.edu/tfc/) had a well-established hierarchical classification structure. The Costumer's Manifesto by Tara Maginnis (http://www.costumes.org/) organized all costume resources according to the timeline of costume history. The capability of these classifications in indexing specific (vs. generic) identity of objects was convincing.
In indicating subject term sources, the USMARC designates that Field 650 should be used for subject added entries according to generally accepted thesaurus-building rules (e.g., LCSH). USMARC Field 653 allows index terms that are not derived from a controlled subject heading system/thesaurus, and Field 654 allows topical subject terms constructed from a faceted vocabulary such as AAT and ICOMV. Treatment of subject term sources is available in the other two metadata formats as well: "Scheme='xxx' " can be used under the SUBJECT element in DC. VRA Core provides suggestions under each element as for which scheme(s) should be consulted. A sub-entry indicating sources seems to be logical in VRA Core, but no examples of the syntax were found in VRA documents. When developing a cataloging template, the author decided to indicate subject term sources. This idea was from MARC format.
(Table 3. Comparison of Desired Elements and Selected Metadata Elements:
3. Fashion Object Subject/Topic Information)